Jimmie Johnson was displeased with Ryan Blaney following the Go Bowling at the Glen.
Jimmie Johnson suggested that he is ready to take the fight to Ryan Blaney following an incident between the two in the closing stages of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International.
Johnson spun off the nose of the Team Penske youngster with 29 laps to go in the Go Bowling at The Glen.
Blaney continued on to a fifth-place finish while Johnson was forced to accept a 19th-place recovery effort after spending much of the afternoon near the top-five. The result was especially damaging to Johnson as he failed to capitalize on equally woeful days by those he is racing for the final Cup Series playoff spot.
Johnson confronted Blaney on pit road after the race and suggested that he is going to retaliate in some way or form.
Jimmie Johnson was pretty upset with Ryan Blaney after their on-track run in. After their talk here, Johnson said Blaney was “quivering” and “scared shitless” because he didn’t know what to say during their conversation. #nascar pic.twitter.com/N3Zpd4x9Cl
“He just drove through me in the carousel,” Johnson said after his first race with new crew chief Cliff Daniels. “I tried to hear what he was trying to say … but his lips were quivering so bad when he came to speak. I don’t know if he was nervous or scared or both … I don’t know what the problem is. He just drove through me…and spun me out. And clearly that has big implications with what we are trying to do for the Playoffs tight now, so clearly not happy with his actions.
“We scored points in both stages which was nice. We were setting up for top-eight to top-10 and got drove through. He claims it was just racing, so I can hardly wait to go racing.
“Everybody stay tuned.”
For his part, Blaney appeared composed during the confrontation and chalked the contact up to hard racing — especially since Johnson was on older tires, having pit for fuel only on Lap 59
“He left probably a lane-and-a-quarter or so, and I took it,” Blaney said. “At first, he didn’t turn down like I thought he knew I was there, and then he kept coming. I tried to check up and it was just too late. I mean, obviously, I didn’t mean to spin him out. I don’t want to do that.
“It’s obviously an accident, but he was upset and I can’t blame him for being upset about it. We’re just racing hard and I thought there was a lane there and it just closed.”
With his 19th-place run, Johnson leaves Watkins Glen in an even tie with Ryan Newman for the final spot.
That predicament wasn’t lost on Blaney.
“He’s angry,” Blaney added. “I can’t blame him for being angry. He’s trying to get in the Playoffs right now and have good runs. Trust me, the last guy I want to spin out is Jimmie. We always race great together. I’ve looked up to him for a long time and still do, and he’s the last guy I want to spin out. It didn’t end well. He wasn’t happy and I can’t blame him.
“He’ll probably race me pretty hard here for the next few weeks, but I can’t blame him for that. It was definitely not my intention there.”
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