NASCAR Fans Get “Old School Bristol Show” As Fistfight Between Drivers Overshadows Race Winner
on • Updated
At the NASCAR Cup Series Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 19, it was driver Joey Logano who ultimately won.
However, his victory was overshadowed by a post-race fistfight between two other drivers.
The driver with the most laps in the lead was Ryan Blaney, age 36, but he finished the race in 33rd place.
Blaney’s drop in the ranks occurred after he and Carson Hocevar, age 23, were still vying for dominance in the race, with the Associated Press noting that there were 41 laps left when an incident derailed Blaney’s hopes of coming out on top.
The incident in question saw Hocevar bring his car right up against Blaney’s bumper, sending his car spinning out of control in a classic bump-and-run.
While Blaney finished near the bottom of the 37-driver race, Hocevar finished in 3rd place.
Hocevar, like the late Kyle Busch, has become a polarizing figure in racing, known for his aggressive driving style that has proven to be a crowd-pleaser.
As the race ended, Blaney approached Hocevar, coming at him with a shove which Hocevar swiftly responded to with a punch from his right hand, followed by two more hits that connected as the crew pulled Blaney away.
It didn’t stop there though, as Blaney then came at Hocevar and punched him in the face moments later when he seemingly didn’t expect it.
Again Blaney was pulled away.
See the fight, here:
Drama post-race. pic.twitter.com/vZZqtTZGCn
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 20, 2026
RELATED: ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’ Features Exclusive New Morgan Wallen Song
Will There Be Penalties Following The Bristol Fight?
“I wasn’t trying to wreck him,” Hocevar said, cautiously glancing over his shoulder, in a post-race interview with NASCAR.
Continuing, Hocevar said that he “spun” Blaney after “[getting] it wrong” on his approach to pass him during the race.
Speaking with NASCAR, Blaney said, “I got crashed, so each person’s gonna say they did nothing wrong.”
Of the fight, Hocevar said, “There wasn’t a whole lot of talking. [Blaney] just kind of like said one thing, and then went after me, and I wasn’t going to take it.”
Concluding his remarks on the fight, Hocevar said the audience “got an old school Bristol show.”
Watch Hocevar speak about the race, and see the moment Blaney spun out of control, here:
"I wasn't trying to wreck him." pic.twitter.com/IQ9O9RF9gw
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 20, 2026
On Sept. 21, CEO of NASCAR, Steve O’Donnell shared there will be no fines or penalties filed against either Blaney or Hocevar for this post-race altercation.
O’Donnell said while on Kevin Harvick’s podcast:
“If drivers are going to handle their own business, the way we looked at that, how it played out, we’re not going to encourage fighting, but what we are going to encourage is passion, right? And those are two guys — Blaney’s showing his passion, showing his fire. So no, there’s nothing coming from us in terms of [penalties]. We’ll obviously watch what happens the rest of the way, but nothing in terms of post-race penalties.”
Bristol has seen its fair share of violence between drivers, with the late Kyle Busch getting punched in the face in 2024 by both Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ricky Stenhouse Sr., with Ricky Jr. receiving a $75,000 fine and Ricky Sr. receiving an indefinite suspension, according to Motorsport.
In keeping with O’Donnell’s decision to not issue fines or penalties against Hocevar or Blaney for the Sept. 19 fight, he previously shared his opinion on fights between drivers while on the Racin’ With the Boys podcast in August, saying:
“I’m okay with it … We went through an era where there were too many fines. Fining everybody. What happened was, if you go up and down pit road right now, a lot of guys look like you — big dudes, right? And some of our drivers aren’t that big. So guys were getting in fights and the crew guys were piling on … It got a little dangerous. Where we’re at is, if the drivers want to handle their business, great. When the crew guys start piling on, that’s when we’ve got a challenge.”
O’Donnell even spoke about Hocevar specifically, saying, “With Hocevar, to me, he’s doing everything we would want from a driver, getting out there … He’s gonna make his moves, and drivers are gonna, you know, they’ll handle what they need to handle out on the track, so that’s on him.”
Watch NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell speak on fighting among drivers, here:
RELATED: Kyle Busch’s Son, Brexton Busch, Just Won A Tense Photo-Finish Race
