NASCAR drivers comment following the overtime crash
On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series raced at Talladega Superspeedway. The race ended in a crash on the final lap.
Watch the Talladega crash video below.
Just ahead of the final green flag in NASCAR overtime, Ty Gibbs pulled out of line as he was out of fuel, he was the third car on the inside lane. That stalled restart from Ryan Blaney, the lead car on the inside lane.
Bubba Wallace pushed Kyle Busch to the lead on the outside lane. A lap later, as they took the white flag, Wallace pulled out of line and Ryan Blaney pushed him to the lead.
As they rolled into turn one, Blaney cut to the inside, Wallace threw a block. Blaney moved to the middle, Wallace pulled up and blocked again.
The two drivers made contact, and race leader Bubba Wallace spun in front of the field. The race ended under caution.
Kyle Busch was declared the race winner.
Wallace and Blaney are known friends, outside of the race track. And, after the crash, both drivers blame the situation…
Talladega Race Results: April 23, 2023 (NASCAR Cup Series)
Ryan Blaney comments
“The No. 54 ran out [of fuel] at the restart zone. So, that kinda hurt our lane,” Ryan Blaney told NASCAR.com.
“Was able to build a run back again to get to 2nd. Yeah, someone makes a triple-move blocking, that doesn’t work anymore.”
“You can’t go from the middle, to the bottom to the top to try and block the guy when you’re two feet behind him. It’s hard to block in these cars.”
“As the leader, you can’t blame anybody for blocking. You have to to do it. But, it’s just really tough to do.”
“I don’t mean to turn anybody. But, I didn’t know where else to go. Shame we couldn’t race it out ’til the end.”
Bubba Wallace comments
“I just got junked by the No. 12,” Bubba Wallace told Bob Pockrass.
“I threw a late block. Close, close block. Just sent us around.”
“Not the No. 12’s fault. I honestly thought that he would leave me high and dry. Just hate it for the team.”
“That was our best, by far, plate race that we’ve ever done. So, hats off to the No. 23 group. Great day, just a crap result.”
“I caused that one. I thought it would play out a little different. But, I thought the move would happen coming through the tri-oval.”
“You can’t let your guard down for one second. Or you end up in here [at the medical center].”
“When I seen the No. 12, I was pumped. Not the 12’s fault at all.”
Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace crash at Talladega Superspeedway
Links
Ryan Blaney | Bubba Wallace | Talladega SuperSpeedway | NASCAR
