Mike Forde, NASCAR’s Vice President of Racing Communications, explained how Ryan Blaney’s appearance on Denny Hamlin’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast played a role in not penalizing the driver of the No. 12 after the chaotic post-race brawl with Carson Hocevar last Saturday at Bristol.
NASCAR has fined drivers in the past for post-race altercations. The latest example would be when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fined $75,000 after punching Kyle Busch following an on-track incident in the 2024 All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
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However, NASCAR decided not to penalize Hocevar or Blaney for their actions on Saturday.
Forde on Blaney’s podcast appearance: ‘I think he gets it’
During an appearance on the “Hauler Talk” podcast, Forde said some of NASCAR’s “folks” listened to the “Actions Detrimental” episode. Forde believes Blaney acted professional in his reflection on the post-race fight, which played a role in the decision not to penalize him.
“Several of our folks did listen to it, or at least see some of the clips, and there were comments in the debrief meetings that they thought that Ryan handled it really well and spoke very eloquently and professionally, so I think he gets it, we feel,” Forde said.
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Forde also gave props to Hamlin for giving Blaney the platform to discuss the incident.
“Credit to Denny Hamlin for being the peacebroker,” he said.
Blaney’s comments from the “Actions Detrimental” podcast
During his appearance on Hamlin’s podcast, Blaney expressed regret in how he acted at the conclusion of last Saturday’s Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race.
The Team Penske star wants to set a positive example for his younger fans. In the wake of the chaos, Blaney believes he did not live up to that standard.
“There are things that I regret. I try to set a good example for kids who are watching or fans. Their parents who are allowing these kids to watch races and root for their driver. I try to act a certain way to what a kid would want to look up to and I look back on those things and I definitely regret the way I acted,” Blaney said.
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Blaney was humble, too, in saying that the fight did not exactly go his way.
“I went over there and I got my ass kicked for sure. I ate a two-piece and got tagged pretty good but I just wanted to show my displeasure,” he said.
Blaney and Hocevar were racing for second place with 43 laps to go in Saturday night’s Cup race. The two made contact entering turn 1, which sent Blaney spinning and crashing into the wall. Blaney’s night ended early as he scored a 33rd-place finish, while Hocevar went on to finish third.
After the race, Blaney approached Hocevar on pit road and grabbed him by the firesuit. Hocevar responded by punching Blaney in the face two times before the latter was tackled to the ground by security and pit crew members.
Blaney broke free momentarily and threw a punch of his own back at Hocevar. Despite the wild scene, neither drivers nor crew members received any punishment.
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