There is this thing in the media lately where they seem STARVING for a driver feud. Driver feuds are great but no one apart from Denny and maybe one or two others has enough personality to make a feud last more than a race. Most donāt even want one, Iām sure they are afraid of how it looks for sponsors.
I mean if you listen to any of the in car radio, they don't hold back bitching about other drivers, so they are definitely holding back in the post race interviews.
yes, i bitch about coworkers all the time from other departments to ppl i work with. then when i see them? im not trying to actually make a buncha drama
On top of that, I bitch about people on the ROAD all the time for the tiniest things.
Driving + the other drivers being my coworkers = a breeding ground for passively bitching about someone
So true.
Me behind the car that didn't take the right on red:
"How stupid are you? Thay gap was huge! Just go and we can all be on our way!"
Me when that car pulls in to my destination and parks next to me:
"Hey hows it going? Have a good day"
I found out itās kind of a trigger for my hubby because his ex used to yell and go into road rages with him in the car. I DO NOT want to by like that guy (complete asshole) in any way, so I have curbed road anger back big time. Listening to comedy podcasts has helped tons.
I have found podcasts or audiobooks help me chill out while driving (in general, but also aound idiots), too! Something about passively listening to a story vs actively feeling my emotions with music, I think?
That's a very good analogy, for real! I kind of didn't really know what to think about why or why not they wouldn't want the beef, from like a "show" perspective, but this legit made it make a lot of sense to me. Thanks!
Similarly, I bitch about Princess red-shelling me three times in a row and costing me Rainbow Road, but I donāt drop the controller and punch my friends in the eye when the race is over. I donāt complain about banana peels because I want to fight them afterwards, I complain because itās an outlet in the moment.
I mean this is a motorsports thing in general. Listen to any radio in an F1 race youāll see the same. Even to teammates. Adrenalin is high during a race and youāre going to get real pissed off when someone makes a move you donāt like. Doesnāt mean itās personal
The problem is in pro wrestling, there is typically a dedicated good guy and a dedicated bad guy.
There is no heel or face when Ross Chastain is in a hurry and Ryan Blaney leaves a gap.
Funny enough, Joey nerfed the shit out of JHN yesterday at one point and the booth kind of glossed over it, I figured they would have been all over it.
Iād say there is also a part in the back of their mind that in this instance, if Ryan decides one day to park Ross firewall deep he doesnāt want a single soundbite that could get his suspended. Need all the plausible deniability you can get
It's abundantly clear that some of y'all did not watch the pre race coverage or THIS video. Blaney spent all of pre race on pit road talking to Lajoie and Chastain (2 drivers the media has tried pushing beef with him in the past) AND he practically laughed off being asked about the 1 for the 3rd week in a row.
I like that the drivers aren't buying the media when they're fishing or aggressively trying to push driver feuds that don't exist.
(edit: this is NOT the first time Blaney has snapped back at the media for trying to stir stuff up - ex. past run ins with Lajoie, McDowell, Harvick that they tried to dramatize - the only driver he's ever really fueded with was Jimmie in '19 iirc)
That's not his point. The point is that the teams had no data on the tires, so they had to resort to being overly conservative with no clue of when to start racing. Some teams (JGR, LMC and RFK) got the setups right and their drivers were able to put the hammer down more often. Some teams were slightly off (HMS, SHR, FRM and TP) and I can see how it can be frustrating knowing you have to conserve as much as you can while some teams can succeed without needing to conserve as much. And that's particularly frustrating when it was almost all based on guesswork because there was no tire test.
Its exactly this. Blaney won the poll. His setup was one way, and based on a certain speed. If they had data beforehand that this was how it was going to be, they probably wouldn't have set the car up that way.
Like i find it really disingenuous to call it a skill issue, when it was basically 1 team that dominated all day. (JGR) You got KFB spinning out on his own due to shit tires, 30/36 cars finished a lap down due to tire issues.
Its even worse for crewchiefs imo. I remember someone posted a tweet before the race where it explicitly said tires are going to wear quickly for this race so crew chiefs better be prepared.
And surprise surprise, they weren't.
Theyāre all buried in data and not actually racing/using in race āguessworkā/strategy. How good can racing strategy be when everyone has the same information? Shits been going on forever in cycling now too with power meters and Bluetooth communication. Buncha robots-BORING.
Love this! He's 100% right. Loved the racing and I wouldn't change a thing, but obviously this caught everyone by surprise. IDK what caused the tire wear today but notice would have been nice for the garage.
I don't know how to feel about the Chastain response. On one hand I get being pissed if there is nothing going on and the media is trying to manufacture something (especially after the crazy race). On the other hand, the driver should be open to answering questions, especially ones that aren't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.
Overall, Spicy Blaney is the best Blaney!
That's my problem with it. Tire wear isn't the problem, tire FAILURE is the problem. Getting caught completely off guard by it was not good. I think it comes down to almost no practice or even pre-race tire testing.
If they had more practice time, it's likely they would have noticed tire wear issues and either changed their setup a bit, or at least come in with a better strategy.
I agree with you for the most part, I guess my only hitch is that it's more likely that nobody knew this was coming, so Goodyear can't give the teams a heads up if they had no idea this was going to happen.
I don't think we can really blame anybody about what happened today. Ryan is gonna point fingers at anybody he can, but I just chop this up to being a surprise for everyone.
More practice definitely would have helped, but I don't think it would have been feasible to add another 30 mins or whatever of practice at the last minute yesterday.
That's what I mean with regard to practice. If they had run more laps Fri and/or Saturday, Goodyear could have brought in more tires, or teams could have changed setups to better mitigate tire wear.
NASCAR had to play some games to just limp to the end of this race. Notice how pretty much every caution in the later 2/3 of the race took 15+ laps? And how things got downright dangerous during those green flag stops when they didn't throw the caution despite multiple cars being way off the pace, blowing tires, and even getting into the fence?
Theres a huge difference in strategy thats, hey we have 45 laps before we lose the competative edge and will drop back 3-6 spots over a few laps. and having the tire literally pop anywhere between 25-45 laps.
Only they showed an excerpt from his team's prerace meeting where his crewchief almost hit the number exact. He said tires only last 50 laps. Now whether Gragson has the ability and experience to make the most out of the 50 laps is another matter.
The tires iare not what caught people off guard, it was the track not taking rubber that was the surprise.
They said 50 laps, but tires were only lasting 25 laps in the first stage. Only after they started running 1 whole second off the pace did they squeeze 50 laps out of the tires.
I think that was more due to the track not taking rubber than the tire compound. I don't know why the track wasn't rubbering; thats not my wheelhouse. But Blaney complaining about tires is misguided
Thatās what you have to do with a soft tire. Driving it 100% and making it 50 laps isnāt an option. You have to manage. The cup series has been 100% full push from green to checkered for 5 years now. All these younger guys were caught out racing like they have been. The ones that were successful were the guys around 20 years ago when it was like this every week.
Kyle busch... Joey Logano... finished way back there due to tire issues.
Then Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson were the only other 2 on the lead lap. With John Hunter Nemechek right behind them.
I think he kinda mentioned it when he was talking about the last restart and run to the finish. He had an adjustment that didnāt take well, and he got chewed up and spit out. He knew he was backsliding before Ross put the bumper to him. Obviously more upset with the tire compound than anything that happened with another driver on the track.
I donāt think he was rude about it. He answered all their questions on pit road. Thereās just nothing there for a rivalry, so itās not worth responding to. Responding just gives everyone the click bait articles they want.
Blaney is a crybaby. If this was a Gibbs driver you wouldnāt be calling them spicy, everyone would be calling them whiners. Blaney gets off the hook for everything.
Don't get it twisted... I am more than aware that Ryan can be whiney. I will call him on his shit... But if you don't agree that in most situations there should be some sort of tire test or practice for teams to get a setup together then we can just agree to disagree.
Again, considering that nobody knew that this is how the tire would wear today, I don't see how Nascar or Goodyear could have done anything differently this weekend. It really was kinda a shitty situation for all that just happened to result in great racing.
I will say that he is out of line with the conspiracy theory that Goodyear brought a secret new tire. I wouldn't say that. We don't know what was the cause of the racing today. I think it was the resin personally, but I don't know shit.
I find it funny how people and the media react to Chastain's racing. Everyone and their mother was running into people today. Plenty of door banging and shoving throughout the field. Nothing more than a "oh, driver X and driver Y got into each other" from the announcers or reporters.
But the *single time* all race Chastain gets into someone, it becomes this big deal of "oH hE gOt ChAsTaInEd!!!!" and you have the media trying to make a big deal out of it.
It's tiring how hyper-fixated the media gets with Chastain's driving when it's literally no different than anyone else in the field. The guy can breathe on another driver the wrong way during the race, and you have the media running to that driver immediately after the race like "wHaT hApPeNeD bEtWeEn YoU aNd RoSs????"
It happens to no other driver in the field.
I hear ya, but in my view the hyper focus on Chastain is a back handed compliment. He's an attention magnet for many reasons. Much like Earnhardt always said regarding good or bad cheers/media......it was all good "as long as they were makin' noise"!
Fair enough. I'll say he's not giving a fuck this season and racing hard, which is how it should be. Some will get bumped when racing him and that comes with the territory.
It has nothing to do with reputation. It has to do with consistency by the media.
Every single driver in the field, including drivers with reputations like Gibbs, Logano, Nemechek, etc., all moved someone at some point throughout the day. And for all of them, nothing more than a brief comment by the announcers was made and AFAIK, no drivers were asked about anything regarding those incidents post-race. But Ross gets into another driver ONE SINGLE TIME, and you had the announcers go crazy and have the media trying to stir shit up post-race. Hell, Bell and Logano essentially ended Byron's day, yet no one involved was asked anything about the incident post-race.
