Other NASCAR drivers react to Carson Hocevar and Ryan Blaney fight

Drivers suddenly became spectators after the NASCAR Cup race at Bristol, watching on (most with glee) as Ryan Blaney confronted Carson Hocevar, with Hocevar punching Blaney twice in the face in the first real fight we've seen after a Cup race in over two years.

The last time there was a fight like this at the highest level of the sport was the 2024 All-Star Race, featuring Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch at North Wilkesboro.

Now for a look at some of the best reactions from current and past NASCAR drivers and even some beyond the world of stock car racing after a wild night at Bristol:

Ty Gibbs

On the cooldown lap, it looked like there was a moment between Gibbs and Hocevar, with the No. 54 team warning him "don't clown with him." Afterwards, he was parked directly ahead of Hocevar and his rearview camera caught the entire fight.

Gibbs smiled wide as the brawl unfolded, and even tossed a water bottle into the middle of the fight. It flew over Hocevar's head, and struck the camera held by a Frontstretch.com reporter who was recording the confrontation.

Josh Berry and Ryan Preece

Moments after the fight, Hocevar turned to the fans and tried to hype up the crowd. Nearby, Ryan Preece was pointing at him and shouting something. Hocevar responded and it did not look friendly, but we aren't sure what words were shared.

Josh Berry was standing with Preece, and mockingly waved goodbye to Hocevar before mimicking the way he hyped up the track, laughing as he did.

“I didn't really see the accident to see what actually caused it, but just, yeah, it was a long time coming,” Berry told Motorsport.com after.

Bubba Wallace

"I was just trying to figure out what was going on," Wallace said in response to a question from Motorsport.com. "I was proud of Blaney for having some passion. I don't know what led to that, I've just seen the aftermath of him in the wall, but I'll have a beer with him and figure it out."

When asked if he had ever seen his close friend Blaney that angry, Wallace replied: "No, that surprised the f*** out of me."

Christopher Bell

"This place is awesome," said Bell, laughing with a big grin. "This place is absolutely awesome "I love Bristol. I don't know what to say, but I love Bristol."

Trevor Bayne tried to ask him questions about his own race but Bell just kept laughing as he saw more replays: "I mean this is just awesome. Bristol is just the best. You gotta be here."

Joey Logano

"Yeah, again, I don't know the details of what happened there and how and why. I don't feel comfortable speaking on it until I see anything. I'd probably say something I regret if I haven't seen it. Like I said, I'm sure I'll see it. They'll probably forget who won the race (laughing)."

Dale Jarrett

“I think he has shown that this is how he's going to race. You take a chance whenever you try to make a block on that young man, and that driver, who is very aggressive, doesn't mind being that and he stuck with that ... something that we haven’t seen until this moment right here, and that he is willing to stand his ground.  If you’re wanting to get physical about this and have something to say and start pushing around, he’s going to be there. 

“And look like he’s willing to take on all comers whenever that happens.”

Jeff Burton

“This incident, in and of itself, no big deal, but it's incident after incident after incident where the garage gets tired of it and this is where this spills over. This is bound to happen. It's just a matter of time, and I'll be honest, I'm surprised it took this long.

“And you have to know that’s who you’re racing.  In the same token, I’ve said before, the garage, at some point, is going to get tired of it, and they’re not going to give him any slack. 

“And no one has really stood up to him, to be honest with you.  Blaney is the first one to really confront him in a big, big way. It will continue to happen.”

Driver Podcasts

Denny Hamlin: "I think that's where a little bit of the disconnect between what the drivers feel and what the fans feel about Carson Hocevar. Again, I'm not a Carson Hocevar hater whatsoever. I think that he's doing a lot of good things for the sport. But I think that disconnect comes from as drivers -- I don't handle -- and I'm only going to speak for myself here -- I don't handle the disrespect very well. It's the off track stuff of like, hey another 6% off or another 12% off. To me, that would bug me. If that was me and he runs an 11% discount after he just crashed me, that would bother me as much as the on-track, and the on-track really hurts because I put so much work and effort into this. I don't want someone out there just being nonchalant playing a game at my expense."

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "Blaney went over there to argue with him and I think we were all surprised that Hocevar threw his punch. The whole thing, the whole fight thing went way different than I would've expected and NASCAR is probably over the moon with all of that."

Kevin Harvick: "That is a mad human on both sides of the fence right there. And I think that Blaney got more than he was looking for when he went in there.  I don’t know that anybody really expected for Carson to cock back and throw those punches, but he did. And, I think that when you’re going into those types of situations, you gotta know that when you grab somebody right off the bat, that’s usually the sign of I’m not here to talk. I’m angrier than talking. And a lot of times, you go into those situations looking to aggressively talk. I think that the hands on Carson were what immediately threw that into a moment of self-defense on Carson’s side. So he definitely defended himself. He had what looked like an eight-inch reach advantage when he threw that punch on Blaney, but the emotions were high. And I don’t think that’s how Blaney thought that was going to go.”

Other drivers on social media

Corey Heim: "Nobody should be fined, ever. Unless it’s a cheap shot"

Scott McLaughlin: "They’ll replay the fight all week on social, get there social numbers up and then fine them both a tonne at the end of the week and say bad bad boys ... make it make sense"

Cleetus McFarland: "Carrson Hocevar keeping us entertained tonight!"

Michael Waltrip: “Ryan Blaney was being held while he got hit. Ryan’s a baller.”

Kenny Wallace: "This is the greatest f******* thing that has happened in NASCAR since the glory days of Bristol ... That was a fight. Carson Hocevar knocked the f*** out of Ryan Blaney ... Blaney's got a shiner."

Taylor Gray: "Big Blaney fan now," and later in response to fan saying Blaney got his 'ass whooped:' "Can’t do much when the security guard tackles him.

Dean Thompson: "Remember kids, always swing first" ... and later: "I’d also like to argue that the green shirt puts Ryan in a dangerous position by holding him for Carson to hit him twice."

Regan Smith: "Wanted to go to bed after the race, but what too much fun stuff to scroll coming out of Bristol right now. One thought: PLEASE NO PENALTIES NASCAR."

Corey LaJoie: "Man I can’t get enough of all the videos from last night. I’ve got many thoughts on Carson and Blaney scrapping but the main thing being…..I need to schedule myself a haircut."

Marco Andretti: "Can’t even watch anymore. Just have to wait for the posts on who he took out each week. Getting old to me."

Watch: From on-track to fight, this is what happened between Blaney and Hocevar