2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney has suggested he'd like a more hands-off approach from NASCAR when it comes to handing out penalties.
Blaney made the comments in relation to last week's announcement that Ryan Preece's double punishment (docked 26 points and fined $50,000) would stand after the National Motorsports Appeals Panel upheld NASCAR's initial decision on appeal.
Interestingly, though, they stated that neither NASCAR nor RFK Racing had proved their points, and instead focused on Preece's comments he had made regarding Ty Gibbs over his radio ahead of the incident in which NASCAR deemed he intentionally wrecked the No. 54.
“What a [expletive] idiot that kid is," Preece had said that day in Texas regarding Gibbs. "He is so lucky his car is so [expletive] fast. … All right, when I get to that 54, I’m done with him. [Expletive] idiot.”
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Ryan Blaney on NASCAR's Ryan Preece penalty
Naturally, RFK Racing and Preece were disappointed with the outcome of the appeal, but they have now accepted their punishment and will not take it any further.
That, however, didn't stop it being a big talking point over the weekend, and Blaney was one to share his viewpoint.
"I don't know. I equate to that like... If you're going to commit a crime, and you say you're going to commit a crime, and you do commit the crime," Blaney said. "If you're in a courtroom, and they are like, well, you said you were going to do it, and you did it. Hard to argue against that. I don't know.
"It gives NASCAR and them a way to, like, well, you said you were going to do it, you did it, there was malicious intent behind it.
"But I also think there are some things that are done in bad faith, that are, you know, never spoken on the radio, that I see. I'm like, maybe that should have been a penalty, but there's no evidence to go about it. You know, you could just say, ‘Well, I kind of got out of shape, but I didn't mean to do it.’ I don't know."
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Blaney wishes NASCAR were more hands-off
The Team Penske star continued, hinting he would like to see a more hands-off approach from NASCAR and let the drivers deal with these incidents on their own.
"Do I wish that it was a little bit more like hands off and kind of let drivers do what they want to do without having in the back of their mind that they going to get fined or penalized in the points. Yeah, probably, I would," Blaney added.
"But, at the end of the day, I don't really think it's good for it either to have guys out here jumping guys. You know?
"So, I don't know. I wish it was; I would probably be of the way of just let us deal with it.”
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