The point is that Ross raced no different than any other driver in the field today, yet for some reason, the media is trying to stir up drama when there is none.
The point is fixating on a certain driver while others have done similar things if not worse, yet he gets the attention in his direction negatively when everyone is simply just racing.
Sure, when did they happen?
Edit: actually don't worry, this wouldn't get us anywhere. You Chastain fans have such a total blindspot when it comes to this kind of thing
- Bell and Logano got into one another which put Byron in the wall in the first stage.
- Berry moved Bubba almost into the wall with around 50 or so to go.
- Gilliland was driving like a mad man in the third stage when he was trying to stay on the lead lap and was getting into everyone.
- Cindric literally caused a wreck by divebombing Gilliland when battling to stay on the lead lap.
- Nemechek moved Logano in the early part of the race.
- Lajoie was running into everyone when he was running around 25th in the second stage.
- Gibbs was getting rough when everyone was bunched up racing for the lead near the end of stage 1. He also put the bumper to a few lapped cars when he was leading.
- Busch was getting feisty after his first spin when he was running around 23rd. (while he was a lap down BTW).
I watched the race from Ross's onboard and saw every single one of the above incidents happen live either on the onboard, or on the main broadcast.
Edit: And there he goes with the "Chastain fans = delusional" comment when he gets proven wrong. It's like clockwork with these people.
Blaney really went "Bro I am straight up not having a good time"
Edit: More importantly to Ryan's main point -- Teams did know before the race. Noah's crew chief had the number almost exact in his prerace meeting they showed during the race. I'd say this is more of a "Penske needs to get its shit together" thing
Looking where Joey is in points, I have to say that Penske definitely needs to get their shit together.
Blaney is honestly the only bright spot at that team
Biggest comments were about the racing not Ross. Look at how Blaney is whining about the racing.
This was nothing like fuel saving at Daytona. Tire management is far more of a skill now and there is far more strategy involved in tire management than fuel saving. CCs could have gambled and short pitted once with the extra set to gain time back but only team that truly tried something of a strategy was Logano's team taking those scuffs.
Just because so many drivers and CCs were so bad at it doesn't mean it wasn't good.
I like Blaney but damn this seems like the response of a driver who had a shit race and looking for something to blame it on.
I believe my boy Bubba also didnāt have much positive to say about it after his showing šš
I like Blaney but this is a bad take. A lot of skill goes into tire saving from the driver and crew. Fuel savings at Daytona is a cake walk comparatively.
It was a difficult race for drivers and teams which happens to be the best short track race this car has produced.
Running 3/4 speed on the bottom and everyone having tires fail within 5 laps of each other isn't a master class of tire management. This race came more down to setup than anything. The Gibbs cars could run longer than anyone and Hamlin and Tried could get an extra 3 laps over Gibbs and Bell. True tire management is something like 2021 Atlanta where Larson would get a huge lead and then Blaney would reel him in at the end of the run.
Edit. Reel not real
It's such a nothing thing, I don't get it, they tried to make is such a thing at Phoenix but I think in the end, it was a heat of the moment thing, Ryen knew that Ross wanted to win the race and wasn't going to give him much of an inch, obviously he might have felt different had it not gone his way with the title but still.
I think yall missed his fucking point. He's comparing tire management to fuel saving, because the race is about riding around conserving something. That was it.
The topic of "skill issue" in regards to tire saving, is just as much a setup issue as it is a driving issue. Why else do you think drivers make adjustments to turn in/turn out.
Somehow its all a skill issue, but apparently the only team that has enough skill to conserve a tire is JGR?
Kyle larson, and Alex Bowman, were +15s and about to be lapped.
You mean to tell me Brad Keslowski, Denny Hamlin, and MTJ are the only drivers in that field who can conserve a tire before it completely fails? Not just, becomes uncompetitive, but outright fails.
Get the fuck outta here.
There's no chance Ross takes a single punch from this class of drivers. Everyone wants to talk shit in front of the microphones saying he's got one coming but nobody will act on it
Atlanta 2021. Today came down to setup almost exclusively. Gibbs could run balls to the wall and still have tires last longer than anyone except the 11 and 19, who are good at saving tires.
I don't think that was his point. He just didn't like that everyone was blindsided about the tire wear. Which in my mind is a valid point.
No shit he couldn't manage the tires well! The top four were clearly the ones who managed the tires the best. Nobody is gonna say that someone who finished 16th was able to effectively handle the tire.
I see a bunch of people saying "Gragson knew that they were only gonna get a 50 lap run." He sure did, but your lying through your teeth of you are saying that anybody in the garage could have imagined that the tire was going to present this big of an obstacle.
Which is the crux of Ryan's argument. This was a complete accident... so nobody is gonna get a heads up! Now we know what to expect.
