Ryan Blaney arrived at Kansas Speedway on Friday sporting a shiner under his left eye. He acknowledged the injury, admitting he wished it had healed faster.
Blaney downplayed the pit road fight with Carson Hocevar, calling the preceding on-track incident "just a racing thing." He said such events are common at a fender-to-fender track like Bristol Motor Speedway.
The on-track incident occurred 41 laps before Joey Logano secured the checkered flag. Blaney had just moved into second place by passing Hocevar on the outside. Hocevar responded by steering his No. 77 Chevrolet down the track. Blaney then moved to block, but Hocevar stayed on the gas, resulting in Blaney's No. 12 Ford spinning into the wall.
After the race, Blaney waited for Hocevar on pit road. Despite being several inches shorter than the 6-foot-4 Hocevar, Blaney approached him and delivered a shove. Hocevar retaliated with two overhand rights. The first punch knocked Blaney's hat off, and the second connected with his cheek, sending Blaney to the ground. Blaney quickly got back on his feet and threw a left hook, which clipped Hocevar's hat before team members intervened to separate the two drivers.
Blaney viewed the on-track incident as "pretty 50-50" after reviewing it. He noted that drivers make split-second decisions that can sometimes be skewed. The tension between Blaney and Hocevar has reportedly eased since the incident. Blaney noted he gets fired up quickly but calms down just as fast.
Hocevar, 23, expressed no regrets regarding the pit road altercation. He stated that he and Blaney "have been cool," considering Blaney "one of the coolest guys in the garage." Hocevar acknowledged that he did not want to hit Blaney. He understood Blaney's initial impulse to shove and yell, but said such understanding is difficult in the moment.
The collision dealt a significant blow to Blaney's pursuit of a second Cup Series championship. He had led a race-high 202 laps in that event. Blaney currently trails Kyle Larson by 52 points in the Chase for the championship, citing "a couple of rough finishes back-to-back." Hocevar finished third in the Bristol race, behind Logano and Larson.
