Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts to Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney tangling at Gateway
Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t sure what happened with Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney at the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Gateway. On the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Earnhardt shared his reaction to Larson hitting Blaney, which caused him to spin out.
“Larson racing aggressive. What was that all about?” Dale Earnhardt Jr. asked. “He spins Blaney out. I’ve watched this replay, and I can’t figure it out. Came from five car links back.”
Earnhardt later added, “This kind of thing happens. It sucks for Blaney. It’s kind of the best drivers in the world, having to be perfectly precise and be overly aggressive, and trying to learn how to make this car pass at a track where it was difficult to pass.
“I think it’s incredibly interesting that [Larson]’s like, ‘Man, if I can drive it down in there by mid-corner when he’s trying to throttle up, make him tight, like get the left quarter panel and really tighten his car up, then he’ll struggle on throttle and maybe I can be able to side draft down. I’ll be in a position for a side draft and position, maybe take the spot into Turn 1.’ Unfortunate that it spun Blaney around.”
Top 10
- 1New
Insult to injury for UCLA
Pay to New Mexico revealed
- 2
Trolling UCLA
Big Sky Conference crushes Bruins
- 3Hot
Urban Meyer
Raves about Bryce Underwood
- 4Trending
ACC Ref Quits
Cites Replay Handling
- 5
Transfer portal
NCAA to decide on windows
Get the Daily On3 Newsletter in your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney had strong finishes at Bristol
The incident with Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney happened on Lap 135, and both drivers were battling for fifth place. After Blaney was spun by Larson, he recovered and finished fourth at Gateway. Larson finished 12th despite leading 52 laps.
“It was frustrating, but it didn’t warrant me to get into him or anything like that,” Larson said after the race. “The first time I got to his inside, I was expecting him to not necessarily let me go and he left me room, but I ran into [Turn] 1 hard and he chased me in and I was sideways underneath him and was kind of like, ‘OK, we’re going to be racing hard for this position going forward’ — and we did. It led to me making contact with him a few laps later.”
The good news for Larson and Blaney is they are in strong points positions heading into Bristol, which will be a playoff elimination race. Larson is 60 points above the playoff cut, and Blaney is above by 42 points.