Ryan Blaney erupts at Chris Buescher over NASCAR Sonoma clash
Ryan Blaney gave Chris Buescher a piece of his mind after the No. 17 Ford driver sent him off the track during Sunday's Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.
Ryan Blaney did little to hide his frustration with Chris Buescher after the No. 17 Ford driver sent him off the track at Sonoma Raceway.
Barring a dominant win in the Cracker Barrel 400, Blaney has been mired in bad luck during a difficult 2025 campaign in the NASCAR Cup Series. After rocketing up to the top spot of the points leaderboard following the first two races of the year, the 31-year-old suffered three straight DNFs — two engine failures and one crash.
On more than one occasion, Blaney appeared well on his way to coasting down victory lane — but a pit stop error at Darlington and “dumb decisions” at Texas left him winless throughout the first half of the season. Then, at the Quaker State 400 last month, he got caught up in a massive wreck that squandered his P3 qualifying results.
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Blaney’s woes continued during the Toyota Save Mart 350, which Shane van Gisbergen won in dominant fashion after securing pole. While battling side-by-side into Turn 1 on Lap 61, Buescher made contact with the No. 12 Ford driver and sent him off the track.
Upon coming to a stop while planted on a hill, Blaney shouted over the team radio: “Thanks a f------ lot, d-------” before adding: “I know I gave him plenty of room. Was that the case or I am wrong?”
Ryan Blaney goes through the dirt as Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin spin at Sonoma. pic.twitter.com/exjOcU4kSi
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Things went from bad to worse for Blaney in the closing laps of Sunday’s race once he slammed hard into Kyle Larson, who got spun in Turn 4. The Team Penske driver was unable to power his car to the finish line, ultimately settling for P36 — the eighth time this season that he’s finished 28th or worse.
Throughout his time in the Cup Series, Blaney has developed a reputation for openly expressing his anger during fiery on-track outbursts. Addressing his tendency to scream from the seat of his car, he told The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck: “I do it to myself a little bit, but if I have a little thing on the radio and I get frustrated, people are like, ‘Oh, he’s losing his mind.’
“That’s not really the case. I have my 10 seconds of frustration, and I just have to let it out. Listen to other guys, man. There are guys way worse than me. And it’s not me losing my mind. I just have to get it out, and it’s how I move on past things.
"If I don’t get it out, it just bundles up.
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“It’s weird, because I’m not like that out of the car. Like at home, I don’t ever get to that point. I don’t really ever get frustrated with much stuff outside the car. But when I’m competing, people get that wrong. It’s not really losing my mind. It’s my own way of getting everything out in the open that I need to. I wish people didn’t hear it, but everyone does it to their own extent.”
