NASCAR has made a decision about the high-profile fight at Bristol Motor Speedway involving Team Penske's Ryan Blaney and Spire Motorsports' Carson Hocevar.
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According to information provided to media members, NASCAR will not penalize either driver for their role in the fight in which Blaney took two punches to the face and Hocevar took a glancing blow to the head.
The situation is not yet over, however. NASCAR noted that a further review is being conducted to determine if any of the crew members involved in the fight deserve to be penalized. If so, these penalties will be announced at a later date.
Multiple people got involved in the fracas on pit road after Joey Logano won the Bristol Night Race. Two members of Spire Motorsports' crew, in particular, landed on Blaney after the initial confrontation.
Drama post-race. pic.twitter.com/vZZqtTZGCn
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 20, 2026
NASCAR has previously penalized crew members for getting involved in a fight. The recent example took place at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May 2024.
This fight featured Ricky Stenhouse Jr. waiting for Kyle Busch after a wreck in the All-Star Race, which Logano won. The short track has no exit tunnel, so Stenhouse had to spend hours waiting for a confrontation after Busch wrecked him in on Lap 2.
The fight began with an argument, but Stenhouse punched Busch in the face. This sparked a brawl that escalated with Stenhouse's father and multiple others getting involved.
NASCAR fined Stenhouse $75,000 for the fight. It indefinitely suspended his father for getting involved. NASCAR suspended Stenhouse's engine tuner Keith Matthews for four races and mechanic Clint Myrick for eight races.
At the time, NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer said that NASCAR would respond when crew members or family members put their hands on the drivers. He also said that Stenhouse's fine stemmed from him waiting 198 laps and then escalating to a physical confrontation.
More than two years removed from this fight, another high-profile fight broke out in a race that Logano won. This time, however, NASCAR chose not to penalize the drivers.
This marked a change from the past, especially considering that Blaney had indicated to media members at the care center that he would have a confrontation with Hocevar.
"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," NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell said during an appearance on Kevin Harvick's podcast.
"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."