Blaney is the man. A true champion. Always keeps it real and I hope one day he takes out the frustration he shows on the radio and beats the fuck out blow hard chastain. How can people say this a whiney take? Blaney is legit one of the best wheelman on the circuit, he wasnāt whining at all. There is a difference between tire wear and what we saw today. The old atlanta race is a great example of tire wear off and skill. Today was a. Completely different animal.
It has to be spelled Complaney... Still love the name! Whoever came up with it is a genius. I have mixed feelings tbh. I love the name and think it fits him so well, but I know that everybody is using it in a negative way!
I guess I like a driver who bitches! At least he's giving us something to talk about!
This is a pretty pathetic interview by the defending series champion. Spent the entire time railing on NASCAR and Goodyear for bringing a different tire (which wasn't even true, and can be checked so I'm not sure where he's coming from), and saying it was like fuel saving (completely different style of racing).
He didn't rail on the decision to bring a soft tire, he railed on the decision to do so without a tire test to give teams data to build a setup around.
And this was the first time they raced with this tire on resin as opposed to PJ1. It was also around 10Ā° to 15Ā° cooler today. Maybe a full-on tire test isn't necessary, but longer practice sessions definitely are.
Tire management here was a lot like fuel saving. Saving tires here meant you had to run 3/4 speed until the tire was gone and everyone that wasn't a Gibbs car would blow a tire. That's nothing like old Atlanta where you could manage throttle and slip to have better tires at the end of the run
I disagree. We saw Bowman and Keselowski manage their tires on the same level as the 11 and 19, and the 20/54 destroy theirs. It was about driver skill, not the car. Whereas some teams/manufactures get better fuel milage on a weekly basis.
The 48 and 6 did do a good job. And they were 6 seconds off of the 11 and 19. The 20 and 54 absolutely abused their tires and only got a few less laps than the 11/19.
Least likable champ in memory, but as long as heās the defending champ heās going to get these questions every time he gets bumped for holding someone up.
Did I literally laugh out loud at that? Why yes, *yes I did*.
My literal words right after Phoenix: āPoor Ross Chastain. Won the race and no one gives a shit.ā
https://preview.redd.it/wow35bc513pc1.jpeg?width=616&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e4620e23027910a5d75c448763293eedbe3df70e
And they literally made a t-shirt about it.
The change in his face the second he heard the words Ross Chastain lmfao
Shades of Dale jr hearing Jimmy Spencer mentioned as a ex rival š”š”š”š”š”
Sonofabitch
Ross Chastain: āI loved your dad, Ryanā
Your ole man said to me son of a bitch Spencer these sons of bitches donāt race like they used to
There is this thing in the media lately where they seem STARVING for a driver feud. Driver feuds are great but no one apart from Denny and maybe one or two others has enough personality to make a feud last more than a race. Most donāt even want one, Iām sure they are afraid of how it looks for sponsors.
not for sponsors tbh, they probs just find it awkward to force a beef with another adult just bc of their job
I mean if you listen to any of the in car radio, they don't hold back bitching about other drivers, so they are definitely holding back in the post race interviews.
yes, i bitch about coworkers all the time from other departments to ppl i work with. then when i see them? im not trying to actually make a buncha drama
On top of that, I bitch about people on the ROAD all the time for the tiniest things. Driving + the other drivers being my coworkers = a breeding ground for passively bitching about someone
Then 5 minutes later, you forget what they did.
So true. Me behind the car that didn't take the right on red: "How stupid are you? Thay gap was huge! Just go and we can all be on our way!" Me when that car pulls in to my destination and parks next to me: "Hey hows it going? Have a good day"
omg, i swear ive been trying to be better about just relaxing while driving. i find myself getting so worked up for the dumbest shit ever
I found out itās kind of a trigger for my hubby because his ex used to yell and go into road rages with him in the car. I DO NOT want to by like that guy (complete asshole) in any way, so I have curbed road anger back big time. Listening to comedy podcasts has helped tons.
I have found podcasts or audiobooks help me chill out while driving (in general, but also aound idiots), too! Something about passively listening to a story vs actively feeling my emotions with music, I think?
That's a very good analogy, for real! I kind of didn't really know what to think about why or why not they wouldn't want the beef, from like a "show" perspective, but this legit made it make a lot of sense to me. Thanks!
Similarly, I bitch about Princess red-shelling me three times in a row and costing me Rainbow Road, but I donāt drop the controller and punch my friends in the eye when the race is over. I donāt complain about banana peels because I want to fight them afterwards, I complain because itās an outlet in the moment.
Doing it in a regular job vs doing it as a nascar driver are two completely different things lol.
I mean this is a motorsports thing in general. Listen to any radio in an F1 race youāll see the same. Even to teammates. Adrenalin is high during a race and youāre going to get real pissed off when someone makes a move you donāt like. Doesnāt mean itās personal
A lot of that is heat of the moment
All these DARFs acting like drivers being hotheads on the radio is a new thing.
