NASCAR star slams 'overaggressive' Cup Series rival after Nashville wreck

Ricky Stenhouse Jr slammed NASCAR Cup Series rival Carson Hocevar on Sunday after an 'overaggressive' move led to a wreck at Nashville.

Hocevar finished the Cracker Barrel 400 in second place to equal his best ever finish in the Cup Series. However, on his way to securing that result, the young star once again caused controversy.

READ MORE: Kyle Busch gets major NASCAR boost as multiple stars demoted after Nashville

This time it came when he was involved in a lap 106 incident with Stenhouse Jr, with Hocevar bumping his rival at that time, which ultimately sent the No. 47 sliding into the outside barrier.

Stenhouse Jr's team were unable to repair the damage that he sustained during the incident, and speaking after the race, the Hyak Motorsports driver was not happy with the No. 77.

“Not real thrilled with that exit, especially (in) Stage 2 there,” Stenhouse told the media at Nashville.

“He [Hocevar] had tried to dive-bomb me two laps before that from about 10 or 12 car-lengths back, and then he finally was close enough that time to just wipe us out.”

READ MORE: NASCAR confirm triple penalty for Cup Series team after Nashville incident

Ride along with the Nos. 47 and 77. https://t.co/gOokWCrKQK pic.twitter.com/XeNdKPfP6W

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 2, 2025

Ricky Stenhouse Jr on 'overaggressive' Carson Hocevar

Continuing further, Stenhouse Jr went on to label the move as overaggressive, adding that is how he thinks of his rival.

“I think it’s definitely overaggressive," the No. 47 driver continued. "I think that's Carson.

“Maybe I should have just hung a right, let him go. I’m not sure. If he would have got to my inside, I would have let him go.

"But just to keep dive-bombing me, you can’t just give up spots just to give up spots. So I felt like it was definitely overaggressive.”

Hocevar, however, did not share the same assessment when he spoke to the media after the race.

"I kind of got a run and felt like I was kind of there,” he explained.

“I felt like I was there enough to get a call [from Stenhouse’s spotter] inside and have him just run the middle.

"Honestly, he probably could have cleared me, so that’s just what I expected him to do. And he didn’t. And by the time I checked up, I almost spun, too.”

READ MORE: NASCAR announce driver disqualification at Nashville as official statement released

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