NASCAR star wants 'nobody fined' over ugly Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar brawl

10:30 ET, Mon, Sep 21, 2026 Updated: 10:30 ET, Mon, Sep 21, 2026

Corey Heim believes no one should be fined for the Hocevar-Blaney brawl (Image: Getty)

Corey Heim has defended Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar after their ugly brawl at Bristol, arguing that neither driver should be fined for the incident.

Joey Logano won the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, with Kyle Larson finishing second and Hocevar third. Blaney, who led a race-high 202 laps, finished 33rd after contact with Hocevar sent him into the wall.

The No. 12 driver later confronted Hocevar on pit road, shoving the 23-year-old in the chest. Hocevar responded by grabbing Blaney and landing two punches to his head, sending him to the ground. Blaney then broke free from his team and returned to land a punch of his own before the drivers were separated.

Heim, who has a long history with Hocevar, then weighed in on the potential penalties with a short message on social media. “Nobody should be fined, ever. Unless it’s a cheap shot,” Heim wrote.

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The fight became one of the biggest NASCAR stories from Bristol (Image: Getty)

Hocevar also shared his thoughts on whether him and Blaney should be fined. “I would have to think not (because) I kind of got to defend myself at some point,” Hocevar said. “I think we'd lose ticket sales if we did.”

Attention now turns to NASCAR and whether Blaney, Hocevar or both drivers will face penalties for the Bristol fight.

The most recent high-profile precedent came in 2024, when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fined $75,000 for punching Kyle Busch following the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. That incident differed from Bristol, with Stenhouse waiting before confronting Busch and throwing the first punch.

The Blaney-Hocevar fight erupted almost immediately after their on-track incident, with Blaney confronting Hocevar on pit road after the race before Hocevar responded and officials stepped in to separate them. NASCAR had yet to announce any penalties following Sunday’s race.

NASCAR’s new CEO, Steve O’Donnell, has also indicated that he does not necessarily have a problem with drivers settling their differences through a fight. "I'm okay with it. I think that's fair," O'Donnell said while appearing as a guest on the Racin' With the Boys podcast. "We went through an era where there were too many fines. Fining everybody.

“What happened was, if you go up and down pit road right now, a lot of guys look like you — big dudes, right? And some of our drivers aren't that big. So guys were getting in fights and the crew guys were piling on. It got a little dangerous. Where we're at is, if the drivers want to handle their business, great. When the crew guys start piling on, that's when we've got a challenge (like Jeff Gordon vs. Brad Keselowski at Texas in 2014)."