NASCAR Won't Penalize Blaney or Hocevar for Bristol Pit Road Fight

NASCAR CEO Steve O'Donnell said neither driver will face fines, points penalties or suspensions after their post-race altercation at Bristol.

NASCAR has closed its review of the Bristol confrontation between Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar without issuing penalties to either driver. CEO Steve O'Donnell announced the decision Monday on Kevin Harvick's 'Happy Hour' podcast, saying no fine, points deduction or suspension would follow the pit road exchange of punches.

O'Donnell framed the ruling around emotion rather than violence. While he said the series does not want to encourage fighting, he added that NASCAR does want to encourage passion, and he viewed Blaney's response as an expression of his competitive fire. Officials will keep monitoring how the remainder of the season unfolds.

The incident grew out of a late-race incident Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Blaney had won Stage 2 and paced the field for a race-best 202 laps before contact with 43 laps to go sent him into the outside wall, ending his night. Afterward, he warned that 'something's going to happen,' and once the race ended he located Hocevar on pit road, where the two traded punches before team personnel intervened.

Hocevar maintained he never intended to wreck Blaney, saying he moved left when Blaney got a run and that Blaney spun on his own before instigating the fight.

Crew members who entered the altercation are still being reviewed, and NASCAR said any resulting penalties would be announced later this week. Blaney heads to the next event sixth in the Cup Series standings, 52 points behind leader Kyle Larson, while Hocevar sits eighth, 85 back of Larson.