"He didn't do anything": Bubba Wallace's spotter questions Ryan Blaney's 13th to 1st storyline from Daytona

NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 - Source: Getty
NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 - Source: Getty

Ryan Blaney recently emerged victorious at Daytona after a series of sensational superspeedway passing display. The Team Penske driver went from 13th place to 1st in a span of two laps towards the end to earn his second win of the year.

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This marked Blaney's fifth win on superspeedways, with him jumping a lot of places in the last few minutes of the race becoming a major storyline.

However, Bubba Wallace's spotter Freddie Kraft didn't buy the 13th-to-1st aspect of his win. Speaking on the latest episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Kraft said:

"Ryan Blaney was 13th with two to go and wins the race and they're like, 'Oh, what a run.' And I'm like, 'He didn't do anything.' The seas kind of parted for him where he pushed the hell out of the #41, got him to the front row then the #41 and #7 start blocking each other and Ryan just sees part. Next thing you know Ryan's leading race and he's got to block a little bit down the front for the win." [10:30]
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Kraft's opinion was challenged by his co-host Tommy Baldwin. He claimed that Ryan Blaney elected to go to the third groove which worked in his favor.

Adding his take on the subject, the show's guest, Jeff Gluck mentioned how fans perceived Blaney's 13th-to-1st wonder.

"Everybody thinks of Dale Sr. at Tallaladega in the last few laps of his final win, being able to carve up through the field and we think about the older generation of plate racing and how you'd see guys drop to the back and then the great plate racers could figure out how to take runs and go. And even if it was the perfect storm," Gluck described.
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Ryan Blaney winning at Daytona in the end weakens fuel-mileage route as per NASCAR insiders

Talking further about the race at Daytona, Tommy Baldwin shared his opinion on why the race was 'really good.' The first factor he mentioned was fuel mileage and how so many drivers decided to let go of fuel mileage. The second factor he mentioned was the playoff system since four to five drivers fighting at the end of the race needed the win to advance to the playoffs.

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Baldwin then went on to give his opinion on the current state of superspeedway racing as he said it has become 'very technical.' He mentioned that people are beginning to understand that saving fuel isn't 'necessarily the thing to do.'

Freddie Kraft added that drivers turn towards saving fuel because they cannot pass. But now, there's a little change in philosophy of the car so there's more racing. He mentioned how Ryan Blaney went from 13th to 1st in two laps to back his claim.

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"Now you don't have to put such an emphasis on being the first one off pit road, being the guy that's in control at the end because, now we've seen you can come from kind of anywhere as long as it gets as long as it gets as racy as it did," Kraft described. [14:00]

Having said that, he claimed that if there were different leaders who were already locked into the playoffs, it would've been 'a completely different race.'

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Edited by Pratham K Sharma
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