After making contact with Chase Elliott on the last lap of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan, Ryan Blaney was not at all pleased with the driver.
The two drivers had a difficult battle and lost several positions in the recently finished race at Michigan International Speedway, despite having a favorable start. Elliott and Blaney qualified sixth and eighth, respectively, for the start of the race.
But following the restart of overtime, the former improved to seventh place and the latter to sixth. Ultimately, Blaney finished the race in eighth place, while the #9 driver came in fifteenth. The Team Penske driver was enraged by the loss of spots, as evidenced by his refusal to comment during the race and his finger-pointing at Elliott.
When Jeff Gluck of The Athletic approached Ryan Blaney for his thoughts, he said
Elliott was gone from Gluck’s line of sight as the #9 Hendrick Motorsports driver hurried off the pit road. Due to their last-lap incident, Elliott and Blaney’s race was slightly compromised; the #9 driver received 32 points while the Team Penske driver received 30.
I asked Ryan Blaney what happened on the last lap.
"Ask the 9."
Chase Elliott made a quick exit from pit road and I didn't get to ask.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) August 19, 2024
Chase Elliott would have been leading the regular season rankings without the contact. Michigan International Speedway’s FireKeepers Casino 400 winner was Tyler Reddick. To secure his victory, the 23XI driver fended off fierce attacks from Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing and William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports.
After 24 races, Chase Elliott has 804 points, good for second position in the championship. He lost a lot of points on the final lap of the FireKeepers Casino 400, demonstrating his inability to make apologies and take full advantage of Kyle Larson’s absence.
Without it, he would have been in the lead in the standings going into Saturday, August 24, at Daytona International Speedway, when the Coke Zero Sugar 400 is set to take place. After his victory at Michigan, Tyler Reddick assumed the top spot in the standings. The 23XI driver’s victory in this race marked his second of the year. With 814 points, he now holds the championship lead.
Denny Hamlin’s ninth-place finish in Michigan has propelled him to third place with 786 points. Former race leader Kyle Larson was forced out of the race early when he caused a collision that involved Todd Gilliland, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, and Christopher Bell. With 782 points, Larson is one spot ahead of Ryan Blaney in fourth place.
The #12 driver, who now stands in fifth place with 732 points, did not benefit from his inability to conceal the points during the last lap collision.
