Bristol Motor Speedway (Bristol, Tenn.) — After a mild-mannered 425 laps, the Bristol night race lived up to the hype.
The last 75 laps were wild, as championship contenders crashed, punctuated by a post-race brawl.
Fans will talk about the Carson Hocevar-Ryan Blaney fight for years to come, as Hocevar nailed Blaney in the face with a punch.
“It makes you feel a little better for losing,” Hocevar told me and other reporters after his third-place finish.
Oh, and by the way, Joey Logano won and Kyle Larson took over the points lead.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Carson Hocevar Smiles After Fight
Carson Hocevar was all smiles after his altercation with Ryan Blaney at Bristol.
The Spire Motorsports driver tangled with Blaney with 43 laps remaining. And Blaney — who led a race-high 202 laps — was tired of what he feels was Hocevar wrecking him. It is a sentiment shared by drivers in the garage, although in this case, one could argue that responsibility is 50-50.
Hocevar isn’t going to get the benefit of the doubt, but he left no doubt who won the fight as he landed a couple of punches.
Hocevar smiled and answered questions after the fight. He often says he is a fan of the sport and he could hear the cheers for him both in driver introductions and afterward.
“I don’t know if he made a poor decision … but I think everybody saw the intensity of The Chase,” Hocevar said. “I don’t know if he’s mad at me or just mad at the situation or both — or if I’m an easy punching bag. … Hopefully they can sell some tickets [from this] for next year.”
2. Joey Logano’s Big Win
Is Joey Logano getting hot when it matters most?
The three-time Cup champion Logano won for the third time in the last nine races. Prior to that, Logano had won just once in the previous 56 events.
After 18 races, Logano was 20th in the standings. He ultimately rallied with two wins to make The Chase and now has a decent shot at the title. On fresher tires, he got by Hocevar for the lead with seven laps remaining.
“You’ve got to get hot at the right time and take advantage of the cars when you have them,” Logano said in his post-race news conference.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to go to some racetracks that we’ve been good at in the past historically and we’ve been able to capitalize on those.”
Logano moved up to third in the standings, just 16 points behind Kyle Larson and 15 points behind Denny Hamlin.
3. Kyle Larson Takes Points Lead
Kyle Larson is now in the driver’s seat when it comes to The Chase points.
Larson, with a second-place finish, took over the points lead. He now leads championship favorite Denny Hamlin by a single point. Hamlin finished eighth at Bristol.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver is the first non-Toyota driver to lead the points. After finishing second in the opening stage, Larson nearly never recovered from damage to the hood of his car after he got into the back of teammate William Byron on pit road.
“It’s good, but there’s still so much racing left,” Larson said during his USA Sports interview after the race.
4. Touching Kyle Busch Tributes
Ty Gibbs (L) shares the stage with the late Kyle Busch’s son Brexton Busch before the race at Bristol.
It looked like Ty Gibbs might win at Bristol while driving a Kyle Busch tribute M&Ms paint scheme. Gibbs settled for fifth on a night where he led 120 laps.
Busch, the two-time Cup champion who died suddenly in May, won nine Cup races at Bristol — eight on the concrete and one when it was covered with dirt. He also had two triple-header weekend sweeps at the track.
Busch’s widow, Samantha, addressed the crowd prior to the race.
“Bristol was always so special to Kyle,” she told the crowd. “He loved racing under the lights, the energy of this place and most of all, you, the fans.”
The fans commemorated Busch by waving yellow towels on Lap 18.
4 ½. What’s Next: Kansas
Tyler Reddick won at Kansas when the series last stopped there earlier this year.
The next three NASCAR races are at 1.5-mile ovals, where the Toyotas have dominated much of the season. The championship picture will likely become clear after Kansas, Las Vegas and Charlotte.
“We’re going to some good tracks for us but also good tracks for the Toyotas are Vegas and Kansas, Charlotte,” Larson said. “It could easily change a lot here in the next upcoming weeks. But we’ve just got to be ready for anything and keep plugging away.”
Tyler Reddick won the Kansas race in May.
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