Joey Logano won the Cup Series race Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway, while the driver he passed for the win stole the show with “old-school” NASCAR feuding and fisticuffs.
Carson Hocevar, a brash 23-year-old who has earned the ire of veterans with his aggressive driving, traded punches in the pits with Ryan Blaney 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 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 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 were separated by team members as Blaney continued to yell at Hocevar.
Kyle Larson finished second to move into the Chase lead by a point over Denny Hamlin. Christopher Bell was fourth, followed by Ty Gibbs, who led 120 laps before finishing fifth.
Gibbs and Hocevar exchanged the lead four times in the final 100 laps. Their battle for first after a restart with nine laps remaining opened the door for Logano, who zipped past Hocevar and led the final seven laps.
With his 40th career victory and third this season, Logano became the winningest NASCAR driver for Team Penske and moved into third place in the Chase points standings.
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