Ryan Blaney Admits "I Got My A-- Kicked" By Carson Hocevar

While Carson Hocevar spoke to the media on pit road at Bristol Motor Speedway following his post-race fistfight with Ryan Blaney, Blaney didn't offer much in the way of comment as he exited the 0.533-mile short track. A couple of days later, Blaney served as the guest on the Actions Detrimental Podcast, where he opened up about the incident, which led to him confronting Hocevar, and the fight itself.

In the heat of the moment, Blaney was enraged by Hocevar's choice not to lift, which crashed him out with 42 laps remaining in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. But after looking back at the incident, Blaney concluded that the crash was half his fault and half Hocevar's.

"I was wanting to protect the bottom," Blaney said of why he shaded down the track after passing Hocevar. "He was wanting to get to the bottom and was there, late by a little bit. And neither of us wanted to give. I wanted the bottom; he wanted [to be] there, and I ended up getting turned. So really, I 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, like, fighting for the bottom at Bristol."

Denny Hamlin, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and host of the podcast, explained that in his assessment, drivers in Hocevar's position last Saturday have two options; they can either drive through the person in front of them, leading to that person crashing out. Or they can lift, and then execute a "bump and run" style manuever in the next set of turns to pull off the pass.

Blaney agreed with the options posed by Hamlin, and said that he likely deserved to get the bump and run. According to Blaney, "I probably didn't deserve to get absolutely trashed."

But Hocevar, one of the most aggressive drivers in the sport today, didn't lift, Blaney crashed, and now the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion is in a deep hole in his pursuit of a second Cup Series championship.

While Blaney was angry about being crashed from the runner-up position, the Team Penske driver explained, "I wasn't really planning on doing anything." The driver had no intention of being in a fist-fight on Saturday night.

As the laps clicked off, and Hocevar worked toward a third-place finish, Blaney devised a plan to go talk to Hocevar after the checkered flag.

But sometimes, you don't get what you bargain for. Blaney, in his anger, came off as more aggressive than he intended to, which led Hocevar to go into a swing-first and ask questions later mindset. Blaney says in retrospect, he doesn't blame Hocevar one bit for throwing the first punch.

"Really, the only plan of mine was I'm going to have a stern conversation with Carson," Blaney recalled. "I wasn't planning on throwing anything. I just really wanted to grab him and 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 pushed him [in] the chest and kind of grabbed him pretty aggressively -- that you're probably going to defend yourself. And he rightfully did."

Once Hocevar's fists started flying, Blaney figured, he needed to at least get a parting shot in.

"He landed a pretty good right hand. Yeah, it got me pretty good. And the hat just kind of flung off my head. And so when that happened, I was like, okay, well, I should probably return fire at this point," Blaney said. "And so I had that prepared. And then Alan [Taylor, head of NASCAR security], the security guy, he, uh, he subdued that pretty quick[ly]."

After Hocevar's first punch to his face, Blaney says Spire Motorsports team members and NASCAR security, in an attempt to remove him from the situation, actually pinned his arms back leaving his face open for Hocevar's second shot.

"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 [hand]," said Blaney. "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.

As Blaney was taken to the ground by the team members and NASCAR security, Blaney says this is when the funniest part, in his opinion, of the situation came to be. Somehow, after he was taken to the ground, everyone attempting to subdue him, figured the situation was diffused and stopped holding him back. This allowed Blaney to get back to his feet, and gave him the chance to lunge back at Hocevar one last time.

"I was like, I gotta get back in [there]," Blaney said. "And so I got back in there, kind of tackled this one guy into Carson, tried to jab a left [and he] kind of missed."

While the fight led to a lot of headlines, social media traction, and made its rounds on SportsCenter, Blaney regrets getting in the fight altogether. He prides himself in setting a goofd example for the younger generation, and he feels he fell short of that on Saturday night.

"There are things that I regret," Blaney stated. "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 be what a kid would want to look up to. And I look back on those things, and I definitely regret the way I acted, and that's really unlike me. But I was just frustrated, and you just do these things."

While Blaney wishes he didn't get into the post-race scuffle with Hocevar, you can't change the past. But in the aftermath of the fight, Blaney was able to take the shots on the chin, literally and figuratively. Blaney was willing to concede that Hocevar got the better of him in the tussle.

"And I'll be honest, I went over there, and I got my ass kicked, for sure," Blaney admitted. "I ate a two-piece and got tagged pretty good. I just wanted to show my displeasure."

Don't expect Blaney to have additional post-race altercations going forward. But you have to wonder if the way he races Hocevar on track will change based on the incident from last Saturday night's race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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