Ryan Blaney explains how he ended up fighting Carson Hocevar at Bristol

Needless to say, that's not what happened. 

"I kind of grabbed him, pushed at the chest pretty aggressively," Blaney said. "You're probably going to defend yourself. And he rightfully did.... he landed a pretty good right hand. It got me pretty good. When that happened, I was like, 'Okay, I should probably return fire at this point.'"

Why Ryan Blaney regrets fighting Carson Hocevar

Blaney was being grabbed by team members and security personnel, which, as he described it, "immobilized" him as he tried to avoid Hocevar's second blow. 

"I'll give it to him, he tagged me in the same exact spot that he got me the first time," Blaney said. 

Blaney added that he somewhat regretted the action because he tries to set a good example for younger fans. 

"That's really unlike me," Blaney said. "But I was just frustrated."

The fault for the crash that took Blaney out of Saturday's race and dropped him to sixth (-52) in the series standings can be attributed to both Blaney and Hocevar: Blaney made a late block, while Hocevar could've cut Blaney a break as both drivers fought for the bottom lane. 

But Blaney was understandably frustrated with Hocevar's driving, and Hocevar certainly isn't going to get the benefit of the doubt from anyone in the garage. 

Whether or not his altercation with Blaney forces him to change his ways remains to be seen.