Ryan Blaney expressed his irritation after Spire Motorsports posted a mocking meme on X (formerly Twitter) about his loss to Carson Hocevar in the In-Season Challenge at Echopark Speedway. The meme, posted by Spire Motorsports, playfully taunted Blaney with the caption, “Thanks for accepting our trade, @Blaney,” referring to the incident at Atlanta Motor Speedway where Hocevar spun Blaney out. Blaney responded pointedly, reminding them of the incident and implying that payback was still due, replying, “Still owe y’all for this one. Thanks for reminding me.”
Blaney elaborated on his reaction during an appearance on The Door Bumper Podcast on June 30. He said that initially, he was indifferent about the post, thinking “it’s speedway racing whatever.” However, seeing the meme on the plane later made him “a little bit pissed off.” He warned that if anything happens to Hocevar’s car (#77) on track, the social media person who posted the jab would have to take the blame, saying, “I hope they’re proud of themselves for that.”
At the Quaker State 400, Blaney started strong from the second row in third position, while Hocevar started much further back in 30th. Fate intervened when Blaney was caught in a Stage 2 wreck and had to exit early. Hocevar avoided the wreck and finished in the top 10, securing a spot in Round 2 of the In-Season Challenge.
The article also revisits the initial incident at Atlanta Motor Speedway during the Ambetter Health 400, where Hocevar spun Blaney entering a corner. Blaney, who had started from pole and was a strong contender for the win, was visibly frustrated and confronted Hocevar after the race. He told Hocevar to calm down and criticized several of Hocevar’s earlier “really, really sketchy” moves, emphasizing that Hocevar “should know better than to hit me in that spot.”
The tension between Hocevar and Blaney is not isolated; Kyle Busch also had issues with Hocevar after being tagged by him during Stage 1 of the same race. Despite the controversies, Hocevar achieved his best season result at second place in that event.
Ryan Blaney entered the In-Season Challenge as the seventh seed, largely due to a third-place finish at Pocono Raceway. However, his DNF (Did Not Finish) at Atlanta marked his sixth of the season in 18 starts, a statistic that adds to his frustration.
The article is authored by Vignesh Kanna, a motorsports journalist with Sportskeeda, who covers NASCAR and Formula 1. Kanna notes that Blaney’s warning about payback and the social media exchange highlight the ongoing on-track and off-track rivalries in NASCAR racing.
This detailed account captures all key points and quotes from the original article without omission.
