Racing lines: How a rookie elbowed his way to a Daytona 500 win

Blaney wasn’t happy, but still he was amazingly calm. Asked whether he had lost by fair means or foul, he simply said: “I don’t know.”

“I wanted to win the race for Roger Penske, whether that was me or another car,” he added. “That’s what I was doing. I didn’t want to make a move too early, because that throws a big chance out the window. Congrats to [Austin], I guess. Got to throw a block in that situation.”

There was never a question of the result being contested (no one leaves a major American motor race not knowing 100% who won), and it just goes to show that gloriously cheesetastic Tom Cruise flick Days of Thunder called it right all those years ago when Robert Duvall’s gritty old crew chief growled: “No, no, he didn’t slam ya, he didn’t bump ya, he didn’t nudge ya… He rubbed ya. And rubbin’, son, is racin’.”

Wallace falls painfully short

The Penske birthday story at Daytona was as American as mom’s apple pie. But Nascar came about three feet from a much greater tale that really would have sent shock waves through its heartland roots. Because Bubba Wallace just happens to be the only black driver in its ranks with a full-time seat. And in the wake of his post-George Floyd Black Lives Matter race car livery, helping to get the Confederate flag banned from Nascar tracks and the noose found hanging in his garage (that may or may not have been nothing more than a door pull!), his victory would have transcended the sport. But it wasn’t to be.

Wallace admitted that he felt “dejected” after his second runner-up finish at the 500 in just five starts. Already a Cup Series winner on the fearsome Talladega superspeedway in Alabama, Wallace was left mulling over what could have been. But at only 28 years of age and now with high- profile sponsorship from McDonald’s, he has time.

Race shouldn’t matter in racing, and many will say it doesn’t. But for a black man competing week in, week out in Nascar, of all forms of motorsport, how can it not?

Blash is back

On the face of it, rehiring a 73-year-old already five years into his retirement might seem a retrograde step. But the return of Herbie Blash as a special advisor in F1 is just about the best move new FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem could have made following his decision to relieve Michael Masi of his race director duties. Two respected stewards from other series will now share the main role, but Blash’s presence will bring welcome assurance to rattled drivers and team managers as the 2022 season begins.

A vastly experienced mechanic at Lotus and then at Bernie Ecclestone’s Brabham, Blash witnessed all the tricks of the trade during his long career – which is precisely what made him so effective when he switched to the other side of the fence as deputy to his old comrade, the late and much-missed Charlie Whiting.

Sure, it’s a concern how much the FIA has clearly struggled to replace Masi, who simply had to go in the wake of the Abu Dhabi farce. But pulling on such experience from a man who is both universally liked and respected absolutely makes sense. Welcome back to the bear pit, Herbie.

Good week - Josh Pierson

At just 16, the American (pictured, right) achieved a clean sweep on his debut in United Autosport’s LMP2 Oreca, sharing with ex-F1 racer Paul di Resta. The pair scored two pole positions, two wins and two fastest laps at the ACO AsianLe Mans Series double- header in Abu Dhabi.