“Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports… all the others are games,” Ernest Hemingway once famously said. And honestly, he might’ve been onto something. Especially if he saw pit road after a NASCAR race lately. Because these days? It’s not just the cars that are high-octane; the emotions are, too. When the engines cool and the helmets come off, that’s when the fireworks really begin.
And in the case of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Carson Hocevar, things are getting spicy. Add in Josh Berry hanging back like a front-row spectator to a heavyweight bout, and you’ve got yourself the makings of a full-blown reality show. The Wood Brothers Racing driver recently revealed his experience of the Mexico City incident between the two drivers.
Josh Berry’s firsthand experience of Stenhouse vs. Hocevar
There’s classic NASCAR drama, and then there’s whatever’s going on between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Carson Hocevar right now. What started as a heated exchange in Nashville has snowballed into one of the sport’s ugliest feuds of 2025. “I was getting out of the car and Ricky was going pretty fast,” Josh Berry recalled about the now-infamous Mexico City post-race moment.
“I figured he was going to see something, and no, definitely wasn’t going to miss anything that happened,” Josh Berry added further. That “something” turned out to be Ricky Stenhouse Jr. walking up to Carson Hocevar and telling him, “I’m going to beat your a– when we get back in the States.” That threat wasn’t subtle. But then again, neither is their history.
In Nashville, the two got into it on and off the track. During the Cracker Barrel 400 on Lap 106, Stenhouse’s No. 47 was struck from behind by Hocevar while running 17th. Stenhouse, not impressed, labeled the move by Hocevar as ‘overaggressive.’ While Stenhouse Jr. did admit that the two spoke before the Michigan race and sorted things out, the dust-up in Mexico City, where Hocevar, a lap down, ran into Stenhouse Jr., did not go over well with the latter. The frustration has since snowballed, with each adding fuel to the fire.
“Ricky (Stenhouse) was going pretty fast. I figured he was going to see something and I definitely wasn’t going to miss anything that happened”@joshberry recalled him sticking around to watch Stenhouse confront Hocevar after last week’s race at Mexico#NASCAR @Frontstretch pic.twitter.com/Rfrjaghh0X
— Dalton Hopkins (@PitLaneCPT) June 21, 2025
Asked recently if he’d consider trying to smooth things over, Carson Hocevar joked, “Can’t go buy him a Hallmark card.” Stenhouse’s response at Pocono? “He probably will be looking over his shoulder for a long time. We’ll see how that goes.” Josh Berry, standing off to the side during that viral Mexico moment, summed it up perfectly: “Just wasn’t gonna miss it, really. That’s all. Just in case something happened.” And Berry has good reason to stick around, especially when it’s involving Ricky.
Remember the All-Star race in 2024? Well, we don’t blame you if you forgot that Joey Logano won the snooze fest by leading 199 laps, but the moment of that day belonged to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. After getting shoved into the wall and out of the race by Kyle Busch on Lap 2, Stenhouse waited outside his hauler till the race ended, before delivering a right hook for the ages. Ricky was even fined for the incident, and being known for his flaring tempers, one can expect some sort of retaliation toward Hocevar at Pocono this weekend.
And while rivalries are nothing new in NASCAR, this one’s teetering into full-on spectacle. For fans, it’s spicy content. For the sport? It might be time to pump the brakes before the next blow-up goes too far.
Hocevar wins round 1 at Pocono
Carson Hocevar made a clear statement ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway, out-qualifying rival Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by a wide margin and signaling that the feud between the two drivers is far from settled. Hocevar’s third-place qualifying effort, with a blistering lap of 52.379 seconds, puts him just behind Chris Buescher (52.227) and pole sitter Denny Hamlin (52.144). Stenhouse, meanwhile, languished in 30th with a time of 53.661. Josh Berry, on the other hand, was unable to complete a qualifying lap altogether, adding another twist to the weekend’s drama.
Hocevar’s strong start at Pocono marks a significant shift in momentum in his ongoing battle with Stenhouse. The young driver has faced criticism for aggressive moves throughout the season, but his speed at “The Tricky Triangle” proves he’s more than capable of running up front. Stenhouse, on the other hand, faces an uphill battle from deep in the field. However, do expect tempers to flare if they meet each other mid-pack, or if it’s Ricky who is a lap down this time, going at Hocevar.
If we look at the past experiences, Hocevar, in his limited Truck Series experience and one season in Cup, is still building his Pocono resume as a racer. He has just one previous top-10 finish at the venue in four races. Stenhouse, a veteran with more than a decade of Cup starts, has managed only modest results recently at Pocono. Since 2022, he has had an average finish of 19.3 and has struggled to find consistent speed at the 2.5-mile layout.
For Hocevar, outpacing Stenhouse in qualifying isn’t just about grid position; it’s a statement. The pressure is now firmly on Stenhouse to respond on race day. With tensions simmering and all eyes on this unfolding feud, Sunday’s race at Pocono might be about more than just stage points. Instead, it could be the next chapter in NASCAR’s spiciest rivalry.
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