has also recently said he does not necessarily object to drivers fighting<\/a>.<\/p>\n“I’m okay with it. I think that’s fair,” O’Donnell said while appearing as a guest on the Racin’ With the Boys podcast. “We went through an era where there were too many fines. Fining everybody. What happened was, if you go up and down pit road right now, a lot of guys look like you \u2014 big dudes, right? And some of our drivers aren’t that big. So guys were getting in fights and the crew guys were piling on. It got a little dangerous. Where we’re at is, if the drivers want to handle their business, great. When the crew guys start piling on, that’s when we’ve got a challenge (like Jeff Gordon vs. Brad Keselowski at Texas in 2014).”<\/p>\n
With all that being said, here’s how the most serious altercations in the Cup Series were handled by the officials in recent years:<\/p>\n
2023: Ross\u00a0Chastain and Noah Gragson<\/p>\n
This situation closely mirrors what we saw at Bristol, and is likely going to be used as the benchmark for how NASCAR reacts here. Just like\u00a0Blaney, Gragson\u00a0confronted Chastain after the 2023 Kansas race and immediately grabbed his firesuit. Mirroring Hocevar, Chastain reacted with a right-hook to the face of Gragson, and the two drivers were separated. Gragson didn’t find his way back to Chastain like Blaney did with Hocevar, but that shouldn’t impact how NASCAR reacts here.<\/p>\n
NASCAR Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer classified the Chastain\/Gragson fight as a heat-of-the-moment exchange, but they did have conversations with both drivers to ensure no further escalation.<\/p>\n
\u00a0
\n2024: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch <\/p>\n
In the most recent fight between Cup drivers,\u00a0Stenhouse waited for Busch after their run-in during the 2024 All-Star Race. After a brief discussion,\u00a0Stenhouse punched Busch in the face, and it quickly spilled over into a multi-person brawl by the haulers. Ricky’s father even got a piece of KB in the process.<\/p>\n
The result was an indefinite suspension for\u00a0Stenhouse Sr., while Stenhouse Jr. was fined $75,000. The $75,000 fine was notable because NASCAR said the incident was not simply a heat-of-the-moment confrontation. In explaining that penalty, NASCAR said that it wasn’t a heat-of-the moment deal, with Stenhouse waiting until after the race and even getting a change of clothes before the fisticuffs.\u00a0Blaney did wait until after the race, but he also didn’t come in swinging either.<\/p>\n
\u00a0
\n2022: Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson<\/p>\n
At Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2022, Wallace was run up into the wall, and impulsively right-hooked Larson into the outside wall moments later. Both drivers crashed, and Wallace then tried to fight Larson in the infield, grabbing at his firesuit and shoving him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NASCAR chose to suspend Wallace for one race, but a very important distinction here is that the penalties weren’t issued for the fight. It was solely a reaction to the intentional right-hook on track, which does not apply to Bristol 2026, as the contact was deemed a \u00a0racing incident.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
There were also more minor confrontations in recent years where NASCAR didn’t penalize anyone either. Chris Buescher grabbed and shoved Tyler Reddick after Darlington 2024, resulting in no action from the Sanctioning Body. In 2023 after Pocono, Ryan Preece stuck his head into Corey LaJoie’s window net and was dragged away as things got physical, but again, no penalties.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, this writer will be surprised if NASCAR decides to issue fines or any other penalties for the\u00a0Hocevar\/Blaney altercation, unless they take issue with how the Spire crew members got involved. There was also a member NASCAR\u00a0security who grabbed Blaney and was part of the reason he ended up on the ground, and even restrained him while Hocevar was throwing punches which isn’t ideal. Series officials may also want to have a meeting with the driver at the NASCAR hauler before the next Cup race in Kansas, but hopefully they choose to stay relatively hands off.<\/p>\n
No crew members really crossed the line from the replays I saw (though they should have stayed out of it completely), cars weren’t used as weapons, and it was just a case of two drivers who simply got into a confrontation where frustrations boiled over into a brief scuffle. That’s just part of the culture of NASCAR racing, and it always has been.<\/p>\n
As Robin Pemberton once said: “Boys, have at it, and have a good time.”<\/p>\n
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![\"Carson](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/carson-hocevar-and-ryan-blaney.jpg\")
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