'I think that's just the Bristol experience' reflects Hocevar

Carson Hocevar does not have any regrets from what happened post-race between him and Ryan Blaney last weekend, and even praised the Team Penske driver for his comments since.

In the immediate aftermath, Hocevar was a little worried about his father after the fight at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hocevar punched Blaney, who approached him on pit road and grabbed and pushed him after being spun for second position with 43 laps to go. It resulted in a brawl and left Blaney with a black eye.

Hocevar’s father, Scott, owns a business in Michigan. He is the least controversial person that Carson knows, and worries about bad reviews for his business.

“I texted him and was like, ‘Man, sorry about that,’” Hocevar said Friday at Kansas Speedway in his first media availability since the fight. “He was proud that I defended myself, and I feel like that’s what you would want to see out of a son, per se. I felt like if we were racing anywhere lower than second, I maybe look at it different. But I think Blaney does, too. I think we both don’t even put ourselves near that spot.

“But at Bristol, you have to kind of be second or at least where the choose is that you line up behind Ty there. That is probably the most possible spot to win the race. So, you’re going to be the most aggressive trying to hold onto that spot. I think that’s just the Bristol experience.”

Blaney’s frustration didn’t come all from the contact with Hocevar, but boiled over at another missed opportunity on track. NASCAR did not penalize either driver, and both seem ready to move on. In hindsight, Blaney called the incident 50/50 on who was at fault.

Hocevar even praised Blaney for spending his Monday explaining things on Denny Hamlin’s podcast, Actions Detrimental. He was also shocked that Blaney made that appearance.

“He’s very scrappy, and I’ve been cool with him before,” said Hocevar. “I thought we’ve been racing really good. There are a lot of times where he’s coming out on top at Atlanta, but it’s me and him, and he’s the only Ford up there, he’s the only Chevy up there, and then it’s us versus the Toyotas and have had to help each other. So, that’s been a good working relationship.

“I think Ryan is one of the coolest guys in the garage from having a cool mustache and smokes and drinks whiskey, and all that. He looks the part really well. It made me more of a fan, honestly, when he went on there. I respect that, for sure. He could have held some ice on his eye, but he went out there and did it, and I have the utmost respect for that. I didn’t want to hit him, and looking back, I 100% see where he wanted to maybe throw a shove in there and yell. But in the moment, you’re not going to see that; you’re going to think the worst.”

Asked about his knuckles after the punches, Hocevar said he was fine and that he doesn’t hit hard. He has not seen Blaney in person yet to see the black eye.

Hocevar acknowledged that going forward, as he races aggressively, he cannot be a hypocrite.

“Obviously, if I’m going to get raced really hard, I’m going to be understanding of that,” he said. “For me, I just love racing and enjoy that.”