Ryan Blaney clips Carson Hocevar pit crew member at Martinsville

Nov 04, 2024

Jondean25

A very close call for Ryan Blaney and the tire carrier for the No. 77 of Carson Hocevar. Things on pit road got a little too close for comfort. The defending NASCAR champion tried to leave his pit box cleanly, but there was an issue.

As Ryan Blaney left his pit box, Carson Hocevar had his right rear just outside of the box in front of the 12. This caused Blaney to not only run over the air hose but also caused him to hit the tire the carrier had in his hands.

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NASCAR did not penalize Blaney for the incident. Likely due to the close quarters at Martinsville as well as how far out the 77 car was when they pit.

That would be discretion of NASCAR and considering how far out the hose went and tire carrier was as the Hocevar car was already outside the box (in legal fashion), I don't have an issue with a no-call. https://t.co/VHS8lhyybI

One mistake on pit road can cost a driver the race. Ryan Blaney has to win to make it to the Championship 4. This time he avoided disaster, but he can’t have too many close calls like that. Eventually, he is going to get bit.

This race still has a lot of laps to go. We won’t know how this shakes out until we get to the final 50 laps. For now, Blaney is holding strong. He has been harassing Brad Keselowski for the lead for so many laps.

A year ago, Blaney earned a walk-off win in this race. Can he make it back-to-back and clutch his way into the Championship 4 again?

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He hasn’t led the entire race, but Brad Keselowski has been in control of this race late. With the No. 6 putting on an old-school performance, Ryan Blaney has his hands full. He can barely get to the bumper of the No. 6 to make a bump and run.

Of course, Keselowski has to know what is coming. Blaney is a playoff driver, Keselowski is not. The 12 team will not hesitate to move Keselowski and go about the rest of their race. This one is going to get physical and will be very interesting.

Of course, drivers like William Byron, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin are waiting for a mistake. Those drivers would love to win the race and block Blaney or Chase Elliott from advancing to Phoenix.

Ryan Blaney had one hiccup on pit road. Now he has to close out the day and get around Brad Keselowski to win this race.