NASCAR officials will evaluate Ryan Blaney’s crash at Nashville Superspeedway after his Team Penske Ford Mustang hit a wall that didn’t have a SAFER barrier.
“NASCAR safety engineers work closely with safety experts on the implementation of barriers around the track,” a statement read. “As we do following every race weekend, we will evaluate all available data and make any necessary improvements.”
Blaney crashed on lap 147 of the Ally 400 off an accordion effect on a restart. It started in the second row with Brad Keselowski, who got hit from behind when the field launched.
Once Keselowski was out of shape, the field took evasive action to the left and right of the RFK Racing driver. Blaney, who was in the ninth row, was hit from behind by Kyle Busch and sent spinning.
“The guys behind me had so much power that they ran me over,” Keselowski said. “I got a great launch, and there they go. I just got run over. Got hit so hard it literally knocked it out of gear.
“They were just that much faster. It’s frustrating, but we got work to do.”
Blaney hit the inside wall nose first. Although he admitted the impact left him needing to catch his breath, he climbed from the car on his own and was cleared from the infield care center.
“I don’t really know what happened,” Blaney said. “Someone checked up on the restart, I guess, and I kind of checked up and got hit from behind. I didn’t know if they were wrecking, and just couldn’t get it straightened out when I got out of the grass. I thought I was going to come back around, and that I’d be OK, but it just never got back right, and I don’t know why there’s no safer barrier there.
“That’s pretty ridiculous, honestly — hardest hit I’ve ever had in my life, so happy to be all right. It sucks for the Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Stinks to go home early.”