“Very low percentage move”: Ryan Blaney critical of Michael McDowell after wrecking at New Hampshire
Ryan Blaney voiced his dissatisfaction with Michael McDowell’s maneuver during the final stage of the USA Today 301 race. In a post-race interview, the #12 criticized McDowell’s move as “a very low percentage play,” noting that it didn’t yield any benefits for either him or McDowell.
Fresh off a win at Iowa, Ryan Blaney was aiming for a second straight victory. Meanwhile, Michael McDowell, in his last season with Front Row Motorsports before transitioning to Spire Motorsports next year, was hoping to improve on his recent P23 finish at Iowa Speedway.Michael McDowell made an unexpected move on a restart with nine laps to go at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, diving deep into Turn 1 on wet-weather tires after a rain-soaked afternoon. McDowell’s #34 Ford skidded up the track, clashing with Ryan Blaney’s #12 Mustang as they battled for second. The contact caused both cars to slide through the corner, trailing race leader and eventual winner, Christopher Bell.
Both McDowell and Ryan Blaney managed to finish on the lead lap, though neither made it back into the top 10 by the race’s end. Reflecting on the incident, Ryan Blaney found little consolation in his 25th-place finish. He remarked:
“Yeah he said he’s sorry but he still wrecked me. He just send it off in there and no intention of making the corner and spun both of us. So, a very low percentage move that obviously didn’t work,” via FrontStretch on X.