Ryan Blaney opened up about the nightmare NASCAR weekend in Las Vegas that threw a wrench in his championship aspirations.

The current Cup Series leader has no choice but to aim for an outstanding performance at either Homestead or Martinsville if he wants to keep his dreams of consecutive titles alive.

This comes on the heels of a calamitous outing at the South Point 400, which started on a downbeat note with a punishing crash during Saturday’s practice caused by a flat tire, resulting in his No. 12 Mustang colliding into the wall on the driver’s side first. Consequently, Blaney was sidelined from qualifying and began the main event at the back of the pack in a secondary car.

Despite making headway through the field, his climb was abruptly ended when he became entangled in a wreck involving other drivers such as Martin Truex Jr. , Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, and Brad Keselowski. While the turmoil was mainly between the others, Keselowski lost control, veering off track and straight into Blaney’s trajectory.

“Honestly, I couldn’t even see Brad in my A-post,” Blaney recollected. “The A-post is so freaking big, I couldn’t see him down where he was in the grass. And [Spotter] Timmy [Fedewa] said coming up, and I saw him last second. It was too late for me to get left, and I thought I could squeeze on the outside and just got clipped and bent both rear toe links. It was no good after that.”

Ryan Blaney remained upbeat despite finishing last among the active drivers, reflecting positively on his performance with the backup car. “I felt great. I think I got halfway there, I think I got to like 15th. And I was ready to restack,” Blaney shared.

“And [I’m] like alright, we’re going to start Stage 2 in 15th, halfway there, feel pretty good about it. At least just trying to contend. I felt like we were going to get better in cleaner air too. So, yeah, I felt great about our pace, was just a matter of getting there.”

Tyler Reddick was flipped during the wreck ( 

Image:

Getty)

With a challenging weekend behind him, Blaney is looking ahead, knowing he needs a significant comeback in the Round of 8 after falling 47 points behind. “Long weekend. Just one of those crappy weekends, man,” he sighed about his time in Nevada.

“You just feel like you can’t do nothing right, nothing is going your way, but hopefully we’ll contend the next couple of weeks. That’s all we can do. Try to win races.”

Emphasizing the urgency, Blaney knows a victory is essential to maintain his Championship 4 prospects since his last win at The Great American Getaway 400 in July. “I mean, I think it’s pretty simple. We have to win,” he stated resolutely post-race. “We’re way too far away on the cutline to try to point our way in, honestly. So, yeah, just try to win Homestead or Martinsville.”