Joey Logano wins NASCAR race at Bristol as Carson Hocevar, Ryan Blaney fight afterward

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — Joey Logano led the final seven laps Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway after seizing the lead from Carson Hocevar, who overshadowed the winner despite finishing third.

Hocevar, a brash 23-year-old who has earned the ire of veteranswith his aggressive driving, traded punches in the pits with Ryan Blaney after they were involved in an incident while racing for second with 41 laps left.

Hocevar stopped his car after finishing third and was greeted by a shove from Blaney.

The 6-foot-4 Hocevar, who stands a few inches taller than Blaney, responded with two overhand rights. The first knocked off Blaney’s hat, and the second connected with Blaney’s left cheek.

Blaney fell to the pavement and then scrambled to his feet and out of a crew member’s hold while Hocevar raised his arms and pointed at him. Blaney charged and threw a wild left that knocked off Hocevar’s hat. They then were separated by team members as Blaney continued to yell at Hocevar.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of talking,” Hocevar said. “He just kind of said one thing and then went after me, and I wasn’t going to take it. I got ran into a lot for the win. That was for second and he wants to come fight. They got an old-school Bristol show here.”

The contact between the drivers started shortly after Blaney took second with an outside pass of Hocevar, who immediately slid his No. 77 Chevrolet down the track. Blaney moved low to block, and Hocevar stayed in the accelerator and knocked the No. 12 Ford into a spin that ended in the inside wall.

“I don’t know what I did wrong there," Hocevar said. "I crossed him over and looked like he spun himself, and then he wants to instigate a fight, so I was going to finish that, and it seemed like the crowd was pretty pumped up, so I was going to play the audience for a second.”

In an interview during the race, Blaney said, “I tried to protect the bottom, he crossed and never lifted, and I got crashed.”

When asked which driver was at fault, Blaney said, “I don’t (expletive) know. Each person is going to say they did nothing wrong.”

Logano started from the pole position and led 93 laps to move into third place in the points standings.

Kyle Larson finished second to move into the Chase lead by a point over Denny Hamlin.

Christopher Bell was fourth, followed by Ty Gibbs, who led 120 laps before finishing fifth.

Gibbs was driving a No. 54 Toyota that sported a paint scheme honoring the late Kyle Busch, who had a record 23 wins in NASCAR national series at Bristol.

It was among multiple tributes to the Richard Childress Racing driver who died in May.

Fans waved yellow towels on the 18th lap in honor of Busch, who won two Cup Series championships in the No. 18 Toyota. His widow, Samantha, addressed the crowd before the race.

“Bristol was always so special to Kyle,” Samantha Busch said. “He loved racing under the lights, the energy of this place, and most of all, the fans. For 20 years, this sport was our life. It’s where we raised our babies and made some of our very best memories. I never imagined we’d be standing here without him. But looking out at all of you reminds me that we aren’t walking this alone.”

In its federal lawsuit that accuses Spire Motorsports of cheating by using stolen intellectual property, Joe Gibbs Racing filed a motion Thursday claiming that Spire and chief motorsports officer Chris Gabehart violated a temporary restraining order and should be held in contempt. A federal judge ruled in March that Gabehart can work for Spire but not in the competition director role he was in while with Joe Gibbs Racing last season.

Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson responded to the motion in a statement Friday night. “JGR does not get to control what other race teams do through court cases,” Dickerson said. “JGR does not own tire pressures, JGR does not own the people who work in this industry, and JGR does not own Spire. Spire looks forward to responding to JGR’s motion in court. To be clear, months of discovery have shown that Spire Motorsports has done nothing wrong.”

The NASCAR Cup Series will begin a stretch of three consecutive races on 1.5-mile ovals with Kansas Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 27. Tyler Reddick won the April 19 race at the track in Kansas City, Kansas.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Joey Logano (22) celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

A fan holds up a yellow towel on the 18th lap to honor the late Kyle Busch during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Joey Logano (22) leads Austin Cindric (2) and Alex Bowman during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Ty Gibbs (54), in the throwback M&M's car honoring the late Kyle Busch, leads Ryan Preece and Connor Zilisch during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ed Sheeran opened a concert Saturday with comments about Gaza after controversy swirled around his tour and supporting acts withdrew in solidarity with opener Macklemore, who was dropped after making pro-Palestinian comments onstage.

