“Ross (Chastain) better get the f——- information right before he goes and wrecks somebody. And there’s f—— six cars behind me wrecking into me, and then he destroys me from four back. That motherf——.” This was Joey Logano last week at the Chicago Street Race. After Ross Chastain seemingly intentionally bumped into him in Turn 1, the Team Penske #22 was furious. Well, it seems like the Team Penske road rage trend has hit Sonoma as well this week.
This time, it was the 2023 Cup Series Champion. Team Penske #12 Ryan Blaney was running up and clean, in a position to turn a solid afternoon into something special, until one aggressive move lit up the fuse. By the time Lap 62 rolled around, a clash with a familiar face turned calm calculation into chaos. What followed was a radio outburst, a sideways Ford, and the kind of fallout that leaves a mark long after the checkered flag.
Ryan Blaney’s reign gets crushed by Chris Buescher
Ryan Blaney’s day at Sonoma had all the makings of a solid top 10 run until it unraveled in a flash. He showed strong pace in the early going, finishing eighth in stage one and ninth in stage two, consistently running inside the top 10, and even climbing as high as fourth. On Lap 21, he pitted from fifth as part of Team Penske’s early green flag strategy and re-entered the mix without issue. Everything pointed toward a strong finish until disaster struck.
Lap 62 at Sonoma lit up like a powder keg when Chris Buescher brushed wheels with Ryan Blaney in Turn 1. The contact sent Blaney spinning off the circuit and planted him firmly on the dirt mound below the hill. For Blaney, who was running fourth, the moment was dramatic and dangerous. “I’m high-sided. Thanks a f—– lot, d——–.” The No. 12 driver barked over the radio, the tone ripping with frustration, ending his day early. Just one lap later, NASCAR threw the caution flag as Ryan Blaney’s ride was made dirt entrapment. Amid the mayhem, Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin also spun out, compounding the chaos from the sudden yellow.
Lap 62/110
Caution is out as Ryan Blaney is off and is planted on the hill after contact with Chris Buescher.
Blaney is stuck…he was running fourth.
Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin spin in separate incidents after the yellow flag had come out.#ToyotaSaveMart350 | #NASCAR
— Noah Poser (@NoahPoser) July 13, 2025
Over the Team Penske garage, Ryan Blaney took to the radio again in defensive mode. “I know I gave him plenty of room. Is that not the case? Am I wrong?” he questioned, clearly taken aback by Chris Buescher‘s move on him. Meanwhile, RFK Racing radioed Buescher to stay focused, saying, “Just shake that one off, it’s just racing, man.” A calm contrast to Ryan’s fury and a perfect encapsulation of the split-second intensity of falling on track.
While there was no damage to this car, the timing couldn’t have been worse. The caution flew a lap later, and despite receiving the free pass on lap 101, Blaney never recovered. He fell deep into the field and remained there, ultimately crossing the line in a painful P36. It was a brutal ending to what had been a strong day, and the radio static between Ryan and his team said it all.
Chris Buescher’s hopes of a top 5 finish get crumpled
Chris Buescher entered Sonoma with every reason to feel confident. He had rattled off three straight top-five finishes at the California road course, including a runner-up finish in 2022, and came into Sunday as one of the field’s most quietly consistent threats. He said earlier in the weekend, “I am really happy with our race car from practice, qualifying. I didn’t put together an entire lap, and you know that ultimately caught us. That’s the reason why we’re not going to be in the top 10 to start.” Chris had started his race P14 before all this and sealed.
He stayed in the mix during both stages, including a pit stop from P5 on Lap 81 that was timed just before a wave of strategy calls shuffled the field. His highlight and lowlight came on Lap 62 when he tangled with fellow Ford driver Ryan Blaney while battling for a spot inside the top five. From that point on, the No. 17 team held steady, avoiding further incidents as the race developed chaos around them.
While Shane van Gisbergen took the road course crown yet again, Buescher’s streak of top-five finishes at Sonoma came to an end, Chris still managed a respectable P16, a result that doesn’t tell the full story of his space or positioning through much of the afternoon. It wasn’t the standout he delivered in the past, but once again, Chris quietly proved that he is a force to be reckoned with when the Cup Series turns right.
The post “Thanks a F—– Lot, D—head”: Ryan Blaney Poised for Revenge as Calls Mount for Payback appeared first on EssentiallySports.