NASCAR is monitoring the tension between Carson Hocevar and Brad Keselowski after their incident in the Cook Out Southern 500 but has no formal plans to broker peace between the drivers.
After being spun on the 107th lap, Keselowski told Above The Yellow Line Media that Hocevar’s “day is coming, and it’s coming hard. Watch out, Carson.”
When asked what happened to Keselowski by USA Sports, Hocevar said, “he spun,” later joking that “I do everything for TV and entertainment purposes based off everybody else. So I don’t know. Whatever makes us good TV. I just do it for the clicks.”
RELATED: Keselowski sounds off on Hocevar
Senior director of racing communications, Amanda Ellis, said the feud came up briefly during the NASCAR competition department’s weekly debrief Tuesday.
“It was discussed just a little,” Ellis said during the latest episode of the Hauler Talk podcast. “It was something that everyone was kind of briefed on.”There’s no scheduled meeting between the two or anything like that heading into this weekend.”
NASCAR has met with feuding drivers to defuse animosity, including Austin Hill and Shane van Gisbergen earlier this season. That isn’t the case yet for Hocevar and Keselowski.
“There’s a chance that (Cup Series director) Brad Moran may speak with Brad Keselowski just to follow up on his comments and check in,” Ellis said. “But no formal meeting in the hauler or anything like that. Hopefully those two will work it out and we’ll move on.”
Other topics covered by vice president of racing communications Mike Forde and Ellis during the 68th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— The decision to start the Cook Out Southern 500 early.
— The brief red flag toward the end of the race.
— Dealing with cars that don’t refire after a stoppage.
— Whether NASCAR might tweak its procedure for setting the lineup after a qualifying rainout.
— The concussion protocol followed by Riley Herbst after New Hampshire.
— How NASCAR’s new “Swear Jar” works during The Chase presented by Mobil 1.
Click on the embed below to listen or search for “Hauler Talk” wherever you download podcasts to hear it on your phone, tablet or mobile device.
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He has also covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.