NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney said he wasn't looking for a fight after the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Sept. 19, but rather he wanted to share words when he approached Carson Hocevar on pit road at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Words that turned out to be fighting words and resulted in Hocevar landing a pair of punches to Blaney's cheek after the two had an altercation on the track during which Hocevar ended up wrecking Blaney with less than 50 laps remaining and both drivers running in the top five.
Blaney said he initially was calm after the wreck, but as the race went on without him, his anger began to build and he decided to approach Hocevar to have a "stern conversation," something he now "regrets."
"I really didn't have a huge plan," Blaney said Sept.
21 on Denny Hamlin's "Accidents Detrimental" podcast. "The only plan was, 'I'm going to have a stern conversation with Carson. I wasn't planning on throwing anything.
"But I look at it as, 'Well, if someone comes up to me − and granted, I kind of grabbed him and pushed him in the chest ... pretty aggressively − you're probably going to defend yourself, and he rightfully did.' "
With his right fist.
Blaney said earlier in the podcast that, given a few days to reflect, he accepts half the blame for the wreck that initiated his frustration. He understands in hindsight that Hocevar was just racing.
What Ryan Blaney said about being punched by Carson Hocevar
"First thing I know, he landed a pretty good right hand," Blaney said, "That one got me pretty good, and my hat kind of flung off my head. At that point I was like, I probably should return fire."
The two briefly were separated before Blaney got back up and continued to try to approach Hocevar, who then landed a second right hand to his cheek while Blaney was being subdued by security.
"I see the second one coming, and I'm kind of immobilized," Blaney continued. "In my mind, I'm like, 'All right, I'm just going to eat this thing and continue to yell at him.'
"I give it to him, he tagged me in the exact same spot."
View from Ty Gibbs bumper cam: pic.twitter.com/e4F9pdviZx
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) September 20, 2026
What Denny Hamilin said about Carson Hocevar wrecking Ryan Blaney
"There's always two options when someone chooses to block you," Hamlin said, noting he has no personal beef with Hocevar. "One is to just plow through and whatever happens, happens.
"The other is, 'OK, I'm going to lift but then I'm going to give you the business once we get into the corner.' ... He always chooses the nuclear option."
Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What Ryan Blaney said about NASCAR Bristol wreck, Carson Hocevar punching him
