Ryan Blaney has a straightforward opinion about Spire and Carson Hocevar after denying him the Nashville win
Ryan Blaney was all praise for Carson Hocevar after holding him off for the race win at Nashville Superspeedway. He acknowledged the pace held by Spire Motorsports' No.77 Chevy, noting that Hocevar 'had a great shot' at winning the previous weekend's race as well.
Hocevar previously finished in second at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he'd irked several veteran drivers with his aggressive driving, including Blaney, who was spun out by Hocevar during the final stages. Nonetheless, the 22-year-old has shown impressive form in the last few races, winning the All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway and almost taking the checkered flag at the Coca-Cola 600, before an engine failure took him out of contention.
Sunday's Cracker Barrel 400 saw him chase down the field after starting from 26th. The final Stage bore witness to a thrilling three-way battle between Hocevar, Blaney, and Denny Hamlin, but the Penske driver managed to stay in front and crossed the finish line first.
Speaking to the media post-race, Blaney had this to say about Hocevar's run (via NBC Sports):
"Spire has been really, really fast this year. Mainly the 77 (Hocevar). He’s been really, really good and had a great shot to win that race last week and ran really good tonight.”
In his part, Hocevar expressed pride in his team, stating (via NASCAR),
"It just proves how strong this group is to go from the disappointment last week. Sticking to it and having a shot, just proud of this group. We were one spot short again, but hopefully this is a step in the right direction"
Hocevar also drew attention to his aggressive tactics after spinning out Ricky Stenhouse Jr. early into the second stage. Denny Hamlin has predicted that Stenhouse will retaliate by taking out Hocevar on track.
Ryan Blaney, meanwhile, marked his first win of the season after falling victim to five DNFs in his 14 starts so far. The breakthrough win secured him a playoff spot alongside his Penske teammates, Austin Cindric and Joey Logano.
"I never gave up hope": Ryan Blaney opens up about his long-awaited win at Nashville
After a challenging start to the season marked by mechanical woes and on-track incidents, Ryan Blaney finally cracked his first win of the year at Nashville Superspeedway. Once he passed Denny Hamlin for the lead, he never looked back and dominated an impressive 139 laps to take the checkered flag.
In a post-race interview, Blaney reflected on the long-awaited triumph and said(via NASCAR),
"I never gave up hope that’s for sure. We’ve had adversity, and this hasn’t really been a good year for us in terms of good fortune, but the 12 boys are awesome. They stick with it no matter how it goes."
In his last outing at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney got caught in yet another multi-car incident that left him with a 38th-place finish in a 40-car field. He'd only run 245 laps before retiring from the race.