NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart did not have a lot of sympathy for Ryan Blaney for getting punched by Carson Hocevar at the Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Two races ago, Blaney and Hocevar were involved in a post-race altercation at Bristol. Blaney grabbed Hocevar by the chest, to which the driver of the No. 77 responded with two right hands to the face of Blaney.
The fight was triggered by an on-track incident with 43 laps to go. Racing for second place, contact between Hocevar’s No. 77 and Blaney’s No. 12 sent the latter spinning and crashing into the wall.
Stewart Weighs in on Blaney/Hocevar Fight: ‘Went About it so Wrong’
Appearing as a guest on the “Door Bumper Clear” podcast, Stewart got honest about what unfolded between Blaney and Hocevar two weeks ago at Bristol.
As much as Stewart appreciates Blaney and his family, who he said he has known for a long time, “Smoke” said the Team Penske driver was asking for trouble in the way he approached Hocevar after the race.
“Blaney went about it so wrong. I love Ryan Blaney, I loved his family forever and I’ve known Ryan since he was a kid. Love Ryan Blaney. Ryan deserved to get his ass kicked for that one. Why he went there was the right intention. How he did it was totally bass-ackwards of how you do that,” Stewart said.
Stewart has been in his fair share of post-race scraps in NASCAR. Based on the look in Blaney’s eye, Stewart did not blame Hocevar for how he reacted.
“When you’re Carson and I’m Blaney and my eyes are over here as I’m walking there. … We’re planting our back foot immediately,” Stewart said.
Blaney himself said he deserved Hocevar’s punches when he appeared on Denny Hamlin’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast, something Stewart acknowledged.
“He deserved it though. He called himself out on it,” Stewart said.
Stewart Praised Hocevar For Swinging on Blaney
Stewart has not been keeping up much with today’s NASCAR. From what he has heard about Hocevar, however, the 49-time Cup winner believes he is “probably not” going about things the right way on the racetrack.
Despite that, Stewart gave props to “The Hurricane” for standing up for himself at Bristol. If Stewart were in Hocevar’s position, he would have responded the same way given how Blaney approached the situation.
“We finally got a kid who swung at somebody, which I give him a lot of credit for that. The way Blaney came up there — I love Ryan — if he came to me like that and had his eyes over looking to the right and he’s charging over there, I’m going to knock him out, too. That’s just the way it’s going to happen in real life,” he said.
Stewart is set to come out of NASCAR retirement next month at the Talladega Superspeedway. Piloting the No. 25 Kaulig Racing Ram, Stewart will compete in the Craftsman Truck Series Love’s RV Stop 225.
Stewart previously drove the No. 25 machine earlier this year in the season-opening race at Daytona. However, a crash with Jake Garcia ended Stewart’s race early.
NASCAR Legend Says Ryan Blaney ‘Deserved’ Punch From Carson Hocevar