Bubba Wallace was in shock as his best friend Ryan Blaney traded blows with Carson Hocevar following Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The post-race brawl stemmed from an on-track incident between Hocevar and Blaney that left the latter spun around and into the outside wall.
Blaney, who won Stage 1 in Saturday’s race, wound up with a 33rd-place finish. Meanwhile, Hocevar was in contention late in the race and scored a third-place finish. Wallace scored a seventh-place finish at Bristol, his second top 10 in the last three races.
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Wallace on Blaney’s post-race anger: ‘Surprised the [expletive] out of me’
As chaos ensued at the entrance of the backstretch pit road, drivers nearby tried to get a look at the action. Among those were Wallace, Josh Berry and Ryan Preece.
When speaking to reporters after the brawl, Wallace said he was simply trying to figure out what was happening. The driver of the No. 23 applauded Blaney’s passion to go after Hocevar and said he will have to catch up with him later this week to figure out what unfolded.
“I was just trying to figure out what was going on. I was proud of Blaney for having some passion. I don’t know what led to that. I just saw the aftermath of him in the wall, but I’ll have a beer with him and figure it out,” Wallace said.
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As his best friend, Wallace knows Blaney on a personal level more than most.
So when the 2023 Cup Series champion was throwing punches at Hocevar, Wallace was left with his jaw dropped.
“No. It surprised the [expletive] out of me,” Wallace said.
Wallace on top-10 run at Bristol: ‘Need great runs’
It was a solid night for Wallace at Bristol as the 23XI Racing driver nabbed his 13th top-10 result of the season.
Although it was a quality night for Wallace, the Alabama native said they need to be better. With three 1.5-mile tracks ahead of them, Wallace believes a “generational run” is coming for he and his team.
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“We need better though. We need great runs. I talked about that generational run [and] I think it’s really going to start next week. … It’s nice to come out of here with a little momentum,” Wallace said.
Wallace ranks 10th in the Chase standings amid his third appearance in the 10-race playoffs for the Cup Series. The 32-year-old has four top-five finishes in 2026 with a best finish of second twice, coming at Naval Base Coronado and New Hampshire.
Wallace is in his sixth full-time season with 23XI Racing. He has three career victories, all coming with 23XI, with his latest win being the 2025 Brickyard 400.
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