Friday Faceoff: Was No Penalties for Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar the Right Call?

1) Did NASCAR make the right decision issuing no penalties to Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar for their post-race fight?

Luken Glover: Steve O’Donnell and NASCAR leadership continue to deliver wins for the sport. Penalties surrounding altercations have always been kind of murky, especially after Robin Pemberton stated, “Boys, have at it” back in 2010, yet we still saw penalties. Based on what we have seen before, fights have to be premeditated for drivers to get penalized, such as the case between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch in 2024. In this case, and based on comments made by Ryan Blaney on the Actions Detrimental podcast, a physical altercation was not premeditated, and Blaney seemed to diffuse the situation on the podcast. At the same time, the fight drew eyeballs to the sport. People all across the country have been talking about it. So what message is sent if NASCAR penalizes them but then promotes it for the next handful of decades?

Alex Klancko: Yes. Some may say post-race fights are not good for the sport, but they are much better than attempted murder at 200 mph. Also, it would be dumb to fine drivers for fighting when the sport will likely profit from it with an ad or social media post later on.

Jeffrey Boswell: In NASCAR’s eyes, yes. Of course, there is no consistency with NASCAR when it comes to punishment for fighting. A week from now, Blaney could punch Chase Elliott and Blaney would have the book thrown at him. NASCAR needs and wants physical altercations like these, and currently Carson Hocevar is the poster boy, and deservedly so, of having a punchable face. Love him or hate him, Hocevar is a magnet for controversy and ratings. Their ruling on the Hocevar-Blaney scraps pushes NASCAR’s agenda to promote controversy and ratings. NASCAR will certainly accept a black eye for a driver as long as it’s not a black eye for the sport.

Christopher Hansen: Yes. With no penalties being issued to either driver, NASCAR allowed the two to more or less express their displeasure with each other. If a one-race suspension would’ve been given to both Blaney and Hocevar, that would’ve been a bad look going into this weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway. Instead, both drivers have a clean slate and can continue to fight for the championship.

2) Outside of the current top-four drivers in The Chase, who has the best chance of making a run at the championship in the final seven races?

Michael Bellifemini: Ty Gibbs and Blaney in fifth and sixth are definitely still in it for the title. Three straight intermediates will be huge for Gibbs with Toyota’s speed this year on that type of track. Blaney has been Ford’s strongest driver this season, and he will be due for some good results after his last two weeks.

Scott Clemons-Baker: Chase Briscoe. If the Toyota dominance at 1.5-mile tracks continues, the most recent winner at this track type should have all the speed he needs to make up his current points deficit and position himself squarely back in the championship fight. If Briscoe can be within 40 points after Charlotte Motor Speedway, he has as good a shot as any to take the title.

Jon Iaccino: Tyler Reddick. He’s 62 points out, but the next three tracks are Kansas, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Charlotte. Everybody knows how strong the Toyotas have been on the intermediates this year, and they’ll find their early-season form again starting this weekend. If there is a team that knows how to get blazing hot in a short stretch, it’s the No. 45 team.

3) The Kyle Busch M&M’s tribute scheme earned rave reviews at Bristol. What other former sponsors would you like to see make a return?

Klancko: There are a lot of great brands that have left NASCAR. FedEx, Lowe’s, Home Depot and Target are among the fan favorites, but I have to go with Kellogg’s. The reason is you have so many brands to choose from within Kellogg’s. There are the more iconic brands like Frosted Flakes, Corn Flakes or Cheerios, but you can also make paint schemes with Pops, Frosted Mini Wheats, Froot Loops, Krave, Apple Jacks or Rice Krispies. There are also different variations and flavors of some of those brands that you can use as well, so Kellogg’s is a no-brainer.

Glover: In the spirit of Busch’s legacy and the recent announcement that Kyle Larson will be running a throwback to Busch’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports car at Vegas, it would be great to see Kellogg’s make a return. Between Terry Labonte, Busch and Mark Martin, the Kellogg’s cars always stood out, and they certainly were a fan favorite. Some of its brands have made brief appearances here and there in recent years, but a sizable return would certainly be welcomed. Another one is Home Depot. Those bright and warm orange liveries are nostalgic for many, and given the company’s place in the market and how it fits NASCAR’s audience, it would be great to see it make a return.

Bellifemini: At the top of my list are beer sponsors Miller Lite, Coors Light and Budweiser, along with Kellogg’s. The Blue Deuce and Silver Bullet were great nicknames with sharp schemes, and I miss seeing Tony the Tiger out there, too.

Clemons-Baker: It was incredible seeing the M&M’s colors back on track. I have always favored the Target paint schemes of old. I would love to see the superstore giant make a return to the Cup Series. McDonald’s and Miller Lite are two others that always had great-looking cars.

4) Joey Logano got his 40th career Cup win last weekend. How many wins will he have when he retires?

Boswell: Fifty wins is an easily attainable target for Joey Logano to reach, and 50 would move him past NASCAR legends like Bill Elliott, Tony Stewart and Buck Baker on the all-time wins list. Logano is a spry 36, and he’s won at least once in each of the last 15 years. If another NASCAR championship comes in the process of reaching 50 wins, then Logano would join Jeff Gordon with four championships and cement his status as one of the greatest drivers of all time.

Hansen: Logano will finish his Cup career with 46 wins. While he’s scored three victories to this point in 2026, he’s had some seasons of only visiting victory lane once, most recently in 2025. Every even year, though, Logano seems to find another gear and can easily rattle off 3-4 wins in a short span. Depending on how many more full-time seasons of racing he has left, he’ll easily reach 46 career wins.

Iaccino: Rewind back to, say, two months ago, and many would have told you Logano getting to 40 wins was going to be an uphill climb with how he was running. How quickly do things change in this sport. Three wins in seven weeks and now Logano is a serious championship contender once more. He hasn’t even hinted at retiring, so I would anticipate him running for at least 4-5 more years. If he can etch out 2-3 wins per season, he’d be right in the ballpark of 50 career wins. At this point, that seems extremely attainable.