Penske star Ryan Blaney paints vivid picture of slick North Wilkesboro surface ahead of All-Star heat races

Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney commented on the track conditions at North Wilkesboro ahead of the Cup Series All-Star Heat races. He mentioned that the bottom (inside) line of the track was "dirty" and was hoping for it to get better before the race.

As NASCAR heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the annual All-Star race, drivers put their cars out for a test during the practice session earlier. The 0.6-mile track poses a challenge for the drivers as they attempt to find the smallest bit of performance on different sections of the track, and it becomes essential to understand the car's drivability on different sections.

Speaking of the surface, Ryan Blaney mentioned that the working window would get "wider" by Sunday, and that the top (outside) line was optimal on the first two corners.

"I think it'll continue to get wider as we run, especially in three and four. We were pretty high in one and two, kind of split. In the top lane," he told Dustin Long. "Three and four, you kind of got to the top lane and then it kind of shut off. But I think if you get, you know, this Truck race you had, as we get running tomorrow night, I think it would get even wider to where maybe that middle lane opens up as a possibility."

He further mentioned that the bottom line of the first two corners was rather "dirty,: and hoped for them to improve over the course of the weekend.

"I hope the bottom of one and two gets a little better. It's pretty dirty down there, like the bottom lane and a half. So hopefully that gets a little better, which I'm sure it will, when a race gets on it."

While he hopes for the track to improve, there was rain prior to the on-track activities on Saturday. While it had stopped and the track was drying, it could bring changes to the expected run.

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Ryan Blaney on his dedication to win the million-dollar prize at the All-Star race

The 250-lap race at North Wilkesboro is a non-point event, however, the winner does get a hefty $1 million as prize money. Drivers push out and attempt to extract the maximum performance from their cars in order to win, however, it is a difficult feat to accomplish.

Ryan Blaney was recently questioned about the lengths a driver would go to clinch victory in the race. He mentioned that he wouldn't wreck a driver to win the race; however, he added a hilarious remark that if he had Bubba Wallace driving in front of him, he would wreck him to win. His statement gained some laughter from the media personnel.

"Everyone's different, like it just, like I said, just depends. If it's Bubba in front of me, I'm wrecking the s**t out of him. But no, yeah, just all situations. Situational, right? What's about your in, and you know how your how you feel at the time?" Ryan Blaney said (at 0:33).

Ryan Blaney has been competing quite consistently this season with six finishes within the top 10; however, he is yet to win a race and confirm his seat in the playoffs. He was a strong contender for the Cup Series championship last year, but he lost to Joey Logano in the final race at Phoenix, finishing second.