Ryan Blaney offered an expanded look at his Bristol Motor Speedway run-in with Carson Hocevar during a guest appearance on Denny Hamlin’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast, revisiting both the late-race contact that ended his night and the post-race fight that followed.
Blaney had been one of the dominant drivers in Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race, leading a race-high 202 laps before contact with Hocevar sent the No. 12 Team Penske Ford into the outside wall with 43 laps remaining. Blaney was unable to continue and finished 33rd.
Then came the punches.
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Speaking with Hamlin and co-host Jared Allen, Blaney offered a more measured assessment of the contact than he did immediately after the crash, saying both drivers shared responsibility.
“Yeah, so we ran maybe a lap and a half, two laps side by side trying to clear and got clear off of four. And I left like half a lane to the wall when I did get clear because I wanted to shade to try to stay on the bottom. And he just had a big run and crossed over and, you know, looking back on it, I’d say it’s a 50-50.
“I was wanting to protect the bottom. He was wanting to get to the bottom and was, you know, there late by a little bit. And neither of us wanted to give. I wanted the bottom, he wanted there and I ended up, you know, getting turned. So really I’d put it on both parties. I don’t think he’s 100% to blame. I’m not 100% to blame. I think it was just two guys fighting for the bottom at Bristol.”
Immediately after the incident Saturday night, Blaney said he felt Hocevar “just kept coming left and never lifted,” adding that he believed he had left the No. 77 Chevrolet room before the contact. On the podcast, Blaney maintained that he did not believe the situation warranted being wrecked.
“I didn’t think I deserved to just get absolutely trashed. … I haven’t had a problem with Carson in a while. Like, he turned me around Atlanta a year or so ago. But other than that, we haven’t been, you know, haven’t had any problems.”
The frustration spilled onto pit road after the race. Blaney approached Hocevar near the No. 77 car, and the confrontation quickly became physical before NASCAR officials and crew members separated them.
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“I didn’t tell any of my guys what I was doing,” he said. “To me, it’s different if you go to find confrontation as opposed to if someone comes to you, then I think you have the cavalry. But in my mind, I’m not going to go walk over there with six of my guys. … It’s like, I’m going to need to do this myself. … So I just handed [crew chief Jonathan] Hassler my phone. I just said, ‘Hold this,’ and I left. And he had no idea what that meant. ‘Hold my phone.’ He had no clue.
“So I walk over there and, you know, there are things that you regret, but I didn’t really have a huge plan. Really, the only plan of mine was, you know, I’m going to have a stern conversation with Carson. I wasn’t planning on throwing anything. I just really wanted to grab him and just kind of pretty much yell at him, you know, and show my displeasure. But I look at it as, well, if someone comes up to me – and granted, I kind of grabbed him by the – pushed him at the chest and kind of grabbed him pretty aggressively – that you’re probably going to defend yourself. And, you know, he rightfully did.”
It was on from there.
“No, it got me. Yeah, it got me pretty good. And the hat just kind of flung off my head,” Blaney said. “So that one got me pretty good. And so when that happened, I was like, ‘OK, well, I should probably return fire at this point.’ … And so for the second right, like, I see the second one coming, and I’m kind of immobilized. And in my mind, I’m like, ‘All right, I’m just going to eat this thing and continue to yell at him and stare at him while I just eat this other right.’
“And I’ll give it to him. He tagged me in the same exact spot that he got me the first time. Right here in my cheekbone. I’m like, ‘All right.’ But I was like, the best way, I just got to eat it and just continue to talk my trash that I’m talking.”
Hocevar said after the race that Blaney approached him aggressively and that he chose not to wait once Blaney grabbed him.
“So, it was interesting as I kind of reflect on it the last day. … It was kind of the opposite of what I normally am like,” said the even-keeled Blaney. “So I usually have, you know, if something happens, I kind of vent initially and then I calm down really quick. Saturday night was weird because I didn’t blow up initially. I was just trying to get my car started, and it wouldn’t start. So they told me, ‘Back, and we’re done.’ But I wasn’t, like, furious, nothing like that. I was kind of more calm than I normally am, and it built over time to where it got to where it was. So it was really the opposite of how I normally operate, which was strange. And I don’t know why that was. I really don’t.”
Blaney is clearly in reflection mode, parsing through the moment bit by bit and assessing his actions and decision-making, detrimental or not. After all, he’s the 2023 champion and one of the faces of the sport. He’s aware that he’s an ambassador for NASCAR at large, and that perhaps Saturday night did not portray him the way he’d want to be seen by young fans who may look up to him.
“So, you know, there are things that I regret. I try to set a good example for kids who are watching, who are fans, their parents who are allowing these kids to watch races and root for their driver. And I try to act a certain way to what a kid would want to look up to. And I look back on those things, and I definitely regret the way I acted. You know, that’s really unlike me. But I was just – you know, it’s just frustrating. … I just – I wish I wouldn’t have done that. I wish I would have gone about it a different way, just from people watching, and I don’t ever want to set a bad example.
“And I’ll be honest with you. Yeah, I went over there and I got my ass kicked for sure. I ate a two-piece and got tagged pretty good. But I just wanted to show my displeasure.”
The Bristol result carried championship consequences for both drivers. Blaney dropped two positions to sixth in The Chase presented by Mobil 1 standings and left the track 52 points behind new leader Kyle Larson. Hocevar finished third and moved to eighth in the standings, 85 points behind Larson with seven races remaining.
The Cup Series returns Sunday at Kansas Speedway for Race 4 of The Chase (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).