Ryan Blaney could taste it. The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion knew he was on the verge of winning his first Brickyard 400 and, more impressively, his third victory in the last half-dozen races. In the first overtime restart, he lined up on the outside of Row 1, with former Penske colleague Brad Keselowski to his inside—until he didn’t. The No. 6 RFK Racing vehicle, which had pitted 10 circuits before the majority of the leaders, slipped on the green because it had run out of gasoline, and the 2012 champion surprisingly turned left, following the pace car down pit road. Kyle Larson, who was on the inside of Row 2, pulled forward into the vacant space as the two cars crossed the start-finish line.
Larson took the lead before a major pileup occurred in the field. Caution. Moments after the yellow, Blaney lit on the No. 12 team radio, enraged at NASCAR’s indecision on the restart.
That’s [expletive]. “There’s no [expletive] way that he gets to jump up a row while I get [expletive],” the 29-year-old driver remarked of Larson’s manoeuvre. “Because somebody ran out of petrol. That is [expletive] [expletive] NASCAR, and you are aware of it. You’d best change something.
A few moments later, when a member of Blaney’s crew mentioned that the Hendrick Motorsports driver may have jumped the start, the defending Cup champion refused to hear about it.
“I do not care a [expletive]. “That is [expletive] [expletive],” he said. “There’s no way they should have let that turn green. That is ludicrous. “You just handed it to them.” “It ain’t over,” spotter Tim Fedewa attempted to reassure his driver.
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