May 22, 2022; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney (12) celebrates in Victory lane with NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace (23) after winning the All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Following the action-packed weekend at Talladega, Monday’s race at Dover International Speedway was a blockbuster event. At least the numbers point to that. However, we can not forget the superspeedway race that easily. At the GEICO 500, we saw a dramatic finish with Bubba Wallace crashing out, after aggressively defending his lead from fellow driver and best friend, Ryan Blaney. The Team Penske driver has now expressed his thoughts while he sent a stern message to the community.
The #12 Mustang driver shared the genuine conversation he had with Wallace after the race, With this, he cleared the rumors surrounding the infamous incident.
Moreover, the 29-year-old urged the fraternity to take a positive approach to each race. He publically shared his thoughts as a NASCAR enthusiast and senior journalist, Austin Konenski, had some interesting statistics about the Dover event.
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Ryan Blaney clears the rumors, disappointing the reporters scrounging for drama
Given the eventful race at Talladega and its climatic finish, Cup Series driver, Ryan Blaney adopted a straight approach when he was asked about his incident with Wallace. The #12 driver gave a bold answer, describing how things went down with Wallace after the race. He said, “Yeah we talked about it, uh we’re all good.”
USA Today via Reuters Feb 18, 2023; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney (12) during practice at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
The iconic track saw the intensity unfold to its full in the final minutes of the race. Wallace, who was leading the pack, struggled to hold off Blaney. As Blaney pushed for a last time, Wallace blocked the driver, repeatedly. Eventually, the Penske driver decided to take charge and push.
Things did not go the 23Xl Racing driver’s way as he eventually failed in his defense and spun out of the lead. Now this being the talk of the town, media reporters scrounged for a spicy take, asking the driver how things were between the two friends after the incident.
“Was there anything to amend or are you guys on pretty much on good terms everything that happened?” asked the Frontstretch reporter. To this, the 29-year-old had a witty response. He said, “I hate to disappoint y’all but we’re fine, uh um, I saw him right after the race in the bus lot and he told me he messed up and it’s just one of those things, I mean it’s just uh that’s speedway race.”
Furthermore, Blaney had an interesting take when Austin Konenski tweeted a major update about the Dover race, revealing some exciting statistics.
Ryan Blaney stays true, urging the community to have a positive stance on every NASCAR event
Recently, senior journalist and NASCAR enthusiast, Konenski came out with a rather interesting tweet, highlighting the sudden bump in viewers, compared to the race last year. With a 13% increase in its viewership and 1 million average viewers, this was surely a milestone the organization achieved.
Blaney, however, had a different view on this. While he is happy about the sport getting more audiences, the driver also put out a bold comment. He wrote, “Crazy that when the rating are down everyone loses their minds and says it’s in the garbage, but when ratings are up it gets a 1/4 of the attention. I guess what I’m saying is, I wish people would show the same reaction when things are positive as people do when it’s negative.”
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Soon ardent fans took up the tweet, supporting the driver’s optimism.
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“Ratings have been good all year. The sport is in a pretty good place.”
“Thank you Ryan, I enjoy you call on Tuesday to Sirius Radio! I wear my number 12 shirt every race!”
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As the race at Dover brought back the crowd, it means NASCAR’s still got it. Hopefully, this trend carries on till the sport gets the recognition it deserves.