NASCAR chose not to punish Ryan Blaney or Carson Hocevar after their Sept. 19 Bristol brawl, and while the decision seemed surprising at the time, a new report by The Wall Street Journal Monday finally explains it.
The controversial call was tied to Project 2032, NASCAR’s long-term marketing push designed to increase the sport’s popularity and place it alongside the NFL, NBA, MLB and the NHL, according to the Journal report.
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell is pushing an initiative to broaden the audience, and the hands-off approach to the Hocevar-Blaney fisticuffs resulted from that plan, according to WSJ reporter Erle Norton.
Hocevar, 23, put Blaney, the 2023 Cup Series champion, on the ground with a right hand after Blaney grabbed him after the Bristol Night Race on Sept. 19, yet neither driver received a fine, suspension or points penalty.
Ryan Blaney, Carson Hocevar Fight Starts With Bristol Contact
The trouble began in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, the third event of the Cup Series playoffs, with Blaney and Hocevar racing for second about 43 laps from the finish, according to NASCAR.com‘s Bristol recap.
Blaney, in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, moved down the track to protect the preferred lane. Hocevar, in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, did not lift and struck Blaney’s left rear. Blaney spun into the Turn 1 wall and finished 33rd, while Hocevar took third. Blaney later called the contact roughly “50-50,” according to The Athletic.
After the race, Blaney walked to pit road and grabbed Hocevar by the firesuit. Hocevar answered with two right hands, and the second dropped Blaney. Blaney got up, charged back in and landed a punch before crews and officials separated them, according to The Athletic‘s coverage from Bristol.
Blaney later said on Denny Hamlin’s Actions Detrimental podcast that he “ate a two-piece” and called his approach out of character, according to NASCAR.com‘s breakdown of the Bristol clash.
NASCAR announced Sept. 21 that neither driver would face a fine, points penalty or suspension, according to NASCAR.com.
O’Donnell explained the choice on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast.
“We’re not going to encourage fighting, but what we are going to encourage is passion, right?” O’Donnell said, according to The Athletic‘s coverage.
Carson Hocevar, Ryan Blaney Figure in Project 2032 Plan
O’Donnell, who became CEO in April after about 30 years inside the sport, is the first person outside the France family to hold the job, according to Sports Business Journal coverage of Project 2032.
Project 2032 is his plan to align team owners, track owners, media partners, manufacturers and sponsors around shared long-term goals, with an emphasis on showcasing the sport’s drama and characters. He rejected the idea of coasting on momentum.
“We need to take some big swings,” O’Donnell said, according to The Wall Street Journal. “We have to make our drivers bigger.” Social media is a primary tool, and he recently met with team owners about pooling resources for a unified YouTube strategy.
Hocevar already figures in that effort. O’Donnell has spotlighted the driver while calling for villains and rivalries, according to Sportskeeda.
Nicknamed “Hurricane Hocevar,” the 23-year-old rose from quarter midgets through late models and Trucks, became 2024 Cup Rookie of the Year with Spire Motorsports and won at Talladega in April, according to Hocevar’s official biography.
Blaney, a third-generation racer and the son of former Cup driver Dave Blaney, won the 2023 Cup Series championship.
Days of Thunder 2, a Tom Cruise film slated for a 2028 premiere, will shoot at NASCAR tracks with more than 80 cars built for the production, according to The WSJ.
“People come to this to go for a little release, have some fun, and you got to let people in on that,” O’Donnell said, as quoted by the Journal.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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