"I’m not a mouthpiece guy" - Ryan Blaney feels NASCAR 'doing something wrong' by asking drivers to use crash data collecting devices

Ryan Blaney is one of the drivers who has encountered a painful hit with the Next Gen cars, considered one of the safest cars NASCAR has ever produced. Despite being one of the fastest cars, several drivers have complained about the painful collisions they have experienced in the car. 23XI Racing driver Kurt Busch even missed the third race of the season due to concussion-like symptoms after he crashed at Pocono Raceway during a qualifying race.

One of the victims of these hard hits, Ryan Blaney, has reacted to NASCAR’s program of wearing mouthpieces. Though the program isn’t for all drivers, Ryan feels that wearing a mouthpiece to measure the impact of a crash is the wrong move for NASCAR.

Speaking to the media about the program, Blaney said:

“No, I’m not a mouthpiece guy. If we’re having to wear mouthpieces to measure how hard these cars hit, then we’re doing something wrong.”

Apart from Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Bubba Wallace, and Ty Dillon have also complained about the hard hits in this new car.

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Ryan Blaney's performances in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season

Ryan Blaney is having one of his best seasons, standing as the only winless driver with the most points. However, the past two racing weekends have been bumpy for the #12 Ford Mustang driver, scoring a DNF at Pocono, where he verified the impact of the Next Gen car hit. Ryan was one of the dominant drivers in the race until he got to Stage 3, where his tire blew up. However, he was able to make it to the pit stop on time.

The hard hit came on lap 134 when he got loose on Turn 3 and hit the pit road wall hard, leaving his car ripped off. Thankfully, he managed to climb out of his car unhurt. Blaney later stated that it was one of the biggest hits of his entire career.

In the recently concluded Indianapolis race, Blaney finished 26th after Daniel Suarez pushed him off the track on Turn 1 before hitting Turn 2. The former was already spinning, and after the checkered flag dropped, he retaliated as he bumped into Suarez’s rear bumper and left him spinning.

Ryan Blaney is leading as the winless driver with the most points of the season, but his chances of entering the playoffs still depend on the win. Currently, there are only four races remaining in the regular season, with 14 drivers recording a win. This means the next two new winners will eliminate Blaney from the playoffs.