Here's the thing: sometimes a wild night at the track just demands a little old-school fire, and NASCAR agrees. No penalties will be issued to Carson Hocevar or Ryan Blaney after their physical altercation on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway, as confirmed by NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell on Monday during an appearance on Kevin Harvick’s “Happy Hour” Podcast. The pair, competing as contenders in The Chase presented by Mobil 1, exchanged actual punches on pit road following the Bass Pro Shops Night Race after tempers boiled over from an on-track incident.
The friction started out on the racing surface during a fierce battle for second place. Hocevar tried a crossover move on Blaney by darting to his left, and as Blaney moved to block the pass, contact occurred. The impact sent Blaney’s machine careening into the Turn 1 wall. With only a few laps remaining, the team deemed the damage entirely irreparable, bringing a very premature end to Blaney’s afternoon.
Once the race wrapped up and Blaney was evaluated and released from the infield care center, he marched straight over to Hocevar’s car and reached inside for him. Hocevar reacted instantly by swinging, landing punches on Blaney before Blaney was taken down to the ground. In true fighting fashion, Blaney bounced back up for a swing of his own before officials managed to separate the pair once again. Blaney retreated to his team’s hauler, while Hocevar stayed to address media members.
“I understand why he’s [Blaney’s] upset. That’s probably his championship. So I understand 100%. 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,” Hocevar noted.
Appearing on the podcast, O’Donnell explained that NASCAR officials have long held the stance that drivers need to handle their business outside of the car, which directly factored into the sanctioning body's choice to keep the penalty box empty. While noting that fighting itself isn't encouraged, O’Donnell praised the emotion on display. “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? 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,” O’Donnell stated.
That said, the dust hasn't completely settled for everyone. A note from NASCAR Communications released on Monday clarified that further review is actively underway to determine if any crew members involved in the incident will face penalties, with announcements expected later in the week. O’Donnell emphasized during his podcast appearance that NASCAR firmly prefers to keep crew members out of these kinds of heated confrontations.
Looking at the standings, the stakes couldn't be higher as the championship battle rolls on. Blaney currently sits sixth in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase points standings, sitting 52 points behind series leader Kyle Larson ahead of Sunday's race at Kansas Speedway. Meanwhile, Hocevar holds eighth in the standings, standing 85 points behind Larson and 33 markers back from Blaney.
