Superspeedway races at Talladega are notoriously tough on drivers, with constant pressure to make bold moves, unlike other tracks. While fans enjoy the fast-paced, high-intensity racing, drivers are always hoping to avoid wrecks caused by others. Unfortunately for Ryan Blaney, he wasn’t able to escape trouble late in Stage 2 when Alex Bowman’s push on his #12 Ford led to disaster.
Blaney expressed his frustration over the incident, saying, “The 48 just drove straight into me at the tri-oval, wrecked the f— out of me; I don’t know what he was thinking.” Clearly upset, Blaney blamed Bowman for ending his race. However, Kevin Harvick suggested that Bowman didn’t intentionally wreck Blaney, noting that such incidents are common in superspeedway racing.
Harvick pointed out that Blaney was simply on the receiving end of a tough break at Talladega, a track that holds significance for him after his 2023 win helped kick off his championship run. Blaney was running well with Ford teammates, aiming for another win at the 2.66-mile track. He earned points in Stage 1 and was in position for more at the end of Stage 2 before the crash.
The YellaWood 500 was a chaotic race, with drivers battling three and four-wide for position, especially those in the playoffs fighting for stage points. Bowman, trying to improve his track position, attempted a move on Blaney’s car that backfired.
After the wreck, Blaney didn’t hide his frustration, sarcastically telling his team to “thank the 48 for me.” Harvick, however, defended Bowman on his show, *Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour*. He explained that Bowman likely didn’t intend to wreck Blaney, but rather pushed too hard in an attempt to gain stage points. “At some point, it spits somebody out, and this time it was Ryan Blaney,” Harvick explained, emphasizing that aggressive pushing is part of superspeedway racing.
Bowman, who hasn’t had great results at Talladega in recent races, finished 16th in this one. Afterward, he acknowledged his mistakes, telling Bob Pockrass, “I made the wrong move a lot, and I crashed the No. 12 [Blaney] with a bad push. I hate that I did that… I made too many mistakes today.”
Bowman entered Talladega with momentum from back-to-back top-10 finishes but couldn’t maintain it. Now sitting 5th in the playoff standings, he’s still in a strong position heading into the final race of the Round of 8, thanks to his consistent performance and a 26-point buffer in the standings.
