Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar have had plenty of battles in recent years, and the often-contentious relationship continued into Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at Indianapolis.
After earning a huge win in the Brickyard 400, Heim joined the TNT post-race panel and was shown the video of an interesting moment in the middle of the race. As Heim pitted from the lead, Hocevar swerved towards him and showed him the middle finger.
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Before this, Hocevar was running directly Heim, one lap down after pitting earlier. He struggled to pass Heim, who blocked him at every opportunity, keeping the Spire driver behind him until he decided to pit from the lead.
Heim didn’t notice it in real-time, and his initial reaction upon seeing the video: “I handed him a big fat ‘L’ after that one,” he said while laughing. He even posted a screengrab of the moment to his Instagram after the race.
“You guys love talking about a guy that finished ninth…” – Corey Heim
Of course, questions about Hocevar continued into the winner’s press conference that followed. Heim admitted he was confused as to why Hocevar was so frustrated with him in the moment.
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“I was blocking him, not really too bad I thought,” remarked Heim. “I was trying to just hold my position. I never threw like a bad block. I was just trying to protect my entry. He didn’t like it. He lost and I won, so I don’t really care.”
When the topic of Hocevar came up again later in the press conference, Heim was less interested in continuing the discussion.
The newly anointed Brickyard 400 winner was asked if he sees Hocevar as a rival, prompting him to ask the reporter where Hocevar finished. “You guys love talking about a guy that finished ninth — holy crap,” said Heim.
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“Yeah, I mean, all I did was make sure he stayed behind me. I did. I finished in front of him. I don’t worry about a narrative or a genre. He has a ton of talent. He’s going to win a lot of races. I’m focused on myself and trying to do the same. That’s really all there is to it.”
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