After Viral Fight, See Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar’s NASCAR Championship Odds on Polymarket

A fight went down on Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, one that featured two NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders.

Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney went after Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar at the Tennessee short track. He had the intention of letting Hocevar know his frustration after on-track contact led to him crashing, but the situation escalated as the drivers traded blows.

Drama post-race. pic.twitter.com/vZZqtTZGCn

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 20, 2026

Blaney shoved Hocevar and then grabbed his firesuit. The Spire Motorsports driver responded by throwing two punches. He connected on both before NASCAR security and two Spire Motorsports crew members took Blaney to the ground.

The Team Penske driver did not stop there. He shouted at Hocevar while being held back, and then he suddenly wriggled free. He darted through the crowd once again and threw a left at Hocevar. He connected, albeit with a glancing blow, before being restrained once again.

Blaney had to be escorted back to the No. 12 team’s hauler while Hocevar remained on pit road to fulfill his post-race media obligations. Although he spent several minutes pumping his fist to the roaring crowd.

Ever the showman, Carson Hocevar began pumping his fist for the fans after the fight with Blaney. pic.twitter.com/f71VnmrnLr

— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) September 20, 2026

NASCAR has fined and penalized drivers for fights in the past, but that will not happen. Steve O’Donnell, the sport’s CEO, said that neither Blaney nor Hocevar will be disciplined. The crew members who got involved could potentially face punishment for putting their hands on drivers.

“If drivers are going to handle their own business, the way we looked at that, how it played out, we’re not going to encourage fighting, but what we are going to encourage is passion, right,” NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said during an appearance on Kevin Harvick’s podcast.

“And those are two guys — Blaney’s showing his passion, showing his fire. So no, there’s nothing coming from us in terms of (penalties). We’ll obviously watch what happens the rest of the way, but nothing in terms of post-race penalties.”

Avoiding a penalty is significant for both drivers, who are currently competing in NASCAR’s version of the postseason known as the Chase.

This 10-race schedule features 16 drivers competing for the championship. Although all 36 full-time drivers are on the track at the same time.

Unlike in past seasons of the playoffs, all 16 drivers will remain eligible for the title as they complete this portion of the schedule. The one with the most points at the end of the 10-race Chase will be the champion.

Blaney is currently sixth in the standings after failing to finish two of the first three Chase races. He crashed at Gateway after blowing a brake rotor and then he crashed at Bristol after contact from Hocevar spun him. He is 52 points back of leader Kyle Larson.

Hocevar is eighth in the standings. He is 85 points back of Larson and still mathematically in contention for the championship. Although he would need the bonus points that come from winning races to help him move up the standings.

Polymarket traders view Denny Hamlin as the favorite to win the champioship, even though he has fallen to second in the standings. He has a 30% chance while Larson has a 21% chance.

Blaney, the 2023 Cup Series champion, has a 6% chance to win his second title. This places him fifth in the Polymarket rankings. He is behind Christopher Bell (13%) and teammate Joey Logano (11%). Logano has won three championships since 2018.

Hocevar is much farther down the rankings. He has a 2% chance to win the championship. This puts him in the same arena as Bubba Wallace.

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