Ryan Blaney was extremely irritated with Michael McDowell after the collision. The defending NASCAR Cup Series champion entered New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a lot of confidence after finally ending his winless streak at Iowa Speedway the previous week. However, as has been the case for much of the season, he had another disappointing night when he was involved in an accident with just nine laps to go in the race.
During the final laps of the race, the Front Row Motorsports driver was battling with Ryan Blaney for the second position. In a desperate attempt to overtake, the Ford driver made a mistake and ended up hitting Blaney’s #12 Mustang. Both drivers missed out on a valuable opportunity to earn important points or secure a win. Now, JGR veteran Denny Hamlin has shared his opinion on the situation on his podcast.
Hamlin agreed with Blaney and stated that McDowell’s move was reckless and had a low probability of success. He reminded the FRM driver that risking the second position was not worth it, as it did not give him a chance to win the race. Hamlin also addressed the excuse given by the veteran driver that his playoff aspirations required taking such risks.
Before giving his verdict, Hamlin had already predicted the accident, as he knew McDowell was ahead. He admitted that he thought McDowell could have taken out his teammate Bell, who ended up winning the race.
The incident has cast a negative light on the veteran Ford driver, and Denny Hamlin’s serious comments further emphasize this. It will be interesting to see how McDowell performs in the remaining eight races and whether he will continue resorting to desperate maneuvers.
