Ryan Blaney got honest about rival driver Carson Hocevare Friday when he walked back the heat on his Bristol pit-road brawl with Hocevar, saying the whole incident was “definitely unlike me.”
The Team Penske driver’s post-race shove-turned-fistfight with Hocevar became the story out of the Chase’s third race, and six days later both drivers sat for separate NASCAR interviews explaining themselves ahead of Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway.
“It’s kind of the opposite of how I normally am. I get fired up quickly, but I calm down really quickly, and the other night it just kind of slowly built over the half hour or so,” Blaney said, according to NASCAR’s official social media account.
Ryan Blaney’s Fight Comments Detail Bristol Buildup
The outburst on pit road, Blaney made clear, wasn’t a snap decision. It built for roughly half an hour after his race ended rather than boiling over in the moment.
He also softened his read on the wreck that started it. Blaney and Hocevar were racing for second, chasing down Ty Gibbs’ faltering Toyota, when the two made contact off Turn 4 with 43 laps left, leaving Blaney’s No. 12 Ford crumpled against the outside wall. He finished 33rd. Hocevar finished third behind race winner Joey Logano.
“Reflecting on it for a day, watching the incident, talking back with Timmy and stuff like that, yeah, it’s pretty 50-50, I thought. Just kind of a racing thing at Bristol, of two guys being aggressive with the line they wanted to be in,” Blaney said, according to NASCAR.
That marked a shift from Saturday night, when Blaney insisted trackside that Hocevar simply “didn’t lift” and warned that “something is going to happen.” He made good on the threat minutes later, storming toward Hocevar’s car after the checkered flag, grabbing him by the firesuit and setting off the swinging match that left him with a black eye.
Carson Hocevar Explains His Side of the Pit-Road Fight
“I was shocked that he went on there, obviously. But he’s very scrappy,” Hocevar said, as quoted by NASCAR.
Hocevar, who threw the first two punches, said he didn’t expect Blaney to seek him out after absorbing them.
“He could’ve held some ice on his eye and whatnot, but he went right out there and did it. I have the utmost respect for that,” Hocevar said, per NASCAR.
Hocevar also said he now understands what Blaney was after.
“I 100% see where he wanted to maybe just throw a shove in there and then yell,” Hocevar said. “But I think we both saw each other. In the moment, you’re not going to see that. You’re going to predict the worst, per se.”
NASCAR won’t punish either driver. CEO Steve O’Donnell said the sanctioning body wants to encourage the passion both drivers showed rather than police it, according to Speedcafe.
Blaney had already previewed most of this Monday on Denny Hamlin’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast, saying he “got my ass kicked” and “ate a two-piece” trading punches with Hocevar, and that he regretted the example it set for young fans watching.
Blaney dropped two spots to sixth in the Chase standings after Bristol, 52 points behind new leader Kyle Larson. Hocevar sits eighth, 85 points back. Both drivers return to action Sunday at Kansas.
Ryan Blaney Makes Honest Carson Hocevar Statement Before Kansas NASCAR Race