2023 NASCAR champ Ryan Blaney has joined calls for the sport to fix its superspeedway issues with car changes.
The Team Penske star also issued a stark warning that the sport's leaders have hinted at in recent weeks, that the problems on drafting tracks aren't going to go away any time soon – and certainly not this year.
Blaney got wiped out in the Big One at Talladega on Sunday, yet another victim of the current Cup Series cars being incredible difficult to push with when lined up and actually trying to go fast.
The issues are less pronounced when the pack is in fuel-saving mode, which is its own issue, and Blaney admitted he 'has his hand up' calling for changes to the cars to alter the racing for the better.
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Ryan Blaney reveals issues with NASCAR drafting races
Speaking about the wreck on Sunday, he explained: “I feel like we all just got pinballing off each other there. The No. 1 got up in front of me. I was coming, so I’m kind of checking and trying to get on him OK, and it looked like the No. 23 got up in front of him while we were coming, and then we all just kind of got nose bumper tag there.
"You’re trying to lift and stabilize it and the No. 23 ended up getting turned in front of everybody and causing a big wreck. I don’t know. It’s not like there’s any blame on anybody. It’s what this thing is. We see each other. We all just kind of get bumping and banging and one guy eventually gets turned with the car being as unstable as it is. It definitely stinks to be out early.”
Asked how challenging it is to push with the typical 'bubble' of air between cars, he revealed: “There’s no bubble. You’re just ramming through the guy in front of you. You have to be very precise with how you lift and drag brake to get on them gently.
"There’s no bubble at all. It’s just running through people. You’re just trying to take care of the person in front of you and it’s hard to do. We’re just all on top of each other and that’s what you get when you’re all on top of each other.”
Blaney: Superspeedway racing won't change this year
When pressed for a solution, Blaney admitted: “I don’t know. I’m not sure. Obviously, I would like a change to the race car. I feel like we can be better at these speedways with just how the car races and try to be not as all on top of each other and just running through each other.
"I obviously have my hand up to wanting to make a change because we’re either fuel saving or we’re running all over each other just because that’s what this car is and that’s how you go forward. You’re just running through and it’s however hard you can push somebody.
"The cars are pretty unstable in the back. They get tank swapping or if you get ping-ponging they just can’t take it. Hopefully, I don’t really see it changing this year at all. I don’t think you can during the middle of the year. You could, but I feel like hopefully that Speedweeks deal in January we can try a lot of stuff out.”
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