BRISTOL, Tenn. — Joey Logano charged from the shadows in the closing laps to win Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway and then was practically forgotten.
The crowd’s focus immediately fell on Carson Hocevar and Ryan Blaney, who had crashed late in the race in a controversial incident, and anticipation — both along pit road and in the grandstands — was that their post-race discussion might not include Danish and tea.
It didn’t. The two drivers engaged in one of the biggest fights in recent NASCAR history near Hocevar’s No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet along pit road after the race. Blaney charged Hocevar and pushed him, and Hocevar immediately responded with a fist to Blaney’s face. It got worse from there as Blaney repeatedly tried to push through officials and team members to get closer to Hocevar.
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Blaney perhaps was as angry as he’s ever been in a NASCAR post-race scenario. As he was moved away from the incident area, he repeatedly pointed and shouted at Hocevar.
Thousands in the backstretch crowd had a perfect view of the incident, and many stood and cheered. After Blaney was escorted from the scene by team members, Hocevar turned and acknowledged the cheers of the crowd.
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Neither driver appeared to be injured.
Hocevar stood between his car and the pit wall for several minutes, talking to team members and delaying addressing the crash and fight with reporters.
“I understand why he’s upset,” Hocevar said. “That’s probably his championship. So I understand 100 percent. And I’d probably be mad at me, too. Whether it was his mistake, my mistake, my fault or not, I’d be pretty pissed if I was him.
“That was the first time I ever hit anybody. I don’t know if he tripped on somebody or I got a decent one in. I’ve never thrown one.”
Hocevar said the crash happened, “as I was just trying to stop my bleeding, and I got loose there and was trying to just cross over because I knew that spot was going to be important. I don’t know if he made a poor decision or not. I kind of crossed him over there, and I felt like I was at least at his left rear, and it looked like he just kept coming down, and I was on the brakes pretty hard and obviously it resulted in that.
“I think everybody saw the intensity of the Chase. I don’t know if he’s mad at me or just mad at the situation or both or if I’m an easy punching bag.”
MORE: Blaney heated after Hocevar contact | Hocevar describes post-race fracas
Hocevar finished third. Blaney, who led a race-high 202 laps, finished 33rd. He fell to sixth in The Chase presented by Mobil 1, 52 points behind, and, as Hocevar said, took a big hit in the race for the championship.
“We were trying to win the race,” Hocevar said. “I saw him coming, and he’s moving pretty fast, and then he grabbed me, and I was like, ‘OK, I’m not going to wait.’ I’ve seen enough of these. I’m going to start swinging and see what happens.”
After the on-track incident (and before the fight), Blaney told reporters that Hocevar “just kept coming left and never lifted and crashed me.”
He did a bit of forecasting, saying “Something is going to happen.”
WATCH: All angles of Bristol incident
Hocevar has had several on-track incidents and has sparked a series of controversies.
“I haven’t had a problem with him for probably a year and a half, but it’s getting old,” Blaney said before the confrontation. Team Penske representatives declined comment after the fracas.
Hocevar described the end of yet another dramatic Bristol race as “a very cool moment for me. They could sell some tickets next year and improve ticket sales. We get a cool story, and we get to be in the highlight reel because you know that’s everything I want to be a part of.”