Sheeran began the concert alone on stage with no opener, but was joined by other musicians later in the show.

Sheeran said he wants his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics. But he said the attacks in Israel of Oct. 7, 2023, were horrific and what is happening in Gaza “catastrophic and unjustifiable.”

“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet,” Sheeran said during his performance at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

The comments before a nearly full stadium came after a tumultuous week that began with rapper Macklemore, Sheeran's original U.S. opener, being dropped in response to exclaiming “Free Palestine” during a Sept. 5 show in New Jersey.

Sheeran has said he was not responsible for the decision, which came at the urging of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. His company owns a stadium where Sheeran’s tour was scheduled to play on Friday.

Within hours of Sheeran’s statement Tuesday, his supporting acts withdrew.

Sheeran has performed many songs solo during his Loop Tour concerts, but was joined for several songs at each stop by the Irish folk band Beoga before they dropped out in support of Macklemore.

Macklemore was replaced by Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe before they backed out, and Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother and musical collaborator, was due to tour with Sheeran in South America later this year before he too dropped out this week.

Before Saturday's show, a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators congregated outside the stadium. Hillary Steinberg, 34, said she got concert tickets a year ago but wound up getting a refund and attended the demonstration instead, disappointed that Sheeran did not take a stand.

“I was, until this week, a big Ed Sheeran fan,” Steinberg said. “I think all art is political, and all music is political, and so this choice — even though he was saying that he wasn’t complicit — is a political choice.”

Diane Savitz, a 53-year-old from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, got tickets months ago and attended. She said she is a big Sheeran fan, doesn't think he did anything wrong and a concert is not the place for politics.

“A concert should be for people enjoying the music. Music should bring people together,” Savitz said. “Everyone has their right to freedom of speech, but not every platform is the place for it.”

Macklemore said Wednesday he is donating $1 million to support Palestinian relief efforts and called on Kraft to match the gift; a spokesperson for Kraft has said the billionaire and Sheeran have each agreed to donate $2 million but have not specified where the money will be directed. Sheeran's representatives have not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Sheeran was the No. 3 top-earning concert act of the millennium so far, industry magazine Polestar calculated in late 2025.

Sheeran has said the tour promoter was ultimately responsible for the decision to drop Macklemore.

The Grammy winner was adamant earlier this week that he wouldn't be drawn into discussion of the war in Gaza, arguing that his fans don’t come to his shows to hear about these issues.

He also said he “spoke with the venues at length all week to try to build a bridge” before Macklemore was dropped. He insisted he would never willingly let down his fans or abandon the touring crew and others who rely on him to make a living.

While promoters and venues wield great power over concert tours, experts say an artist of Sheeran's magnitude generally has the final say about what happens concerning the shows.

Sheeran told the crowd in Philadelphia that everyone is welcome at his concerts, and they can have opposing points of view while still singing his songs, which are about “love, hope and unity.”

He also told fans he worries about venues preapproving performances.

“This happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world,” Sheeran said.

A previous version of this story incorrectly quoted Polestar magazine as calculating that Sheeran was the third-highest concert earner from 2021-2025. It was from 2001-2025.

Associated Press journalist Jessica Hill in Las Vegas contributed.

Concert goers arrive to Lincoln Financial Field before an Ed Sheeran concert in Philadelphia, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Allie Ippolito)

Concert goers arrive to Lincoln Financial Field before an Ed Sheeran concert in Philadelphia, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Allie Ippolito)

Pro Palestinian protesters, right, march past counter protesters during a protest before an Ed Sheeran concert in Philadelphia, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Allie Ippolito)

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators hold signs during a "Free Palestine" protest before an Ed Sheeran concert in Philadelphia, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Allie Ippolito)

Recording artist Macklemore appears on ABC's "Good Morning America" Summer Concert Series in Central Park in New York on July 22, 2022, left, and Ed Sheeran appears at the premiere of the film "F1 The Movie" in London on June 23, 2025. (AP Photo)

FILE - Ed Sheeran attends the Time100 Gala, in New York on April 24, 2025. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)