Ryan Blaney reacted to his second-place finish behind Chase Elliott in the NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Ryan Blaney has made a recent habit of dramatic charges in the preseason Clash exhibition, with 2025 being the latest instance. In this case, this year’s drive from the back of the pack put him squarely behind old friend Chase Elliott.

Unlike Elliott, Blaney struggled during heat race competition on Saturday, but advanced to the Cook Out Clash off driver points from last season. The Team Penske driver started the race in 23rd (last place), mounted a furious charge to the front of the field and impressively finished second.

NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney recently shared his thoughts on the on track incident that took place in the Last Chance Qualifier race where a frustrated Ty Gibbs went airborne after bumping into Justin Ha

Gibbs was by the far the highest-profile car/driver combination to miss the 200-lap main. Despite leading early in the last chance qualifier, he fell behind Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones and others. Josh Berry spun Gibbs around on Lap 57, all but ensuring that he was going to miss the field.

Ryan Blaney is justifiably optimistic heading into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign based on his performance over the course of the last two seasons, which has included six combined wins, a championship in 2023 and a runner-up finish behind Penske teammate Joey Logano in 2024.

In Sunday's Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, Blaney would be faced with one of the most difficult drives of his career, but the 2023 champion stepped up and nearly put together one of the most impressive runs in the 46-year history of the Clash.

Ryan Blaney is all smiles after coming from the back to the front to score a runner-up finish at Bowman Gray Stadium.

Ryan Blaney was in the last-chance qualifier for The Clash at Bowman Gray but was already guaranteed a place in the main event.