Brad Keselowski rekindled the Bad Brad personality when he said, “His day is coming, and it’s coming hard. Watch out, Carson.” This was his outburst after Carson Hocevar spun him on Lap 107 of the Southern 500, and this isn’t the first time the Spire Motorsports driver has irked a veteran driver. But will Keselowski retaliate and spoil Hocevar’s Chase run?

Well, he has nothing to lose right now. He is not in the championship chase and can settle his scores on the racetrack. But that could be a disastrous idea, as Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson made his stance clear on how they would respond to potential payback from RFK Racing.

“We don’t want to get into a crashing cars contest. I mean they’ve got two cars in the Chase too. I mean what are we doing? He wants to dump Carson, so then Carson goes and gets 17. I’m just saying, you know there are all these unwritten rules out there. Chase guys, non-Chase guys, Brad knows these rules, he’s wrote them,” Dickerson said on Gluckcast.

Although only 16 cars are competing for the championship, other entries have a shot at winning races and scoring points for the owners’ championship. But the unwritten rule is that drivers who are not running for the championship stay away from wrecking Chase entries. And in this case, Hocevar is still in the hunt for the championship.

Now, none of the teams like to get involved in unnecessary controversy, but Spire won’t look the other way if the No. 77 car gets wrecked intentionally. “So if a non-Chase guy wants to do that, okay, then whatever happens, happens. And it’s the same to us. If Carson’s going to get wrecked, there will be a commensurate response.”

This could kick-start a bitter rivalry between a Chevy and a Ford team. But this would be detrimental to both parties. Both Spire and RFK Racing are trying to close the gap on the top dogs like JGR, HMS, and Penske. A wreckfest between Spire and RFK would only allow JGR drivers to extend their lead, so that isn’t ideal for anyone.

A discussion about how Hocevar can better focus on his performance and outlook regarding incidents is a better way forward. Meanwhile, for RFK, they can keep grinding in hopes of another Daytona-like result. Dickerson added that Hocevar is on a career trajectory and will learn from his mistakes.

He went as far as to say Hocevar is the younger version of Brad Keselowski, but he can’t be the mature version in his early racing days.

“I understand Brad’s point. Brad did not have the best night, regardless of whether Carson was involved or not involved. I got a lot of respect for Brad. We don’t have the luxury of a fast-forward button, I’m sorry, everybody. We can’t fast-forward 20 years to where Carson’s Brad.”

It’s not just Jeff Dickerson who shared his take on Keselowski’s threat; Dale Jr. also chimed in on the issue.

Dale Jr. Isn’t Sold on Keselowski’s Warning

Remember Ryan Preece was fined $25,000 and 25 points by NASCAR after he wrecked Ty Gibbs at Texas Motor Speedway? The important thing that stood out in this event was that Preece made a threat and then retaliated against his rival. So, the unspoken rule about getting even on the racetrack is to not air your feelings or threats publicly.

Regardless of the fear of a points penalty from NASCAR, Dale Jr. doesn’t feel Keselowski is going to stick to his words.

“If you’re gonna say it, go do it. I’m not picking on Brad, but I’m just saying, how many times have we heard drivers say, ‘Well, it’s going to come back on him. It’s gonna be tough on him down the road?’”

Drivers often vent their feelings after a race. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. completely lost his cool against Hocevar in Mexico, but despite his flashy interviews, he didn’t get his payback. So, this could be another case of a driver feeling bad about the overall outcome of the race and nothing more.

But needless to say, this back-and-forth has made things interesting heading into the next race at Gateway.