DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 15: Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske Menards/Peak Ford waves to the crowd prior to the running of the 68th NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Daytona 500 on February 15, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 15 NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2602151951500

Apr 2, 2026, 11:45 AM CUT

Ryan Blaney Clears The Air Around Denny Hamlin's Martinsville Situation

Ryan Blaney was not a happy man after the Martinsville race, as an incident with Denny Hamlin cost him a Top 5 finish at the track. However, a few days later, the Team Penske driver came out and clarified what exactly happened.

“We were racing hard on the restart. It was kind of hard to hold the outside, especially when good cars at the bottom always fight for their life up there," said Blaney on Sirius XM Radio NASCAR. "Looking back on it, I'm holding tight. He's using some track, and he exited four higher than I expected.”

The contact took place with 67 laps left. The two drivers were in a battle to secure a third-place finish when Hamlin lost control of his car coming out of turn four.

Hamlin was leading for the majority of the race, but finished second behind Chase Elliott. While the incident with Blaney was not the main reason, he was disappointed to miss out on the win. The Penske driver, on the other hand, was not happy right after the race, but in his interview with Sirius XM, seemed calm and understood Hamlin's side.

Ryan Blaney speaks about the post-race conversation.

After the race ended, Blaney and Hamlin spoke about what had happened, and this seemed to change a lot of things on his mind.

“Obviously, I kind of got the bad end of it," Blaney said. "At the time, I was like, 'Man, that was pretty uncalled for,' but once he explained his side of it, I understood where he was coming from. It wasn't anything intentional.”

Overall, Blaney has had a decent start to the season. He currently sits in second place after seven races. Closely followed by Denny Hamlin in third. The two are separated by only 12 points, which is why every race is going to be interesting going forward.

With a week off, the two drivers will be looking forward to regrouping and preparing for the upcoming race at Bristol. With how close the drivers are in terms of points, the battle for the top three is expected to go down to the wire, considering the newly introduced Chase format.

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco