Stenhouse has vowed retaliation on rival Carson Hocevar. Will NASCAR payback be delivered at Pocono?

Associated Press
LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Carson Hocevar walked around Pocono Raceway without a scratch on his face. His polo shirt looked more tailored than tattered and the Spire Motorsports driver was ready to race rather than rumble.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hadn't socked Hocevar with a right hook quite yet — hot on the heels of Stenhouse's threat to beat up his racing rival after last weekend's race in Mexico City — leaving the next shot at any potential retaliation inside or outside the cars set for Sunday's NASCAR race.
Hocevar should walk with his head on a swivel because Stenhouse can throw a right hook.
Just ask Kyle Busch, who suffered a crushing TKO loss when he clashed with Stenhouse after last year's All-Star race.
Get ready! The Pounding at Pocono could be just another round in the ongoing feud between Stenhouse and Hocevar.
'He probably will be looking over his shoulder for a long time,' Stenhouse said Saturday at Pocono. 'We'll see how that goes.'
Hocevar has to look over his shoulder — and for that charging Chevrolet in his rearview mirror.
'The scorecard has it that I I'm getting something from the 47 at some point, right? And I think my team and everybody kind of knows that,' Hocevar said.
Their beef has little chance of getting squashed any time soon, a dispute that started three races ago when Hocevar wrecked Stenhouse early at Nashville. Hocevar sent Stenhouse spinning last week in Mexico City, which ignited the postrace melee on pit road.
Stenhouse seemed to grab at Hocevar as he spoke to him, then slapped at his helmet as Stenhouse walked away.
Hocevar's in-car camera captured audio of the confrontation.
'I'm going to beat your (behind),' Stenhouse threatened. 'You're a lap down, you've got nothing to do. Why you run right into me? It's the second time. I'm going to beat your (behind) when we get back to the States.'
Hocevar avoided a smackdown from Stenhouse but his Spire team hit him where it hurts — a $50,000 fine on Tuesday for derogatory comments he made about Mexico City on a livestream as NASCAR raced there last weekend.
At just 23 and in his second full Cup season, Hocevar has whipped himself into a flurry of unwanted attention, continuing a trend that started last year when even veteran Denny Hamlin chimed in and said NASCAR had ' to do something to Carson.'
Stenhouse might do it on behalf of the sanctioning body with his fist or even his No. 47 Chevrolet.
Hocevar conceded, yes, payback may be imminent and the time to talk out their lingering issues is over.
Yet, Hocevar pleaded: 'It's not an open hunting season on the 77 because of these incidents.'
Hocevar stamped his own target on his back. With his aggressive racing. With his ignorant words.
'Just because I do something in the heat of the moment or maybe, you know, you do it two or three times, doesn't mean I'm not hard on myself for those mistakes because they are mistakes,' he said. 'It's just trying not to make that a pattern. But when you're constantly making aggressive moves like we're doing, it's balancing that fine line of, you know, you make a thousand moves a day. Just unfortunately, what people remember isn't always the good ones. You always remember the negative ones.'
Case in point, Hocevar walked back his derisive comments about Mexico after he actually experienced the culture of the country following NASCAR's foray into a new Cup Series market.
'I didn't give it a shot. I didn't give it a chance,' Hocevar said. 'I didn't go walk around. I didn't go see it. When I did, you know, then hindsight's 20/20, then I have my own opinion. But I've already put it out there.'
Spire also ordered Hocevar to attend cultural-sensitivity and bias-awareness training.
He can be thankful he gets a shot at another race. Stenhouse's spotter, Tab Boyd, was fired this week by HYAK Motorsports in the wake of an unflattering social media post about his experience in Mexico.
'That's above my paygrade,' Stenhouse said.
The biggest KO so far came in the standings, where Stenhouse has been flattened in just three weeks from 13th in points in the thick of playoff contention before Nashville to 21st entering Pocono. Hocevar is one point ahead of Stenhouse in the standings.
'That's the thing that hurts worse for our team is just where it's put us,' Stenhouse said.
Stenhouse's trash talk more worthy of UFC hype could put him in hot water should he actually deliver on his vowed retribution and take out Hocevar.
If it comes to a point where NASCAR dishes out a monetary punishment, it's OK, the 2023 Daytona 500 champion could afford his fine. He just sold his North Carolina estate for $12.2 million, the highest-priced residential sale ever recorded in the greater Charlotte metro area.
'It's been a big week. We've had a lot going on,' Stenhouse said, laughing.
He'd rather talk real estate than about the space and time wasted thinking about Hocevar.
'I'm just honestly tired of talking about the kid,' Stenhouse said.
Tired of the talk? Sure. Of the action? Not just yet.
'Eventually it'll all come together at some point,' Stenhouse said. 'I'm not sure when or how. But it will."
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
recommended
in this topic

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Associated Press

18 minutes ago

• Associated Press

Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins NASCAR national series debut as crew chief at Pocono

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr. might already be NASCAR's most popular crew chief. He's certainly an undefeated one. Pressed into unexpected service, Earnhardt called the shots for 18-year-old prospect Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 Chevrolet and they landed in victory lane Saturday in the second-tier Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway. 'We had a lot of things going our way,' Earnhardt said. Earnhardt — who won NASCAR's most-popular driver award 15 times — made a pit stop from his day job as team owner at JR Motorsports with normal crew chief Mardy Lindley suspended one race because of a lug nut infraction this month at Nashville. Aside from his duties as team owner, Earnhardt also was at Pocono for his role on the Prime broadcast for the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday. 'Lot of fun for me today,' Earnhardt said. 'I missed the thrill of competition. I love broadcast, don't get me wrong. But nothing compares to driving or just being part of the team. Being an owner doesn't really deliver like this. This is a lot of fun.' Earnhardt had his wife and two young daughters in tow with him as he made the celebratory walk to victory lane. Oldest daughter Isla Rose clutched the checkered flag while youngest Nicole Lorraine soaked in the scene from her dad's arms. The win continued a banner season for the NASCAR Hall of Fame driver — who swept two races at Pocono as a driver in 2014 — after JR Motorsports and reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier qualified for the season-opening Daytona 500 and secured their Cup Series debut. Earnhardt won two Daytona 500s, in 2004 and 2014, and 26 races overall. His side hustle Saturday was made a bit easier with Zilisch behind the wheel. Zilisch, who turns 19 in July, raced to his second Xfinity victory of the season and third of his young career. He won his Xfinity debut last year at Watkins Glen International. Earnhardt even pitched in during the race and tossed tires over the wall during pit stops. Zilisch took the win down to the wire and finally passed Jesse Love with five laps left in the race. Love finished second. 'Dale Junior, not too bad on the box,' Zilisch said. 'Pretty cool to have him up there. Getting him a 1-for-1 win as crew chief is pretty awesome.' ___ AP auto racing:

NBC Sports

37 minutes ago

• NBC Sports

For Panthers, celebrations will continue before an important offseason begins

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup championship festivities have included an all-night celebration at a popular beach bar; crowd surfing, pole climbing and impromptu karaoke at a Miami nightclub; a Brad Marchand appearance at Dairy Queen; a few team dinners and a boat ride. That's just so far. They insist they've got more in them. 'We're not toning it down,' defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. 'We just won two Stanley Cups in a row. We deserve to have a good time.' The Panthers also partied hard after winning the franchise's first title a year ago. But some players have described those days as a surreal whirlwind of first-time experiences. This time around, the celebrations are different, as the reality of what they accomplished set in. 'There's a different feeling to it,' coach Paul Maurice said during the team's exit interviews on Saturday. 'Last year was more of a dream. ... That's the right word. It was a dream come true. It was euphoric. This year, it was an achievement. It was hard. It was hard all year. It was hard at camp. There were just so many places that if we had broken at that point or failed we would've all understood — 'OK, we did our best. We just couldn't get it done.' We never let that happen.' The coaches' celebrations, Maurice noted, have been much more subdued compared to last year: They had their first post-championship dinner as a staff Friday night. They joined some players on a boat ride. 'I haven't had a hangover yet,' Maurice said, 'so way ahead of where I was last year.' Maurice heard about his players' celebrations from his wife, who has shown him a few viral social media posts here and there. Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said they're giving themselves 'permission' to celebrate more freely this year because they have already been through the experience. 'And don't get me wrong, it's still amazing,' he added, 'but now everyone knows how to sit back a little and enjoy it, because last year was so hectic. Like it happened to you for the first time ever, and you had been dreaming about it for so long.' The Panthers in fact celebrated so hard that the Stanley Cup itself got a little banged up. The silver chalice that has endured bumps and bruises throughout its 131-year existence was cracked at the bottom of the bowl the night of Florida's clinching Game 6 win over Edmonton, though Barkov noted the team hasn't received any harsh reprimands from the keepers of the Cup or the Hockey Hall of Fame. 'I think they've seen worse,' he quipped. 'I think every year they have to fix some part of it. But yeah, don't be stupid. Don't take it to the ocean, stuff like that. We should know the rules by now.' The Panthers' championship parade will be on Fort Lauderdale Beach on Sunday — one of their last opportunities to celebrate together before the players disperse for the summer and general manager Bill Zito begins an important offseason. Free agency begins July 1, and while a good chunk of Florida's core — including Barkov and stars Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Reinhart — are already under long-term contracts, a few key contributors are set for free agency in Marchand, Ekblad and playoff MVP Sam Bennett. All three players have expressed their desire to stay in Florida. Bennett, who led all players with 15 postseason goals, said at the Miami nightclub E11even that he's not leaving. Marchand has publicly petitioned Zito to give him a contract. Ekblad, who was drafted by the Panthers in 2014, said Saturday that his representation has had conversations with the Panthers on a potential deal, but 'nothing material yet.' 'I've spent 11 years here,' Ekblad said. 'It's home, and I expect it to be home.' Tkachuk, who will play in his fourth season with the Panthers next year, said he believes Florida's window to compete for titles remains wide open, and he hopes to compete with as many pieces from this year's run as possible. 'You're going to have a different roster each and every year,' he said, 'but hopefully the core of guys, we can continue building. With that being said, we've got some unbelievable players that are up for contracts that I hope they get every single cent they can because that's what you want for your best friends. It's time to cash in for some of those boys. Hopefully it's here.'

Fox Sports

37 minutes ago

• Fox Sports

Devers homers against his former team to key 3-2 win for the Giants against the Red Sox

Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Rafael Devers hit his first home run for San Francisco against his former team on Saturday, and the Giants beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 just six days after the big trade between the teams. Devers was acquired from Boston on Sunday. He delivered his first long ball for the Giants in the third inning on Saturday after he went hitless in his first six at-bats in the series. Devers sent an opposite-field drive off Brayan Bello (3-2) over the left-field fence for a two-run shot that happened to be caught by a fan in a Red Sox T-shirt. Devers got loud cheers from the big crowd in San Francisco as he rounded the bases for his 216th career home run that gave San Francisco a 3-0 lead. Devers was traded by Boston less than two years into a 10-year, $313.5 million contract extension that he signed in 2023. Heliot Ramos also homered for the Giants, who won for just the second time in their last seven games. Landen Roupp (5-5) bounced back from a rough start last Saturday against the Dodgers, throwing six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts to earn the win. Camilo Doval allowed two runs in the ninth before getting his 12th save in 15 chances. Boston had won seven of the last eight games. Key moment Boston scored twice in the ninth against Doval and had the tying run on second base with one out. But Doval got Marcelo Mayer and pinch-hitter Romy Gonzalez on groundouts to end the game. Key stat Devers became the 10th player to homer for and against the same team in a seven-day span, according to Sportradar. The last player to do it was Abraham Toro, who homered for Houston against Seattle on July 26, 2021, and then for the Mariners against the Astros the next day. Up next RHP Luis Giolito (3-1, 3.74 ERA) will start for Boston against LHP Robbie Ray (8-2, 2.68 ERA). ___ AP MLB: recommended