Getty
MADISON, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 07: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford, (L) and Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, talk after the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway on September 07, 2025 in Madison, Illinois. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney waited patiently to get answers firsthand.
Standing off to the side as Kyle Larson fulfilled his post-Enjoy Illinois 300 media obligations, Blaney’s chance finally opened up and he marched up to his playoff rival to ask “what I did to deserve getting turned,” he said, as reported by NASCAR.com.
Larson claimed responsibility for a “mistake” and Blaney believed the 2021 circuit champion didn’t make contact with the No. 12 Ford “on purpose, but at the end of the day, I got spun around.”
The situation developed as they battled for P5 on Lap 135. After switching spots several times over the previous rotations, Larson struck Blaney’s left-rear quarter panel.
“I misjudged it,” Larson said. “The lap before, I went in, I was able to get to his door and get him tight. The next time, I was trying to do the same thing and wasn’t going to get there and was going to tuck back in line and just clipped him. He should be upset. I just misjudged it.”
Blaney, the 2023 series titleholder, kept his machine from striking the wall and recovered from the mid-race melee and earned a P4, behind winner Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott. Larson finished
Will Blaney carry a grudge into next Saturday night’s Round of 16 finale at Bristol Motor Speedway? Larson enters the Bass Pro Shops Night Race with 60 points and Blaney 42. With 11 points, Austin Cindric ranks No. 12.
Austin Dillon (-11), Shane van Gisbergen (-15), Alex Bowman (-35) and Josh Berry (-45) enter the weekend below the cutoff line.
NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race Entry List
The NASCAR Cup Series announced the entry list for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday night:
Entry, Driver, Car No.
1, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
2, Austin Cindric No. 2 Ford
3, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
4, Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
5, Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
6, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
7, Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
8, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
9, Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
10, Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
11, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
12, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
13, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
14, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
15, Chase Briscoe, No. 19, Toyota
16, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
17, Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
18, Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
19, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
20, William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
21, Austin Hill, No. 33 Chevrolet
22, Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
23, Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
24, Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
25, Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
26, John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
27, Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
28, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
29, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Ford
30, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
31, Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
32, Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
33, Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
34, Chad Finchum, No. 66 Ford
35, Corey Heim, No. 67 Toyota
36, Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
37, Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
38, Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
39, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
NASCAR National Series, ARCA Menards Series On Tap
Here is a list of NASCAR National Series and ARCA Menards Series events this week at Bristol Motor Speedway. All times ET:
Thursday
ARCA Series practice, 1 p.m.
ARCA Series qualifying, 2 p.m.
Truck Series practice, 3:05 p.m.
Truck Series qualifying, 4:10 p.m.
ARCA Series Bush’s Beans 200 race, 5:30 p.m.
Truck Series UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics race, 8 p.m.
Friday
Xfinity Series practice, 2 p.m.
Xfinity Series qualifying, 3:05 p.m.
Cup Series practice, 4:30 p.m.
Cup Series qualifying, 5:40 p.m.
Xfinity Series Food City 300 race, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race, 7:30 p.m.
Jeff Hawkins Jeff Hawkins is a career sportswriter who has collected 12 industry awards, including two Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) honors. Author of four youth sports books, Hawkins has served as a beat writer for the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Blackhawks, Adirondack IceHawks, Adirondack Lumberjacks and Hickory Crawdads. A husband and father, Hawkins enjoys live eclectic music, mountain biking and watching Film Noir. More about Jeff Hawkins
More Heavy on NASCAR
Loading more stories