NASCAR's Top Driver Has Controversial Girlfriend Who Is Causing A Stir

Monday Morning Pit-Stop is the weekly NASCAR column you find on OutKick.com and Fox News Digital. If you prefer a standard recap, check out ESPN, assuming they still know what NASCAR is about. You see? This explains why I have always been baffled by NASCAR's choice to move the Bristol night race to September. We had, easily, the most viral moment of the racing season Saturday night, and it went directly against Ole Miss-LSU. Chase Elliott said it many years ago, and it remains true today ... STOP COMPETING WITH FOOTBALL. Phew. OK. I needed to get that off my chest before we dive into the biggest fight this sport has seen since Allison-Yarborough.

NASCAR'S MOST POPULAR DRIVER HAS A TIKTOK GIRLFRIEND THAT'S CAUSING A STIR, AND HE DOESN'T CARE. Fine. That is probably an overreaction. But hey! This Ryan Blaney-Carson Hocevar scrum was still a good one! For Carson, at least. Not sure Blaney got a ton of licks in, but Lordy, he is scrappy. We'll get into it today, obviously. What else are we gonna talk about? Joey Logano winning? Joey Logano won! There. Happy? Moving on ...

I've also got Blaney's wife, former Hooters girl Gianna Tulio (Blaney), posting some explosive accusations on Instagram about Carson, another NASCAR wife chiming in, NASCAR itself seemingly not doing anything about it, and Ty Gibbs launching a water bottle into the scene of the crime. That, by the way, may have been the funniest part of the whole thing. You'll see. Four tires, a couple splashes of that Sunoco racin' fuel, and maybe a raw steak for Blaney's left eye ... Monday Morning Pit-Stop, the 'She Said WHAT?' edition, is LIVE!

Blaney hunts down Hocevar after Bristol wreck. No reason to wait around today ... we've had two days to marinate on it. You've all seen the fight by now. We've all seen it. I know folks despise him, but very few people can make NASCAR trend on X during a college football Saturday night. Carson Hocevar did just that. The Craig Carton Show–unfiltered, unapologetic and unmissable. Download his daily podcast now! NASCAR needs a villain, and has NEEDED a villain for the longest time. They have one in Carson Hocevar.

Let's dive in: Goodness gracious. What a fight. What a scene. Couple things ... Hard not to give the win to Carson Hocevar here. Fair is fair, and he got in two pretty good licks before Blaney was dragged away. Not sure how Blaney allows that happen, given he was the one came over and started it all. Feels like he needed a better plan. Guy in green was somewhat holding Blaney back. Why? Just let them fight. Seems like he did more harm than good. Blaney breaking containment and forcing his way back to Hocevar was shocking to watch unfold. He's a scrappy little sucker. For those wondering, Hocevar has Blaney beat in just about every metric. It's probably not a fair fight, but Ryan certainly has that DOG in him. I'd love to see it play out further. I have a feeling Blaney's gonna need to put some makeup on that eye before getting to Kansas this weekend. Looks like it's gonna be a pretty decent shiner. Ty Gibbs launching a water bottle into the fight, for no reason whatsoever, was good stuff. Look at this: Amazing. What's he doing!? No clue. Everyone just hates Hocevar so much, they all wanted a little piece of the action. Side note: Gibbs finished fifth in Kyle Busch's M&M's paint scheme Saturday night and led 120 laps. Well done, Ty. Anyway, here's Hocevar after what he called the first fight of his life:

Gianna Blaney stirs the pot, and I'll leave it at that for obvious reasons. "That's the first time I've ever hit anybody," Hocevar said. "It's a cool story at least, to be at Bristol of all places. "I don't know what a decent one (punch) feels like. I've never thrown one." Hocevar went on to talk about the crash that started all of this, saying he didn't intend to wreck Blaney (duh), and that perhaps the driver of the No. 12 Penske Ford wrecked himself. Again, I don't want to pick sides here, but ...

I might just be siding with Kevin here: this situation is genuinely difficult to unpack. Ryan Hocevar told everyone he hit his brakes hard, yet I struggle to buy that story completely. He also claimed he didn't need to brake at all, but Bristol demands caution right after a crossover move where you simply hold the line. In my view, Kyle Larson Blaney went low specifically to block the run, and Hocevar's nose was already positioned there before contact occurred. That is exactly how I see it playing out on track. There appears to be no malicious intent involved in that specific moment.

It did not matter though because this incident became the final straw for Ryan Blaney Carson. Just two weeks ago Brad Keselowski got into a fight, and now Saturday night saw him clash with Ryan Blaney again after just one race. Hocevar mentioned earlier at Daytona he didn't expect any enemies on the track during the ten-race Chase tournament. He said that with a perfectly straight face without hesitation or irony. That expectation lasted less than two weeks in this high-stakes environment.

Those enemies are not limited to drivers inside the cockpit either. We have added more layers to this developing story and Bubba Wallace weighs in on the growing tension. Gianna Blaney, the wife of Kyle Larson Blaney, stated she was not surprised by number 77's aggressive behavior given his criminal record. She responded directly to NASCAR's Instagram video showing the recent fight between the two drivers. Wait I forgot most of you don't know about it because he got it paid off allegedly according to her comment. That is certainly a bold statement to make publicly on social media.

Gianna Blaney has not deleted those comments yet despite official scrutiny from NASCAR leadership. She posted them in response to an official video release so yes, NASCAR has definitely seen them and they are not making her remove the posts immediately. It is interesting to say the least that such statements remain visible for public viewing. McCall Gaulding, the wife of Zane Smith, also chimed in with her own perspective right after Bristol. She posted just trying to make his fans aware on who they support when a fan pressed her for more info. Gaulding claimed we've tried and it gets covered up regarding certain information requests. Whew again some explosive claims here circulating without full verification yet.

Gianna says something criminal happened while McCall says it has been covered up by those in charge. Neither woman further clarified their specific allegations or provided additional details to the press. Just a couple vague but very public posts from NASCAR wives remain online today. Neither has been taken down which again says something significant about internal protocols at the track. As for the claims themselves you can find them on the internet if you search hard enough. I will not be going into them because there is nothing that verifies them at all and B) I prefer not to get sued today by legal teams. That would be a terrible way to start a work week for anyone in this industry.

Now if Gianna or McCall or Carson wants to chat about these issues directly I am all ears ready to listen. Please go right ahead and share your thoughts openly with me until then I simply cannot play the speculation game with something like this without facts. I have a mortgage to pay you know so financial pressure is real for everyone involved here. Have you seen those interest rates lately rising so fast? That adds another layer of stress on top of racing controversies today.

OK that is it for today as we wrap up this wild class and equally wild race result. Wish it didn't get lost on a college football Saturday night broadcast schedule instead. Oh well we move forward regardless of television distractions tonight. Here is Bubba Wallace reacting on the way out after finishing his event duties. See y'all at Kansas next week for more action from this series.