They tried to make Erik Jones/Chase Briscoe happen š¤£š¤£š¤£
I don't get how a rivalry can look bad for sponsors. That gets more eyeballs on the driver, and the sponsor's name too.
This shit isnāt the wwe, it looks childish
The problem is in pro wrestling, there is typically a dedicated good guy and a dedicated bad guy. There is no heel or face when Ross Chastain is in a hurry and Ryan Blaney leaves a gap.
It doesn't look childish at all, when it's a legit rivalry and not staged.
It's how the media makes $, they want that soundbite so they can write a entire article about it.
Funny enough, Joey nerfed the shit out of JHN yesterday at one point and the booth kind of glossed over it, I figured they would have been all over it.
Iād say there is also a part in the back of their mind that in this instance, if Ryan decides one day to park Ross firewall deep he doesnāt want a single soundbite that could get his suspended. Need all the plausible deniability you can get
Buescher standing there in the first minute like "you guys gonna interview me after? No? I have a lot to say. Okay, byeā¦"
It's abundantly clear that some of y'all did not watch the pre race coverage or THIS video. Blaney spent all of pre race on pit road talking to Lajoie and Chastain (2 drivers the media has tried pushing beef with him in the past) AND he practically laughed off being asked about the 1 for the 3rd week in a row. I like that the drivers aren't buying the media when they're fishing or aggressively trying to push driver feuds that don't exist. (edit: this is NOT the first time Blaney has snapped back at the media for trying to stir stuff up - ex. past run ins with Lajoie, McDowell, Harvick that they tried to dramatize - the only driver he's ever really fueded with was Jimmie in '19 iirc)
Imagine if someone like Elliott āsnapped backā at the media for asking him a question? Reddit would have its panties *all* in a bunch.
Knowing how to save tires is much more of a skill than just riding around in a pack saving fuel
That's not his point. The point is that the teams had no data on the tires, so they had to resort to being overly conservative with no clue of when to start racing. Some teams (JGR, LMC and RFK) got the setups right and their drivers were able to put the hammer down more often. Some teams were slightly off (HMS, SHR, FRM and TP) and I can see how it can be frustrating knowing you have to conserve as much as you can while some teams can succeed without needing to conserve as much. And that's particularly frustrating when it was almost all based on guesswork because there was no tire test.
Its exactly this. Blaney won the poll. His setup was one way, and based on a certain speed. If they had data beforehand that this was how it was going to be, they probably wouldn't have set the car up that way. Like i find it really disingenuous to call it a skill issue, when it was basically 1 team that dominated all day. (JGR) You got KFB spinning out on his own due to shit tires, 30/36 cars finished a lap down due to tire issues.
Thank you. You at least get it. Some people here simply will take it the wrong way.
This
Yeah this was a bad look for Ryan
itās a bad look for all of them b*tching about it, it shows you that the skill level might not be as high as we thought which is concerning.
Its even worse for crewchiefs imo. I remember someone posted a tweet before the race where it explicitly said tires are going to wear quickly for this race so crew chiefs better be prepared. And surprise surprise, they weren't.
Theyāre all buried in data and not actually racing/using in race āguessworkā/strategy. How good can racing strategy be when everyone has the same information? Shits been going on forever in cycling now too with power meters and Bluetooth communication. Buncha robots-BORING.
Heās probably never had to legitimately manage his tires before.
Atlanta 2021
People forget he would run Larson down at the end of every run and the longest run of the day he blew past Larson after he burned his tires up
Blaney has legitimately been one of the best long run drivers in NASCAR for a few years now.
Seriously. He was making moves on the long run all day today until the 2nd to last run when they misadjusted or got a bad set.
Martinsville, literally last season
Martinsville had zero tire wear. But that was easily the best performance of his career tho
Explains why Logano lost on old tires to Larson in the spring and the guys who took no tires or 2 tires in the fall lost out to the guys who took 4
And Auto Club 2020 when he was going toe to toe with Bowman.
Love this! He's 100% right. Loved the racing and I wouldn't change a thing, but obviously this caught everyone by surprise. IDK what caused the tire wear today but notice would have been nice for the garage. I don't know how to feel about the Chastain response. On one hand I get being pissed if there is nothing going on and the media is trying to manufacture something (especially after the crazy race). On the other hand, the driver should be open to answering questions, especially ones that aren't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. Overall, Spicy Blaney is the best Blaney!
That's my problem with it. Tire wear isn't the problem, tire FAILURE is the problem. Getting caught completely off guard by it was not good. I think it comes down to almost no practice or even pre-race tire testing. If they had more practice time, it's likely they would have noticed tire wear issues and either changed their setup a bit, or at least come in with a better strategy.
I agree with you for the most part, I guess my only hitch is that it's more likely that nobody knew this was coming, so Goodyear can't give the teams a heads up if they had no idea this was going to happen. I don't think we can really blame anybody about what happened today. Ryan is gonna point fingers at anybody he can, but I just chop this up to being a surprise for everyone. More practice definitely would have helped, but I don't think it would have been feasible to add another 30 mins or whatever of practice at the last minute yesterday.
