Ryan Blaney has revealed that he got an apology text from a certain member of the NASCAR grid for the first time.

Carson Hocevar is already notorious within the sport for his aggressive driving style and 'deal with it' attitude, but appears to be trying to turn around the perception of himself...slightly.

Blaney went on the Door Bumper Clear podcast the day after Sunday's race at Atlanta and was asked about another typically divisive drive by Hocevar, which saw him make some breathtaking moves while also playing fast and loose with his rivals' bodywork.

He then revealed that Hocevar took the rare (for him) step of reaching out to Blaney after the race, texting the 2023 Cup champion to apologize for running him hard. How rare was that apology message? Well, Blaney didn't even have the Spire Motorsports driver's number in his phone.

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Blaney: Hocevar Apology meant a lot

“He did text me last night," he told the podcast. "He ran me into the fence a couple times last night, and he apologized, which was the first time I’ve ever gotten a message from him.”

He continued: “I told him, ‘That’s appreciated. That goes further than you know of admitting, hey, sorry for doing that’. And I’m like, ‘That’s all it takes is just a reach out, something like that is fine’. … I didn’t have his number. He put his name at the bottom of it. … When I got that, I was like, ‘Alright, that means a lot, I accept your apology, and we’re fine'.”

We'll probably never know whether Hocevar sent apologies to other drivers after Atlanta, but Christopher Bell probably deserves one more than most after the No. 77 car dived for a gap that never existed at the first overtime restart, sending him into the wall and ruining his chances of winning the race for the second year in a row.

Blaney implied that Hocevar has to continue along the learning curve as he ages – remember, despite his 165 starts across the Cup and Truck Series, he's only just turned 23 – to fulfil his undoubted potential as a racer.

“I have no problem with people being aggressive," the Penske star said, "but when it gets to some reckless stuff that pops up with him every now and then, I think he’s just gotta clean that stuff up, and he’s gonna be really good. He’s already really good but if he cleans that stuff up, he’s gonna be contending for wins a lot.”

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