Ryan Blaney on superspeedway racing took center stage after the 2026 Daytona 500 when Blaney, positioned as a strong contender, instead walked away with a frustrating 27th-place finish at Daytona. Early in the event, damage from Justin Allgaier’s failed block forced the Team Penske driver to drop to the back, and the remainder of his race was dictated by a slow, fuel-saving strategy led by Toyota drivers, which left him with nowhere to move up.
From Blaney’s point of view, the three-wide tactics used by Toyota teams strangled both speed and passing opportunities. With the front of the field controlling the pace by spreading out and saving fuel, those behind—including Blaney—became stuck in a processional gridlock that left ambitions of winning out of reach. He criticized this increasingly prevalent approach to superspeedway racing in no uncertain terms:
“[Toyota] gets three cars and just block the whole field. It’s unfortunate. We gotta fix that. It’s pretty bad.”
— Ryan Blaney, Driver, Team Penske
Blaney admitted that drivers, teams, and NASCAR officials have already been holding talks about addressing the worsening superspeedway racing product but acknowledged that there is no easy solution.
“I know we’re working on that. We’re trying to figure out ways to fix it, and there’s been a lot of discussions with the teams and drivers and NASCAR of how do we how do we go about this and how do we fix it?”
— Ryan Blaney, Driver, Team Penske
Fuel Strategy Takes Over the Racing
As the race unfolded and saving fuel became the primary focus, drivers like Blaney felt there was little they could do to make up ground. The entire field was forced to play the same cautious game, knowing that an attempt to break free would only end up being neutralized by competitors with more fuel in reserve.
“But they’re also saving more gas than you that they can jump you if there’s a green flag stop. So it’s stuck in my position because I was in the back. And when it gets roadblocked three wide, like you can’t, you literally can’t go anywhere.”
— Ryan Blaney, Driver, Team Penske
The experience left Blaney disillusioned with this style of racing, where instead of dueling for position, drivers spend long stretches in a line, watching fuel gauges rather than chasing down the competition or making bold moves. As he made clear:
“Unfortunately it’s just part of the game […] I want that to change.”
— Ryan Blaney, Driver, Team Penske
During the 2026 Daytona 500, drivers Bubba Wallace, Corey Heim, and Christopher Bell managed the front three lanes, controlling the pace and forcing those deeper in the field to play catch-up. For drivers trapped behind and desperate to move forward—such as Blaney—there was simply no path forward: going four-wide was impossible due to congestion, and teams instead had to gamble on saving just enough fuel to leapfrog others during pit cycles.
Crowded at the back, many drivers shared Blaney’s frustration, causing calls for NASCAR to find a fix before the next superspeedway stretch—and especially before the 2027 Daytona 500.
Debate Grows Over Solutions as Fuel-Saving Persists
While Blaney has called attention to the problems spotlighted by his own experience, others within the sport are split on the best way forward. Denny Hamlin, co-owner at 23XI Racing whose team captured the win, has advocated turning up the speed as a solution. He argues for more horsepower in hopes of separating the field, providing more chances for organic racing and on-track maneuvers, and even encouraged an experiment with higher speeds in the near future.
On the other hand, Tyler Reddick’s crew chief, Billy Scott, cautioned that a permanent solution is unlikely, as teams will always find new loopholes to game the system on superspeedways. NASCAR’s own Elton Sawyer, senior vice president of competition, echoed that sentiment, suggesting current limitations may be impossible to fully eliminate.
“I don’t think we can actually fix it.”
— Elton Sawyer, Senior Vice President of Competition, NASCAR
The introduction of the Next Gen car has played a major role, since the car’s design and rules package have kept fields tightly packed, leaving little room for clean passing and making track position—and pit strategy—more important than overtaking on the track itself. Drivers are now often forced to lift off the throttle to save fuel, even in the middle of premier events.
For fans, the extended stretches of fuel-minded racing sap the excitement from the product, with races sometimes feeling more like a test of patience and calculations than genuine battles for position. The opening stages often devolve into processions, with action delayed until the closing laps—though at Daytona this year, even the final stage lacked a late-race surge, as teams and drivers continued to watch their fuel consumption rather than push for glory.
Superspeedway Racing Faces a Crossroads
Blaney’s public frustration and the chorus of similar complaints from others highlight a growing rift over the direction of superspeedway racing. Fans, drivers, and stakeholders alike will watch closely as the sport’s leadership weighs possible changes ahead of the next Daytona 500. For Blaney and others hoping for action on Ryan Blaney on superspeedway racing, the next step may define not only the spectacle but the competitive soul of NASCAR’s biggest events.
⛽ "Unfortunately it's just part of the game […] I want that to change."
Ryan @Blaney shares his thoughts on fuel saving at superspeedways.
🎧 Full Hour: https://t.co/MKhd9eLpQA pic.twitter.com/2seDkIqMRS
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) February 18, 2026
