There was a brawl at Bristol.
The motorsport venue, known as the Last Great Colosseum, always offers excitement on the track, but the NASCAR Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, Sept. 19 made noise off of it too when there was a fight between Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar.
After the Cup Series race ended and Joey Logano won, Blaney charged through the crowd on the track, found Hocevar and confronted him about an incident that happened during the competition. Blaney shoved Hocevar, who responded by throwing a punch. They duked it out before Blaney’s team held its driver back as Hocevar held his arms up. Blaney ran at him again and then was pulled away.
"There wasn’t a whole lot of talking. He just kind of said one thing and then went after me,"
Hocevar said on the USA broadcast after the fight. "I wasn’t going to take it."
FIGHT NIGHT IN BRISTOL pic.twitter.com/HFBrjlGac7
— NASCAR on USA (@NASCARonUSA) September 20, 2026
In the race, Blaney was running in second place late. He cut in front of Hocevar, who made contact from behind and sent Blaney swerving into the wall.
The incident forced Blaney to retire from the race. Hocevar finished third.
After the racing incident, Hocevar was battling with Ty Gibbs for first place. With six laps left, the two made contact at the front of the pack and slid down the grid.
"That was fun with the 54. I got ran into a lot for the win," Hocevar said, contrasting the duel with Blaney that had lesser stakes. "That was for second and he wants to come fight. So I don't think anybody's left behind me. They got an old school Bristol show here."
Blaney shared his side of the story and said each driver wasn't going to take the blame.
"We got clear off of there, off of four and I tried to protect the bottom and he crossed and never lifted and got crashed," the Team Penske driver said after he retired from the race and prior to confronting Hocevar.
Earlier this month at Darlington, Hocevar made contact with Brad Keselowski and caused him to spin out.
When Keselowski said the Spire Motorsports driver should "Watch out," Hocevar responded by saying, "I'll tighten my belts."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brawl at Bristol: Carson Hocevar, Ryan Blaney fight after NASCAR race
