NASCAR star Ryan Blaney has called for a fix to what he calls a 'pretty bad' problem that reared its head at Sunday's Daytona 500.
23XI Racing star Tyler Reddick took the victory in the 68th edition of The Great American Race after a thrilling finish, but earlier in the afternoon, the action had not always been as exciting.
Fuel saving is a key factor in modern-day NASCAR, particularly at superspeedways such as Daytona, where drivers come off full throttle and aim to go as long as possible without coming down pit road. This allows them to come in for a stop during a caution if one occurs, potentially saving them crucial track position.
An example of this came in Sunday's race when three Toyota cars were able to make their way to the front of each of the three racing lanes and, from there, conserve gas, leaving no room on the track for anybody to pass them.
READ MORE: NASCAR penalty report reveals six drivers guilty of same infraction during Daytona 500
Blaney: NASCAR needs to fix fuel-saving issue
When speaking to the media post-race, Blaney called for a fix to the fuel-saving dilemma as he analyzed his Daytona 500.
"We went through a lot early," Blaney told Toby Christie post-race. "Not at the end, unfortunately.
"Spent some time fixing our car after the stage two caution. Then we started at the back and then just kind of got trapped with the Toyotas running 52-second laps and blocking the whole thing.
"Then never really jumped anything on the pit stop and just didn't really go anywhere on the restart and then got caught up in the wreck into [turn] one.
"Really good day for the most of it, and then just at the end couldn't go back to the front."
Asked about the frustration of being stuck in the pack while the leaders conserve gas, Blaney continued: "It was going to happen eventually. I mean, they've talked about it. Toyota has.
"Get three cars and you just block the whole field and it's unfortunate. We gotta fix that, it's pretty bad."
Crew chief point of view
The issue also came up when Reddick and his crew chief Billy Scott were talking to the media in the post-race press conference. Unlike Blaney, however, Scott doesn't believe there is a fix.
"I doubt there’s a fix to it because we’re just going to figure out the next way to exploit it, and I don’t know that it needs to be fixed," he said.
"I think we all as competitors are spending as much time trying to figure out what the next best thing is and how to combat what each other is doing.
"I mean, I think it would be like asking if you need to change how chess is played. Everybody is trying to react off each other and figure out a way to get in the front at the right time. That depends on whether cautions fly, like in Stage 1, where some of them were able to stretch it all the way to the end.
"To me, from where we stand, that’s a very enjoyable part of it."
NASCAR STANDINGS: Tyler Reddick on top after Daytona 500, Joe Gibbs Racing star 37th
