Fresh from call to NASCAR hauler, Ty Gibbs on Bristol bottle toss: ‘Definitely shouldn’t have done that’

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The Ryan Blaney vs. Carson Hocevar fracas from one week ago at Bristol Motor Speedway had two main characters, but also a bit of a supporting cast from the NASCAR Cup Series garage. Prime among those was Ty Gibbs, an invested third party whose spectating role turned into participation once he lobbed a near-full water bottle into the post-race fray. No penalties were issued from the pit-road squabble, but Gibbs was summoned to the NASCAR officials' hauler for consultation Saturday morning at Kansas Speedway after that bottle struck a media member, knocking his cell phone from his grip. "Yeah, I went to the principal's this morning, so just had a chat," Gibbs said, just before practice and qualifying for Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) were scrapped by rain. "... Not ideal they want account of it, but completely understand. Definitely shouldn't've have done that." The field for The Chase presented by Mobil 1 can potentially catch its breath at Kansas after last weekend's fireworks, but the conflict that launched a thousand memes was still on the tip of several drivers' tongues on the eve of the fourth of 10 postseason races. Gibbs was among them, with a lasting image of him gleefully watching Blaney confront Hocevar in the background from his pit-road parking spot. "I didn't think I'd make internet headlines," Gibbs said, "but I guess I did." RELATED: Weekend schedule | At-track photos: Kansas Gibbs had raced Hocevar hard in the closing laps of Bristol's annual night race, and contact between the two drivers allowed Joey Logano to scoot through for victory. When asked, Gibbs' motivations behind the bottle throw were unclear. "I don't know," he said. "Just toss it in there." In an effort to show there were no hard feelings, representatives from Frontstretch.com -- the impacted media outlet -- extended Gibbs an olive branch with a fresh water bottle, complete with a decorative bow. From parking spots behind the Blaney-Hocevar flap, Ryan Preece and Josh Berry -- a pair of kindred short-track spirits -- were also more-than-curious onlookers. Both drivers motioned at Hocevar after the conflict had subsided, with Preece delivering animated comments in his direction. Preece has had a modest history of run-ins with Hocevar -- last season at Texas Motor Speedway, and a dramatic blow-up during a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2022 as Hocevar was rising through the NASCAR ranks. During his post-race remarks four years ago, Preece noted how he'd raced against Modified Tour legends who had set him straight in the early stages of his racing career. Saturday, he referenced that background, sharing a story about how a long-ago encounter with a NASCAR Hall of Famer had shaped his on-track code of conduct. "Mike Stefanik, I nerfed him in 2009, which a nerf bar is basically the equivalent of dooring somebody in a late model," Preece said, "and I just completely disrespected him and drove off to finish second. I think Mike finished third or fourth in that race, and I looked at Mike after, and I said -- like a typical 19-year-old or 18-year-old kid -- I said, 'Hey, Mike, I'm sorry. You know, I just had to do what was right for my guys,' and he looked at me and said -- and this resonated with me -- it was, "Well, what about my guys?' I've learned a lot of lessons along the way, and I choose to value them in certain ways. So for me -- me personally, my values -- I'm not going to completely disrespect another racer unless I'm disrespected first. That's just the way I choose race. Everybody else can choose to do it different, and that's fine. But I think everybody knows what my values are and how I choose to race. "I haven't had a problem on the race track with Carson since last year at Texas when he wrecked us there, and I felt like he had been earning respect from me with the way he was choosing to race me, but when you see things like in the past, and I'll be honest with you, last week when I watched that incident, it wasn't entirely on him, and I'll call a spade a spade, but your reputation carries a lot of weight in other situations." That reputation has ruffled plenty of egos and fenders inside the Cup Series inner circle, but it has also endeared him to fans, who have celebrated his stir-the-pot philosophy. It's a compelling divide, one that fellow drivers have said isn't necessarily a bad thing. "No, because he's different than all of us," said defending Cup Series champion Kyle Larson. "He acts different, talks different, dresses different. He's just different. I think that's refreshing for fans. He drives more aggressive and willing to do crazier things than the rest of us probably are. No, I mean, it's not frustrating at all on that aspect. I'm not jealous of any exposure he's getting from it because he's doing a good job with it. He's just different and people like different. You have to keep your eye on him when you're on the race track, but as a fan, I can see why he's likable in that aspect."