Ricky Stenhouse Jr. reveals what he told Carson Hocevar after Nashville wreck, where they stand

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Carson Hocevar got into it at Nashville Superspeedway, and the focus heading into last weekend’s race at Michigan was on whether or not their rivalry would linger. Evidently, they’ve put their beef in the past.

While the situation as a whole was a bit frustrating for Stenhouse Jr., as he was spun out of the Cracker Barrel 400 while Hocevar finished P2, a conversation with Hocevar helped the duo move past the incident. The former Daytona 500 winner took some time to elaborate on it all during an appearance on Door Bumper Clear.

“There’s a few things that were frustrating about that,” Stenhouse Jr. stated. “We were a P32 car there last year, and then we qualified P13 this year. We were running in the top 20. I was happy with our car, for the most part, and looking forward to seeing where it went. Yeah, you don’t get those points back, which is kind of tough for us.

“Just going to get extra stage points is a little bit difficult. When you’re averaging a P15, P20 car, going to get stage points is just very difficult. So, if you can take stage points out of it, I think we’re still pretty close with our finishing position. But yeah, that definitely makes it sting worse.

“I told him, I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re so fast right now, just drive around me. You don’t need to make small percentage moves.’ I mean, they’re obviously showed it (at Michigan), how fast they are right now, the last month and a half. But we’re past that. We got back on the horse this weekend.

“… He definitely feels bad about it. You know, I hope he, at least when he’s around me, thinks about that. Around anybody else, I guess I don’t really care.”

The ironic part of the entire station was Stenhouse Jr. and Hocevar had to share a garage at Michigan this past weekend. Perhaps that helped them squash the beef. It would’ve been a tad bit awkward if they didn’t.

All told, Stenhouse Jr. hit Hocevar with some solid advice. The young wheelman almost elevated to win his first ever NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan, but a flat tire late in the race while leading put an end to that dream.

If he keeps showing up with the speed he’s had in 2025, Carson Hocevar will get to Victory Lane eventually. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. just doesn’t want it to come at the expense of his drive.