Ryan Preece left Texas Motor Speedway with a crashed car and some continued resentment towards Carson Hocevar.
Recognizing it, Hocevar did reach out to Preece over the past week and initiated an in-person conversation in the RFK Racing No. 60 hauler on Saturday morning to clear things up and try to reach a better place.
First, this is what happened with 31 to go last week at Texas, Hocevar crowding Preece until they both crashed.
Here’s what happened with Hocevar, Ware and Preece:#NASCAR | @TXMotorSpeedway pic.twitter.com/RxhVL2fbhU
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 4, 2025
Preece has been a frequent critic of Hocevar for years and they had an issue at Martinsville earlier this season too. So Hocevar texted Preece because he wanted to de-escalate it with a veteran peer that said ‘he is going to have his day.’
Hocevar wanted to explain that he had just made a pass on Chris Buescher and ‘un-winded the wheel’ to avoid the wake off Todd Gilliland and just didn’t expect Preece to be there.
“I just explained that, of I wasn’t trying to put him in a bad spot and be aggressive,” Hocevar said during a media availability on Saturday at Kansas. “I tried to unwind the wheel and track out to the wall, and I didn’t expect a car to be there. That’s on me for not predicting it and not expecting it — expectations being different and the grip level being a different thing. I think he was very understanding of it.
“Obviously, we both wrecked and it wasn’t good for either of us. We’re both around the same point situation. He’s having a good year. I feel like we’re faster than expected. I think we just both have the understanding that we don’t want to ruin the momentum we each have moving forward.”
Preece, who has raced at the highest level since 2019, offered some advice and perspective.
“What he did is he explained what happened, what he was hearing, and why he made the decisions he made,” Preece said. “Then I tried to give him a different perspective of what I would have done if I was in his situation. You know, it’s up to him to choose whether he’s going to put himself and myself or another racer in those type of positions. And I think with the intentions and him coming over, hopefully, that’s the case. And I hope moving forward, you don’t hear him in controversy.”
Preece stated on multiple occasions, that while he appreciated the conversation and the effort to do it in person, his position isn’t going to be changed until he sees different actions on the track.
“It’s going to be up to him to hopefully do the things that he said when we talked to each other and prove to everybody around that he’s just going to make better decisions,” Preece said. “I hope he does. He’s a good racer. I told him that when we were in the trailer. So I think moving forward, it’s going to be up to him to make good decisions.”
Preece hasn’t been the only peer to offer heavy handed commentary about Hocevar with champions Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney also offering strong edicts about the second year Cup driver.
Hocevar said he tries to separate comments made immediately after a race, or during a race, from thoughtful conversations like the one he had with Preece.
“I mean, there’s certain things that are said in the heat of the moment, and then when you go talk to them, it’s a different conversation, right,” Hocevar said. “And I think that’s a lot of times what happens is you get the radio transmission, or you see the talks after the race, or interviews and everything, and then when I have that conversation, it’s just different. It’s heat of the moment. I mean, there’s so many times where I feel like drivers will say something on the radio and they don’t even remember they said it, right?
“I mean, we saw it with teammates before, right?”
Hocevar referenced the recent on-track tension between Joey Logano and Austin Cindric at Talladega which was much ado about nothing in the scheme of things.
“So there’s so many different things, and it’s just balancing that and knowing, for me, the intent of it, right,” Preece said. “I was full on offense, and I didn’t know I had to be on defense, and I was. I wasn’t looking in my mirror when I felt like I should have been. If you were to rewind the clock, if I knew the result, I would do something different.
“But at the time, I felt like I knew the situation, and I would probably do the same thing again. But knowing the result, I get in that spot again, you’re going to be more cognizant and aware of that.
I feel like I drive a lot off instinct, and so if I’m not focused on something, you can just be tunnel vision and miss it. I think for me, it’s just being able to balance that. And then also to explain that and make sure they know there was an intent of the move, and the intent wasn’t to put them in a bad spot, put me in a bad spot, or jump that line where it’s dirty, aggressive or over-aggressive.”
Preece again reiterated that he just wants to see different actions and not words about different actions.
“It’s a step, but I think moving forward, you prove it on the race track,” Preece said. “I think that’s your next opportunity. Words are words — and I think he really does mean what he’s saying. And moving forward, I hope we’re not talking about incidents. We’re talking about good runs or whatnot.”
