KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Ryan Blaney was still sporting a shiner under his left eye when he arrived at Kansas Speedway on Friday. "I wish it had healed a little quicker," he admitted, "but it did not."

The tension between Blaney and Carson Hocevar, who delivered the haymaker last weekend, has eased. Blaney called the on-track incident that led to a pit road fracas "just a racing" thing. "It's kind of the opposite of how I normally am. I get fired up quickly, but I calm down really quickly," Blaney said. "These things happen."

The incident unfolded 41 laps before Joey Logano captured the checkered flag at Bristol Motor Speedway. Blaney had just taken second before Hocevar steered his No. 77 Chevrolet down the track, sending the No. 12 Ford spinning into the wall. It was a big blow to Blaney, who had led a race-high 202 laps and trails Kyle Larson by 52 points in the Chase for the championship.

Hocevar, 23, said he had no regrets over what transpired on pit road. "I didn't want to hit him, and looking back, I 100% see where he wanted to just throw a shove in there and yell. But in the moment you're not going to see that," Hocevar said. NASCAR chose not to punish either driver, with CEO Steve O'Donnell saying, "We're not going to encourage fighting, but what we are going to encourage is passion."