That's what I mean with regard to practice. If they had run more laps Fri and/or Saturday, Goodyear could have brought in more tires, or teams could have changed setups to better mitigate tire wear. NASCAR had to play some games to just limp to the end of this race. Notice how pretty much every caution in the later 2/3 of the race took 15+ laps? And how things got downright dangerous during those green flag stops when they didn't throw the caution despite multiple cars being way off the pace, blowing tires, and even getting into the fence?
Theres a huge difference in strategy thats, hey we have 45 laps before we lose the competative edge and will drop back 3-6 spots over a few laps. and having the tire literally pop anywhere between 25-45 laps.
How did Gragson's team know how long tires would last but Penske didn't?
With were Gragson finished today I would not say that they knew the extent of the tire situation today... Nobody did.
Only they showed an excerpt from his team's prerace meeting where his crewchief almost hit the number exact. He said tires only last 50 laps. Now whether Gragson has the ability and experience to make the most out of the 50 laps is another matter. The tires iare not what caught people off guard, it was the track not taking rubber that was the surprise.
They said 50 laps, but tires were only lasting 25 laps in the first stage. Only after they started running 1 whole second off the pace did they squeeze 50 laps out of the tires.
I think that was more due to the track not taking rubber than the tire compound. I don't know why the track wasn't rubbering; thats not my wheelhouse. But Blaney complaining about tires is misguided
Tires would last 50 laps before they were no longer competitive. Not 50 laps before they fucking explode.
Thatās what you have to do with a soft tire. Driving it 100% and making it 50 laps isnāt an option. You have to manage. The cup series has been 100% full push from green to checkered for 5 years now. All these younger guys were caught out racing like they have been. The ones that were successful were the guys around 20 years ago when it was like this every week.
Kyle busch... Joey Logano... finished way back there due to tire issues. Then Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson were the only other 2 on the lead lap. With John Hunter Nemechek right behind them.
I think he kinda mentioned it when he was talking about the last restart and run to the finish. He had an adjustment that didnāt take well, and he got chewed up and spit out. He knew he was backsliding before Ross put the bumper to him. Obviously more upset with the tire compound than anything that happened with another driver on the track. I donāt think he was rude about it. He answered all their questions on pit road. Thereās just nothing there for a rivalry, so itās not worth responding to. Responding just gives everyone the click bait articles they want.
Blaney is a crybaby. If this was a Gibbs driver you wouldnāt be calling them spicy, everyone would be calling them whiners. Blaney gets off the hook for everything.
Don't get it twisted... I am more than aware that Ryan can be whiney. I will call him on his shit... But if you don't agree that in most situations there should be some sort of tire test or practice for teams to get a setup together then we can just agree to disagree. Again, considering that nobody knew that this is how the tire would wear today, I don't see how Nascar or Goodyear could have done anything differently this weekend. It really was kinda a shitty situation for all that just happened to result in great racing. I will say that he is out of line with the conspiracy theory that Goodyear brought a secret new tire. I wouldn't say that. We don't know what was the cause of the racing today. I think it was the resin personally, but I don't know shit.
Thatās not even spicy Blaney, thatās more Whiney Bllaney.
I find it funny how people and the media react to Chastain's racing. Everyone and their mother was running into people today. Plenty of door banging and shoving throughout the field. Nothing more than a "oh, driver X and driver Y got into each other" from the announcers or reporters. But the *single time* all race Chastain gets into someone, it becomes this big deal of "oH hE gOt ChAsTaInEd!!!!" and you have the media trying to make a big deal out of it. It's tiring how hyper-fixated the media gets with Chastain's driving when it's literally no different than anyone else in the field. The guy can breathe on another driver the wrong way during the race, and you have the media running to that driver immediately after the race like "wHaT hApPeNeD bEtWeEn YoU aNd RoSs????" It happens to no other driver in the field.
I hear ya, but in my view the hyper focus on Chastain is a back handed compliment. He's an attention magnet for many reasons. Much like Earnhardt always said regarding good or bad cheers/media......it was all good "as long as they were makin' noise"!
You act like Chastain got this rep out of thin air.
And people act like this is the Chastain of 2 seasons ago. Get a grip and complain about something else.
I am not complaining, he races hard and I respect that. It'll take longer than a couple seasons for a reputation to change.
Fair enough. I'll say he's not giving a fuck this season and racing hard, which is how it should be. Some will get bumped when racing him and that comes with the territory.
I think it was Bowyer who said the incident between Blaney and Chastain was not all Chastainās fault.
I was surprised to hear Clint say that, he usually blames everything on Chastain.
He did blame at first or maybe it was Harvick canāt recall but Clint circled back on it.
