Ryan Blaney was heading towards a strong result at Daytona on Saturday.
Blaney had gotten through the initial chaos that wrecked a large portion of the field during the final lap and was racing towards the finish line.
But before he could get there, Blaney got spun, with the No. 47 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr making contact with the No. 12 and sending him into the wall, bringing out the caution that ended the race.
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Blaney was understandably fuming after the wreck, and did not hold back while speaking with his crew chief over the radio.
"F*** No. 47. What the f***? What the f*** are we doing?" Blaney said. "Right down the backstretch and he f***ing hooks me."
Blaney's frustration are well justified. After weaving through the initial chaos of the scene, he was in position to potentially win or at the very least secure a top-three finish. Instead, he had to watch as Stenhouse took home a fifth-place finish while he settled for 33rd.
If there's any silver lining, it's that Blaney's spot in the points standings wasn't affected by the chaotic end to his day. Denny Hamlin had already secured the top spot in the regular season standings before the start of the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Even a win wouldn't be enough for Blaney to jump him, and Blaney's finish was enough for him to hold on to second place in the standings.
Still, if there's any bad blood that needs to get worked out between Blaney and Stenhouse, they might want to handle it this week, as a similar wreck over the next 10 weeks could be the difference between winning and losing the championship.
