Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, emerging from a hectic final couple restarts for his third win of 2026. Logano emerged victorious after Ty Gibbs and Carson Hocevar clashed in the final 10 laps of the race.
On the final restart with nine laps remaining, Gibbs and Hocevar – the fastest two cars of Stage 3 – began a spirited battle for the win. Contact between the two allowed Kyle Larson to pull even, but not complete a pass for the lead. Logano then surged to the bottom and cleared both Gibbs and Hocevar in one move.
Ryan Blaney vs. Carson Hocevar
FIGHT NIGHT IN BRISTOL!! 🥊⚔️ pic.twitter.com/nooT5WA70U
— NASCAR on USA (@NASCARonUSA) September 20, 2026
On Lap 458 while racing for second Carson Hocevar made contact with Ryan Blaney from behind, sending the No. 12 hard into the wall. Blaney, one of the foremost championship contenders, was eliminated from the race as a result of yet another run-in between Hocevar and one of his competitors.
Blaney promised the media he’d have something to say to Hocevar after the race, and he kept his promise. The driver of the No. 12 car found Hocevar after the race and grabbed his collar, leading to a brawl between both crews. Hocevar appeared to land two punches on Blaney before wearing one himself after Blaney charged back into the fray.
After the dust settled, video captured by Noah Lewis appeared to show Josh Berry and Ryan Preece also voicing their displeasure with Hocevar.
Chase Outlook
Kyle Larson departs Bristol as the points leader with seven races remaining in the Chase. He has an advantage of just one point over Denny Hamlin, with race winner Joey Logano now third at 16 points back. Christopher Bell is fourth at -17, with Ty Gibbs fifth at -42.
Ryan Blaney’s championship hopes were dealt a major blow by his 33rd-place finish after the incident with Carson Hocevar. He now sits sixth in the standings, 52 points out of the lead. An eventful third-place run enabled Hocevar to rise to eighth in points, 85 points back with a slim but vital shot at his first championship.
Three drivers dropped two spots in the Chase on Saturday: Blaney, Tyler Reddick (5th to 7th), and Chris Buescher (13th to 15th). Joey Logano was the biggest gainer after moving from sixth to third, while Ty Gibbs (7th to 5th) and William Byron (15th to 13th) each ascended two spots in the standings.
Race Results
| Position | Car | Driver | Margin |
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano (C) | — |
| 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson (C) | 1.248 |
| 3 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (C) | 1.253 |
| 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell (C) | 1.494 |
| 5 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (C) | 1.637 |
| 6 | 21 | Josh Berry | 1.958 |
| 7 | 23 | Bubba Wallace (C) | 2.658 |
| 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (C) | 2.986 |
| 9 | 24 | William Byron (C) | 3.249 |
| 10 | 60 | Ryan Preece (C) | 3.705 |
| 11 | 2 | Austin Cindric (C) | 3.849 |
| 12 | 1 | Ross Chastain | 11.197 |
| 13 | 17 | Chris Buescher (C) | 1 lap |
| 14 | 7 | Daniel Suarez (C) | 2 laps |
| 15 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | 2 laps |
| 16 | 4 | Noah Gragson | 2 laps |
| 17 | 3 | Austin Dillon | 2 laps |
| 18 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (C) | 3 laps |
| 19 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | 3 laps |
| 20 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen | 3 laps |
| 21 | 71 | Michael McDowell | 3 laps |
| 22 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | 3 laps |
| 23 | 9 | Chase Elliott (C) | 3 laps |
| 24 | 88 | Connor Zilisch # | 4 laps |
| 25 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | 5 laps |
| 26 | 41 | Cole Custer | 5 laps |
| 27 | 19 | Chase Briscoe (C) | BTW |
| 28 | 38 | Zane Smith | 6 laps |
| 29 | 33 | Austin Hill(i) | 6 laps |
| 30 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 10 laps |
| 31 | 51 | Cody Ware | -1 lap |
| 32 | 43 | Erik Jones | 17 laps |
| 33 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (C) | OUT |
| 34 | 35 | Riley Herbst | BTW |
| 35 | 48 | Alex Bowman | OUT |
| 36 | 10 | Ty Dillon | 98 laps |
| 37 | 66 | * Josh Bilicki(i) | OUT |
