Stenhouse confronts Hocevar on pit road after Mexico City race

MEXICO CITY -- Carson Hocevar was limping as he emerged from his Spire Motorsports entry Sunday at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, favoring a bruised and swollen ankle after slipping and falling earlier in the weekend. Add his ears to the list of bruises after a solid post-race tongue-lashing from newfound rival Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Stenhouse went spinning after contact from Hocevar in the 90th of 100 laps in Sunday's Viva Mexico 250, the historic first points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race outside the United States in 67 years. The nudge in the tight stadium section of the 2.42-mile circuit led to a heated confrontation on pit road after the checkered flag, with Stenhouse leaning into the No. 77 Chevrolet's driver-side window and sending angry words Hocevar's way. RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Mexico City The incident was the second in three weekends between the two, with the latest tiff arriving two weeks after Hocevar ignited a crash that sidelined Stenhouse's Hyak Motorsports No. 47 Chevrolet at Nashville Superspeedway. Asked what message he delivered when asked by Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, Stenhouse replied: "I told him I was going to beat his ass once we got back in the States." Whether the international intrigue turns into frontier justice stateside, Hocevar struck a contrite tone. "I mean, I didn't really hear him," Hocevar said, "but I mean, I know he was very mad and I was very apologetic." Between the two of them, Stenhouse actually ended up better off in the results sheet with a 27th-place finish in the 37-car field. Hocevar, the 2024 Sunoco Rookie of the Year, was one lap down in 34th after a spin that brought out the final caution period. Both drivers got back going after their Lap 90 altercation, with no yellow flag to slow Shane van Gisbergen's march to his second Cup Series victory. Hocevar said his car lost traction on his entry into the stadium section, and that his miscue unfortunately crossed Stenhouse's path. "I just got left and in the marbles and slid a lot longer than I expected," Hocevar said. "So yeah, I mean, obviously number one, not somebody I would never want to hit again. But number two, just yeah, I wasn't racing anything. I was just logging laps, just trying to wait on a yellow and maybe see if we could put our day back together. But yeah, I just hit a curb wrong and got in the marbles and slid all the way through the corner. So I tried to turn left and avoid him, but just really, really sloppy day by me, and then that was another incident of the day that was really just sloppy."