Kyle Larson pokes fun at Ricky Stenhouse Jr. over anger issues with help from Dodgers manager Dave Roberts

“I just got left and in the marbles and slid a lot longer than I expected,” Hocevar said when asked about the incident with Stenhouse, per NASCAR.com. “So yeah, I mean, obviously number one, not somebody I would never want to hit again. But number two, just yeah, I wasn’t racing anything. I was just logging laps, just trying to wait on a yellow and maybe see if we could put our day back together. But yeah, I just hit a curb wrong and got in the marbles and slid all the way through the corner. So I tried to turn left and avoid him, but just really, really sloppy day by me, and then that was another incident of the day that was really just sloppy.”

NASCAR and Dodgers talked about having a race at Dodger Stadium

NASCAR and the Dodgers have a connection other than Larson and Stenhouse meeting Dave Roberts. In March 2024, then-NASCAR president (now commissioner) Steve Phelps told NBC Sports that NASCAR had discussions with officials from Dodger Stadium to host a NASCAR race.

“We are committed to the market,” Phelps told NBC Sports about the Los Angeles market at the time. “It’s important. What it looks like at this point next year, I don’t know. Was there an exploration with the Dodgers, working with Formula E and creating a potential joint opportunity there? Yeah.

“That should not be a surprise. It’s just due diligence. If something hits, great, and if it doesn’t so be it, but I think we need to continue to push the boundaries, not just from a schedule standpoint. I think we’ve seen that, or fans have seen that and media have seen that. We have a willingness to think differently and it’s working.”