Fans lament 'tame' F1 after NASCAR title rivals trade punches in post-race fight

They do things a little differently in America, and F1 fans definitely noticed as NASCAR made massive headlines on Saturday night.

Tempers flared in Bristol, Tennessee after a key NASCAR postseason race, with terse words exchanged post-race after a controversial crash. Except, swap 'words' for 'punches', and 'terse' for 'several'.

F1 fans, obviously, were fascinated.

Championship contenders Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar were fighting for second position with some 40 laps of the race's 500-lap distance remaining when the notoriously aggressive Hocevar responded to a block by 2023 champion Blaney by shunting him into the inside wall.

Blaney's race ended on the spot (Hocevar finished third) and while the closing stages of the race continued on track, he told the media he'd 'probably' talk to the younger driver after the chequered flag.

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Hocevar and Blaney throw hands on pit road

Fans didn't have to wait long to see how that went, with Blaney storming up to Hocevar and grabbing his race suit as the latter exited his car, only for Hocevar to start throwing punches – landing a couple before they were separated, after which Blaney wriggled free of some team personnel and went back for Round 2.

The pair were separated for good before Hocevar gave a grinning interview, blaming the Team Penske star for the original crash and adding: “I saw him coming, and he’s moving pretty fast, and then he grabbed me, and I was like, ‘okay, I’m not going to wait’. I’ve seen enough of these. I’m going to start swinging and see what happens.”

What caught a number of F1 fans' eyes wasn't just the fact that two drivers physically fought each other when they were pumped up after the race, but the way the sport itself leaned into the excitement – with the official NASCAR account breathlessly posting multiple new angles of the fight, and a fantastic still image of Blaney's hat flying off his head after one blow landed.

Eagle-eyed viewers also spotted title contender Ty Gibbs enjoying the scenes going on just a couple of yards away from him, and at one point playfully tossing a drinks bottle into the melee.

(Some) F1 fans yearn for violence

In an era when F1 is accused of being more sanitised than ever, fans leapt on the moment, with one popular account tweeting: "Wake up Domenicali, fewer sprints and give me a Bottas vs Stroll or something like that."

"nascar posting like 10 videos of the fight from every possible angle on their official account lmaooo f1 could NEVER be this funny," said another, with many more calling for F1 drivers to start getting into confrontations.

Fighting has long been a part of NASCAR's legacy – Kyle Busch's fight with Joey Logano at his home track in Las Vegas is the stuff of legend, and there are many more to go with it - and its identity as a more rough and ready sport than the more traditionally 'gentlemanly' millionaires' sport of F1.

Don't expect to see Fernando Alonso and Franco Colapinto going blow for blow any time soon. But in NASCAR...well, a number of drivers told the media last night that Hocevar being physically confronted was 'a long time coming', and predicted that it'll happen again in the not-too distant future by one of the several other drivers he pushes too far.

And because we know you want to see it...here's the fight.

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

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 20, 2026

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Written by

Chris Deeley - Editor

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