NASCAR stars Carson Hocevar and Ryan Blaney got into a wild brawl on pit road after a contentious end to the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Both Hocevar and Blaney are among the 16 drivers competing in the NASCAR Chase to win the Cup Series Championship.
And tensions boiled over after Hocevar made contact with Blaney in the closing stages of the race, causing his No.12 car to spin out of second place.
Blaney was unable to finish the race, with his 33rd place finish a big blow to his championship hopes. Hocevar ended up battling with Ty Gibbs for the win, but they made contact with six laps remaining allowing Blaney’s teammate, Joey Logano, to take the win while Hocevar finished third.
As soon as the race finished and Hocevar climbed out of his car, Blaney marched down pit road to confront him.
But as Blaney shoved Hocevar, the Spire Motorsports driver swung a punch with his right hand, connecting with Blaney’s face.
Carson Hocevar punched Ryan Blaney in the face in a wild brawl after the Bristol Night Race
Hocevar swung and connected with a right hand after Blaney stormed over to confront him
Other team members soon became involved in the melee as the chaotic scenes played out on pit road.
The physical confrontation comes after a year in which breakout star Hocevar has had multiple run-ins with several drivers on track, with those tensions now finally spilling over into an off-track altercation.
‘There wasn’t a whole lot of talking,’ Hocevar said on the USA Today broadcast after the race. ‘He just kind of said one thing and then went after me. I wasn’t going to take it.
‘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.’
He later told reporters: ‘That was the first time I’ve ever hit anybody, so that’s a cool story. At least it’s at Bristol of all places.’
Blaney spoke about the incident outside the infield care center after his race ended and insinuated, he was ready to take action when the race was over.
‘I protected pretty early and (Hocevar) just kept coming left and never lifted and crashed me,’ Blaney said.
‘Something is going to happen. The top was kind of a crush and not as good as I wanted to be up there, but we were still making it work, but I never got to finish the race.
Blaney had to be held back as a melee broke out on pit road at Bristol Motor Speedway
The No.77 of Hocevar and No.12 of Blaney collided on track earlier in the night
‘I just felt like he didn’t lift. I left him plenty of room for a lap before that. I didn’t chop him. I didn’t run him into the fence or nothing like I easily could have.
‘I protected the bottom and he just decided he wanted to be there and didn’t lift and wrecked me. I haven’t had a problem with him for probably a year and a half, but it’s getting old.’
As the brawl broke out, Christopher Bell was being interviewed by USA Today and chuckled: ‘This place is awesome. I love Bristol. I don’t know what to say.’
Veteran driver Brad Keselowski had threatened to get payback on Hocevar just two weeks ago after being spun by the No.77 driver.
And while all eyes will now turn to whether NASCAR fines Blaney and/or Hocevar for their pit road brawl, Hocevar’s long-standing rival, Corey Heim, insisted on social media there should not be a financial punishment.
‘Nobody should be fined, ever,’ Heim wrote. ‘Unless it’s a cheap shot.’
Back in 2024, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fined $75,000 after he punched the late Kyle Busch in a brawl after the All-Star race.