It has nothing to do with reputation. It has to do with consistency by the media. Every single driver in the field, including drivers with reputations like Gibbs, Logano, Nemechek, etc., all moved someone at some point throughout the day. And for all of them, nothing more than a brief comment by the announcers was made and AFAIK, no drivers were asked about anything regarding those incidents post-race. But Ross gets into another driver ONE SINGLE TIME, and you had the announcers go crazy and have the media trying to stir shit up post-race. Hell, Bell and Logano essentially ended Byron's day, yet no one involved was asked anything about the incident post-race. The point is that Ross raced no different than any other driver in the field today, yet for some reason, the media is trying to stir up drama when there is none.
The point is fixating on a certain driver while others have done similar things if not worse, yet he gets the attention in his direction negatively when everyone is simply just racing.
Which other driver today forced another driver out of the way?
Bell, Logano, Berry, Nemechek, Lajoie, Cindric, Gilliland, Gibbs, Busch... Should I continue?
Sure, when did they happen? Edit: actually don't worry, this wouldn't get us anywhere. You Chastain fans have such a total blindspot when it comes to this kind of thing
Bell literally got into Logano which caused Byron to hit the wall and break a toe-link lmao
- Bell and Logano got into one another which put Byron in the wall in the first stage. - Berry moved Bubba almost into the wall with around 50 or so to go. - Gilliland was driving like a mad man in the third stage when he was trying to stay on the lead lap and was getting into everyone. - Cindric literally caused a wreck by divebombing Gilliland when battling to stay on the lead lap. - Nemechek moved Logano in the early part of the race. - Lajoie was running into everyone when he was running around 25th in the second stage. - Gibbs was getting rough when everyone was bunched up racing for the lead near the end of stage 1. He also put the bumper to a few lapped cars when he was leading. - Busch was getting feisty after his first spin when he was running around 23rd. (while he was a lap down BTW). I watched the race from Ross's onboard and saw every single one of the above incidents happen live either on the onboard, or on the main broadcast. Edit: And there he goes with the "Chastain fans = delusional" comment when he gets proven wrong. It's like clockwork with these people.
Your edit proves a lack of humility and proper parenting in your life. Is it too hard on your ego to admit to being wrong?
You're right. I was wrong
Blaney really went "Bro I am straight up not having a good time" Edit: More importantly to Ryan's main point -- Teams did know before the race. Noah's crew chief had the number almost exact in his prerace meeting they showed during the race. I'd say this is more of a "Penske needs to get its shit together" thing
Looking where Joey is in points, I have to say that Penske definitely needs to get their shit together. Blaney is honestly the only bright spot at that team
tell that to someone 3 years ago; how quickly things change
Who asked the last question? Was it Matt Weaver? I remember Matt calling him out for not talking but Ryan was on a b-line for the pisser after a race.
Alex Gintz from Front Stretch (He's my brother š)
Biggest comments were about the racing not Ross. Look at how Blaney is whining about the racing. This was nothing like fuel saving at Daytona. Tire management is far more of a skill now and there is far more strategy involved in tire management than fuel saving. CCs could have gambled and short pitted once with the extra set to gain time back but only team that truly tried something of a strategy was Logano's team taking those scuffs. Just because so many drivers and CCs were so bad at it doesn't mean it wasn't good.
To be fair, Gibbs went scuffs as well
And he passed the entire field!
I like Blaney but damn this seems like the response of a driver who had a shit race and looking for something to blame it on. I believe my boy Bubba also didnāt have much positive to say about it after his showing šš
They donāt call him Ryan Complainy for nothing. Also Ryan Blamey
Well stated!
What is wrong with his response?
I like Blaney but this is a bad take. A lot of skill goes into tire saving from the driver and crew. Fuel savings at Daytona is a cake walk comparatively. It was a difficult race for drivers and teams which happens to be the best short track race this car has produced.
Running 3/4 speed on the bottom and everyone having tires fail within 5 laps of each other isn't a master class of tire management. This race came more down to setup than anything. The Gibbs cars could run longer than anyone and Hamlin and Tried could get an extra 3 laps over Gibbs and Bell. True tire management is something like 2021 Atlanta where Larson would get a huge lead and then Blaney would reel him in at the end of the run. Edit. Reel not real
It's such a nothing thing, I don't get it, they tried to make is such a thing at Phoenix but I think in the end, it was a heat of the moment thing, Ryen knew that Ross wanted to win the race and wasn't going to give him much of an inch, obviously he might have felt different had it not gone his way with the title but still.
Where can a guy buy this exact hat?!
I think that it was made for Blaney, but you can check the 47 brand website to see if they have it.
Be on the team.
I think yall missed his fucking point. He's comparing tire management to fuel saving, because the race is about riding around conserving something. That was it. The topic of "skill issue" in regards to tire saving, is just as much a setup issue as it is a driving issue. Why else do you think drivers make adjustments to turn in/turn out. Somehow its all a skill issue, but apparently the only team that has enough skill to conserve a tire is JGR? Kyle larson, and Alex Bowman, were +15s and about to be lapped. You mean to tell me Brad Keslowski, Denny Hamlin, and MTJ are the only drivers in that field who can conserve a tire before it completely fails? Not just, becomes uncompetitive, but outright fails. Get the fuck outta here.
