In Duel #2, Blaney found himself locked in a battle for fourth place when things took a turn for the worse. With just 14 laps remaining in the 60-lap race, Blaney attempted to pass Byron, who promptly blocked his move. Undeterred, Blaney maneuvered beneath the Hendrick Motorsports driver, but the exchange resulted in both losing momentum.
Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was rapidly closing in on Byron from the outside lane through the tri-oval, with Brad Keselowski snugly tucked behind him. Despite Busch’s attempts to ease off the throttle, Keselowski’s proximity made it difficult.
As a consequence, Byron spun, initiating contact with Blaney, who careened into the outside wall almost head-on. The ensuing chaos ensnared several other cars, with flames erupting from under the hood of Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford. Miraculously, Blaney emerged unscathed from the wreckage.
“I’m getting pretty sick of it,” remarked Blaney upon his release from the infield care center. Reflecting on the incident, he expressed frustration with what he perceived as reckless driving behavior. “By the replay, it just looks like awful pushes in terrible spots,” he observed. “Three times in a row here I’ve been right-reared by someone else’s awful push, so I’m getting pretty sick of it. People just have to be smart.”
Blaney’s exasperation was palpable as he recounted the recent string of incidents that have marred his Daytona outings. From a crash during the final lap of the Daytona 500 last February to a head-on collision during the August Daytona race, he has endured his fair share of adversity at the famed track.
Despite walking away unscathed each time, the toll on his equipment has been significant, necessitating the use of a backup car for his tenth Daytona 500 start.
“I can’t control it, but it comes from awful pushes by people,” Blaney lamented. “I’m sick of paying the expense of it and getting right-reared from someone’s dumb push.”
Meanwhile, Busch, who found himself entangled in the incident, offered his perspective on the unfolding events. “I was just getting a push from the No. 6 [Keselowski] there and the No. 24 [Byron],” he explained. “I saw they kind of got messed up, out of line, and slowed down. I tried to lift and roll out of the gas smoothly.”
Despite his efforts to mitigate the situation, Busch’s attempts were thwarted by the dynamics of the pack, resulting in unintended contact with Byron and triggering the chain reaction that led to the wreck.
“You don’t want to hit a guy in the tri-oval,” Busch acknowledged. “I’ve been there, I’ve done that. I’ve also rolled out of here in an ambulance before doing that, so I know it’s not the right thing to do.”
