NASCAR is at the Michigan International Speedway weekend, but the Carson Hocevar and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. tussle from Nashville doesn’t seem over yet. Recently, Ryan Blaney has voiced his opinion on the matter, siding with Stenhouse Jr.
In the first stage of the Nashville Superspeedway race, Hocevar wrecked Stenhouse Jr., and the No. 47 driver’s race ended prematurely. Stenhouse Jr. had been having good runs until then in NASCAR; three out of his last four were all P12 or better. So naturally, he was pissed.
But eventually, everything calmed down, and the two drivers talked about it. Still, some in the NASCAR community expected Stenhouse Jr. to let this incident slide and not create a fuss in the first place. This is what ticked Blaney off.
Ryan Blaney Opens Up on the Carson Hocevar, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Incident
NASCAR Journalist Jeff Gluck posted what Blaney said: “I’ve read some stuff this week, and people are like, ‘Well, Stenhouse could have cut him a break.’ I’m like, ‘How can Stenhouse cut him a break? I don’t understand.’ I think the 77 could have cut him a break, if you’re going to talk about breaks. (But) I don’t even think that situation was (about) cutting somebody a break; that was just getting run over.”
On the Hocevar/Stenhouse talk this week, @Blaney says “when guys keep spinning off the front of your bumper, that becomes an issue.”
“I’ve read some stuff this week and people are like, ‘Well, Stenhouse could have cut him a break.’ I’m like, ‘How can Stenhouse cut him a break? I…
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 7, 2025
The whole issue was that Hocevar did not give Stenhouse Jr. enough space, which led to their contact. While this could have looked like a usual day on track, since such incidents happen in NASCAR, maybe the Hyak Motorsports driver got mad because of the impact that the DNF caused.
Entering the Nashville race, Stenhouse Jr. was 13th in the points table, above the provisional cutoff line. But after the 39th-place finish, he dropped down to 18th. Something that could affect his chances of making it to the playoffs once the regular season concludes.
Still, despite what the critics might say, Stenhouse Jr. easily let Hocevar off the hook. Especially given his reputation in such incidents. Remember how he punched Kyle Busch for wrecking him out of the All-Star race last season? But this time, he’s made peace without any scuffle.
Stenhouse Jr. appreciated Hocevar calling him to clarify things. In a recent interview, the No. 47 Hyak Motorsports driver said, “Yeah, I didn’t need to think about it too much. I know what happened, but it’s part of racing, too, at the same time. After Carson called me this week, I definitely see what he was thinking that he could get to the inside of me before we turned down into the corner.”
So basically, the fans might not see any payback stories unfold at the Michigan weekend. Still, hopefully, the race is a thriller.