BRISTOL, Tenn. — In a finish that would’ve made Kyle Busch smile from above, Joey Logano stole a win in a classic finish to a NASCAR Cup Series race in honor of Busch at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Logano snuck by Carson Hocevar and Ty Gibbs as they scrapped with seven laps to go and swept Kyle Larson in their ordeal. The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion drove away to a 1.248-second win over Larson to score his third win of the 2026 season.
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However, the checkered flag didn’t mean the excitement was over.
On pit road, Ryan Blaney confronted Hocevar over an incident earlier in the race. It led to punches thrown — and landed — on each driver.
Hocevar, Blaney Fight on Pit Road After Classic Bristol Race
Hocevar, Blaney Fight on Pit Road After Classic Bristol RaceCarson Hocevar is back in the spotlight after an incident and fight with Ryan Blaney in Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Bristol Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
TOP-10 FINISHERS (LAP 500): Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, William Byron and Ryan Preece.
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Saturday night marked the first Cup Series race at Bristol since the death of Busch, an eight-time Cup winner at the track. In honor of Busch, widow Samantha Busch addressed the crowd with the couple’s children, Brexton and Lennix.
Next to the family was Ty Gibbs’ car with his regular No. 54 that Busch first made famous in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and a scheme throwing back to Busch’s classic yellow M&Ms scheme.
Gibbs got better as the race went on, finishing fifth in the first stage, second in the second stage and finally taking the lead from Blaney on lap 325. The adopted big brother to Brexton did Rowdy his due diligence, leading three times for 120 laps including one instance where he took the lead from Hocevar in heavy lap traffic that proved problematic.
Gibbs had taken the lead from Hocevar when lap-down drivers Alex Bowman and Cole Custer squeezed him exiting turn four. Bowman spun and brought out the caution, which fell on lap 433, according to NASCAR timing and scoring.
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Gibbs’ team noticed a rub on both sides but risked keeping their driver on the track while Hocevar and others pitted. Hocevar ripped the top back to the front and tried multiple times to get him for the lead, scoring as the leader for two laps but scrapping with Hocevar until Logano got the better of them.
Ty Gibbs Turns In Valiant Effort to Honor Kyle Busch at Bristol
Ty Gibbs Turns In Valiant Effort to Honor Kyle Busch at BristolDespite finishing fifth, Ty Gibbs made a valiant effort to ensure Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway was all about honoring Kyle Busch.
After the pandemonium settled, Larson emerged with the points lead over Hamlin by one point, Logano by 16, Bell by 17, Gibbs by 42, Blaney by 52, Tyler Reddick by 61, Hocevar by 85, Chase Briscoe by 87 and Wallace by 92 to round out the top-10 in the standings.
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Larson led twice for 45 laps after getting the pole.
Reddick is almost a race worth of points out of the lead after starting poorly and falling a lap down in the opening run of the race. He failed to earn the free pass before the competition caution on lap 40 and again before a caution on lap 127, trapping him off the lead lap for the rest of the race.
Reddick ultimately finished 18th, three laps down. However, he wasn’t the worst-finishing Chase driver.
Behind Reddick, Elliott finished 23rd — also three laps down — after crashing on lap while Briscoe finished 27th, six laps down, after a mechanical issue pulled him behind the wall before the finish.
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Blaney finished 33rd, 43 laps down, after the crash with Hocevar. However, his strong stage performance saved him from falling down in the standings:
STAGE 1 TOP 10 (LAP 125): Logano, Larson, Hamlin, Chastain, Gibbs, Blaney, Cindric, Hocevar, Keselowski, Wallace.
STAGE 2 TOP 10 (LAP 250): Blaney, Gibbs, Logano, Berry, Bell, Bubba, Hocevar, Byron, Larson, Buescher.
Next: Kansas Speedway, Sept. 27, 3 p.m. ET (USA, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, MRN affiliates). Chase Elliott won last year, Tyler Reddick won in the spring.
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