NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney waited patiently to get answers firsthand.
Standing off to the side as Kyle Larson fulfilled his post-Enjoy Illinois 300 media obligations, Blaney’s chance finally opened up and he marched up to his playoff rival to ask “what I did to deserve getting turned,” he said, as reported by NASCAR.com.
Larson claimed responsibility for a “mistake” and Blaney believed the 2021 circuit champion didn’t make contact with the No. 12 Ford “on purpose, but at the end of the day, I got spun around.”
The situation developed as they battled for P5 on Lap 135. After switching spots several times over the previous rotations, Larson struck Blaney’s left-rear quarter panel.
“I misjudged it,” Larson said. “The lap before, I went in, I was able to get to his door and get him tight. The next time, I was trying to do the same thing and wasn’t going to get there and was going to tuck back in line and just clipped him. He should be upset. I just misjudged it.”
Blaney, the 2023 series titleholder, kept his machine from striking the wall and recovered from the mid-race melee and earned a P4, behind winner Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott. Larson finished
Will Blaney carry a grudge into next Saturday night’s Round of 16 finale at Bristol Motor Speedway? Larson enters the Bass Pro Shops Night Race with 60 points and Blaney 42. With 11 points, Austin Cindric ranks No. 12.
Austin Dillon (-11), Shane van Gisbergen (-15), Alex Bowman (-35) and Josh Berry (-45) enter the weekend below the cutoff line.
NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race Entry List
The NASCAR Cup Series announced the entry list for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday night:
Entry, Driver, Car No.
- 1, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
- 2, Austin Cindric No. 2 Ford
- 3, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
- 4, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
- 5, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
- 6, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
- 7, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
- 8, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
- 9, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
- 10, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
- 11, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
- 12, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
- 13, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
- 14, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
- 15, Chase Briscoe, No. 19, Toyota
- 16, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
- 17, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
- 18, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
- 19, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
- 20, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
- 21, Austin Hill, No. 33 Chevrolet
- 22, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
- 23, Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
- 24, Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
- 25, Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
- 26, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
- 27, Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
- 28, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
- 29, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Ford
- 30, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
- 31, Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
- 32, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
- 33, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
- 34, Chad Finchum, No. 66 Ford
- 35, Corey Heim, No. 67 Toyota
- 36, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
- 37, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
- 38, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
- 39, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
NASCAR National Series, ARCA Menards Series On Tap
Here is a list of NASCAR National Series and ARCA Menards Series events this week at Bristol Motor Speedway. All times ET:
Thursday
- ARCA Series practice, 1 p.m.
- ARCA Series qualifying, 2 p.m.
- Truck Series practice, 3:05 p.m.
- Truck Series qualifying, 4:10 p.m.
- ARCA Series Bush’s Beans 200 race, 5:30 p.m.
- Truck Series UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics race, 8 p.m.
Friday
- Xfinity Series practice, 2 p.m.
- Xfinity Series qualifying, 3:05 p.m.
- Cup Series practice, 4:30 p.m.
- Cup Series qualifying, 5:40 p.m.
- Xfinity Series Food City 300 race, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
- Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race, 7:30 p.m.
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