BRISTOL, Tenn. — Joey Logano won Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway as the Team Penske star continued a postseason push for the fourth NASCAR Cup Series championship of his career, but the driver he passed for the win stole the show with old-school feuding and fisticuffs.
Carson Hocevar, a brash 23-year-old who drives the Spire Motorsports No. 77 Chevrolet and has earned the ire of veterans with his aggressive driving, traded punches in the pits with Ryan Blaney — one of Logano’s teammates — after they were involved in an incident while racing for second with 41 laps left.
Hocevar stopped his car after finishing third and was greeted by a shove from Blaney, the driver of the No. 12 Ford and the 2023 Cup Series champ.
The 6-foot-4 Hocevar, who stands several inches taller than Blaney, responded with two overhand rights. The first knocked off Blaney’s hat, and the second connected with Blaney’s left cheek.
Blaney fell to the pavement and then scrambled to his feet and out of a crew member’s hold while Hocevar raised his arms and pointed at him. Blaney charged and threw a wild left that knocked off Hocevar’s hat. They then were separated by team members as Blaney continued to yell at Hocevar.