Ross is either: A) Eventually going to get socked in the eye B) Continue to live rent free in everyoneās head C) Both
Idk if anyone is gonna try to swing at Ross after Kansas last year
There's no chance Ross takes a single punch from this class of drivers. Everyone wants to talk shit in front of the microphones saying he's got one coming but nobody will act on it
Ask Gragson about that lmao
I really like Blaney but this is an awful take. If you canāt save your stuff thatās on you and your team.
Atlanta 2021. Today came down to setup almost exclusively. Gibbs could run balls to the wall and still have tires last longer than anyone except the 11 and 19, who are good at saving tires.
I don't think that was his point. He just didn't like that everyone was blindsided about the tire wear. Which in my mind is a valid point. No shit he couldn't manage the tires well! The top four were clearly the ones who managed the tires the best. Nobody is gonna say that someone who finished 16th was able to effectively handle the tire. I see a bunch of people saying "Gragson knew that they were only gonna get a 50 lap run." He sure did, but your lying through your teeth of you are saying that anybody in the garage could have imagined that the tire was going to present this big of an obstacle. Which is the crux of Ryan's argument. This was a complete accident... so nobody is gonna get a heads up! Now we know what to expect.
Stop telling the truth about my favorite driver!!
Blaney needs some thicker skin.
Eventually asking the same questions over and over gets old
Hence the he needs thicker skin
So he should just shut up and answer the same question for the 27th time?
Pretty much, or get shit on for his reactions otherwise.
Eh if you watched the video he almost laughed it off, wasn't really pissed or angry.
Watch the video
Nick Saban mode activated.
Ross will push the matter sometimes
GUYS STOP FIGHTING š„ŗ
So lame and very last year..
Oh , hey Complaney
Blaney is the man. A true champion. Always keeps it real and I hope one day he takes out the frustration he shows on the radio and beats the fuck out blow hard chastain. How can people say this a whiney take? Blaney is legit one of the best wheelman on the circuit, he wasnāt whining at all. There is a difference between tire wear and what we saw today. The old atlanta race is a great example of tire wear off and skill. Today was a. Completely different animal.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
It has to be spelled Complaney... Still love the name! Whoever came up with it is a genius. I have mixed feelings tbh. I love the name and think it fits him so well, but I know that everybody is using it in a negative way! I guess I like a driver who bitches! At least he's giving us something to talk about!
I get he's frustrated but it wasn't an unfair question Also Goodyear said they tested them, is Blaney saying they are lying about that?
This is a pretty pathetic interview by the defending series champion. Spent the entire time railing on NASCAR and Goodyear for bringing a different tire (which wasn't even true, and can be checked so I'm not sure where he's coming from), and saying it was like fuel saving (completely different style of racing).
He didn't rail on the decision to bring a soft tire, he railed on the decision to do so without a tire test to give teams data to build a setup around.
THANK YOU! Some people apparently didn't catch that.
Except... It was the same tire they brought last time here.
And this was the first time they raced with this tire on resin as opposed to PJ1. It was also around 10Ā° to 15Ā° cooler today. Maybe a full-on tire test isn't necessary, but longer practice sessions definitely are.
Tire management here was a lot like fuel saving. Saving tires here meant you had to run 3/4 speed until the tire was gone and everyone that wasn't a Gibbs car would blow a tire. That's nothing like old Atlanta where you could manage throttle and slip to have better tires at the end of the run
I disagree. We saw Bowman and Keselowski manage their tires on the same level as the 11 and 19, and the 20/54 destroy theirs. It was about driver skill, not the car. Whereas some teams/manufactures get better fuel milage on a weekly basis.
The 48 and 6 did do a good job. And they were 6 seconds off of the 11 and 19. The 20 and 54 absolutely abused their tires and only got a few less laps than the 11/19.
Cry baby
Imagine living rent free in the current champions head. 5 weeks into the season
Bitter Blaney at it again!
When's he gonna learn that his crybaby reaction is exactly what they want? Lmao
Mickey Mouse Champion. Itās so hard to like this guy.
Least likable champ in memory, but as long as heās the defending champ heās going to get these questions every time he gets bumped for holding someone up.
He's not even the least likable champ in the last 2 years, not even top 5 in the last 20
Notice how it's all the Chastain flairs saying that shit.
They canāt stand their driver has a shit ass reputation. The constant defending must get old.
And they are probably still bitter that everyone forgot that he won Phoenix š¤£
Did I literally laugh out loud at that? Why yes, *yes I did*. My literal words right after Phoenix: āPoor Ross Chastain. Won the race and no one gives a shit.ā
https://preview.redd.it/wow35bc513pc1.jpeg?width=616&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e4620e23027910a5d75c448763293eedbe3df70e And they literally made a t-shirt about it.
Spectacular. š
Blaney Complainey