Ryan Blaney has revealed that he apologized recently for things he said to NASCAR rival Christopher Bell after a huge wreck at Daytona in 2023.
The pair were in the front couple of rows on the final lap of Stage 2 (Blaney leading the bottom, Bell in second on the top, pushing Ty Gibbs) when the No. 20's push got Gibbs loose and turned him into the No. 12, effectively right-hooking Blaney headfirst into the outside wall at incredible speed.
The Team Penske star refused to admit in as many words that he suffered a concussion in the wreck – although he joked that he was 'tasting colors, seeing words, spelling numbers' for the rest of the night – but said that he had some 'choice words' for Bell.
The problem later? He couldn't remember what he'd actually said to the Joe Gibbs Racing driver and, apparently, it lingered for some time between them without being acknowledged until a recent plane ride.
READ MORE: NASCAR issues Kyle Busch penalty verdict after Cup Series great wrecked Texas rival
Blaney: Bell had been stewing on incident for years
Appearing on the Stacking Pennies podcast this week, Blaney revealed that he and Bell 'squashed beef' when flying to San Diego recently to promote the upcoming race at Coronado Naval Base.
He explained: "So me and Christopher actually had a great conversation about that here recently. I was pretty...I mean, I was tasting colors after the race, I'll be honest with you. Seeing words, spelling numbers.
"So I was sat on the No. 22 pit box, and it was like the third time I got right hooked at a speedway, so I was also kinda upset, and I had some choice words for him after the race. Probably words that I...honestly, I didn't really know what I said at the time.
"He and I were flying out to San Diego to film this thing for the race and we had a nice talk about it. I turned round, and I was like 'hey man, you remember that time we wrecked at Daytona? I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't really know what I said to you. If I said something pretty bad, I apologise if I went over the line'.
"He was like 'man, I appreciate that. I've been stewing over that for like three years'. I apologized, because you know, all that stuff, so we squashed beef."
NASCAR TODAY: Kyle Busch put on watch as star's Texas penalty confirmed
