Bristol has been called ‘The Last Great Colosseum, and for good reason. It has a storied history of rivalries, wrecks, and tempers overflowing. Saturday night was no different as it reinforced that reputation.
Ryan Blaney passed Carson Hocevar for second place late in the race, and when Hocevar tried to immediately cross him over, Blaney tried to block. Hocevar, who is known for his aggressive style, did not lift.
Blaney crashed into the wall and saw his title chances take a major hit as he was unable to continue, finishing 33rd.
At the infield care center after the incident, his anger was clear, dropping an F-Bomb on live TV. He even told the assembled media that “something’s going to happen.”
On the run-in, Blaney said: “I just felt like he didn’t lift, I left him plenty of room. Didn’t chop him, didn’t run him into the fence, nothing. I easily could have. I protected the bottom, and he decided that he wanted to be there, didn’t lift and wrecked me.”
Blaney then added: “I probably haven’t had a problem with him in a year-and-a-half, but it’sĀ getting old.”
Watch: From on-track to fight, this is what happened between Blaney and Hocevar
Hocevar went on to finish third, and when he climbed out of the car, Blaney was waiting for him. He ran up to Hocevar and grabbed him by the firesuit, but Hocevar did not back down. He immediately punched Blaney in the face, knocking his hat off. He then punched him a second time, and Blaney fell to the ground as he tripped in the escalating brawl.
Blaney then tried to make a run atĀ Hocevar and grab him again, but the two were promptly separated as Blaney was again blocked by others. Hocevar then flipped the bird and waved to the fans as the crowd roared.
Hocevar told TV that Blaney spun himself and he doesn’t know what he did wrong. During the fight, he appeared to say something similar to Blaney himself.
“I mean, I wasn’t trying to wreck him, it just looked like to me, I kind of run and kind of went left, and he spun, and I spun him, so, I mean there wasn’t a whole lot talking,” said Hocevar. “He just kind of like said one thing, and then went after me, and I wasn’t going to take it. I mean, that was fun with the 54 [Gibbs]. I got ran into a lot for the win, I mean that was for second, and he wants to come fight. So, I don’t think anybody’s left behind me, so they got an old school Bristol show here.”
“IĀ don’t know what I did wrong there. “I got a run to cross him over, looked like he spun himself, and then he wants to instigate a fight. I was gonna finish that, and it seemed like the crowd was pretty pumped up so I was going to play the audience for a second.”
Other videos seemed to show RyanĀ Preece shouting something at Hocevar after the fight, and Berry waved sarcastically in his direction. Ty Gibbs, who nearly had his own run-in with Hocevar on the cool-down lap after their earlier battle for the lead, can be seen in another clip gleefully tossing a water bottle into the center of the brawl. Hocevar also had a recent run-in with Brad Keselowski, so he’s got a lot of enemies out there…
Blaney offered no comment after the post-race brawl, and left the track on aĀ golfcart with fans booing and jeering him. Hocevar was met with cheers and near-unanimousĀ support from fans as he exited the track later.
Watch: Hocevar on fight with Blaney: ‘They got an old-school Bristol show’
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