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Joey Logano won Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 500-lap, 266.5-mile event that capped a busy playoff weekend. Kyle Larson finished second and moved into the Chase lead by one point over Denny Hamlin after weather canceled practice and qualifying, and NASCAR set the lineup by metric with Larson on the pole. Ryan Blaney’s run ended in a late crash after he led 202 laps. Bristol’s weekend also included Jake Garcia’s win in Thursday’s UNOH 250 and Sheldon Creed’s victory in Friday’s Food City 300.

There is no NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday, Sept. 20. The next playoff race is the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, with streaming available on DIRECTV and other live TV services. Seven races remain in the Cup Series playoff chase.

Joey Logano won Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, closing from the front of a late battle to take the lead with seven laps remaining and hold off Kyle Larson by 1.248 seconds. The victory was Logano’s third of the 2026 season, his 40th career Cup Series win and his third at Bristol. It also tightened the championship chase, with Logano moving to third in the standings, 16 points behind Larson.

The race turned chaotic in the final stage, with 13 lead changes among six drivers, 10 cautions and only 12 cars on the lead lap at the finish. Ryan Blaney led a race-high 202 laps and won Stage 2 before Carson Hocevar’s contact sent him into the wall with about 41 to 43 laps left, ending Blaney’s race in 33rd. After the checkered flag, Blaney and Hocevar fought on pit road, and Ty Gibbs, who led 120 laps, faded to fifth after battling Hocevar for the lead late.

Larson’s runner-up finish gave him the Cup points lead by one point over Denny Hamlin heading to Kansas Speedway, while Christopher Bell remained in the title fight in fourth, 17 points back. Bell said Joe Gibbs Racing did not have enough pace to contend at Bristol and that the team was still alive in the championship race. The series next heads to Kansas for the Hollywood Casino 400, the fourth race of the 10-race Chase.

Carson Hocevar and Ryan Blaney’s late-race collision at Bristol Motor Speedway escalated into a post-race fight on pit road after Hocevar clipped Blaney’s No. 12 Ford and sent him into the wall with about 41 to 43 laps remaining. The contact ended Blaney’s race, gave him a second straight DNF in the Chase, and hurt his title hopes after he had led 202 laps and won the first two stages. Hocevar finished third.

After the race, Blaney confronted Hocevar, and the exchange turned physical. Blaney shoved Hocevar and grabbed him by the firesuit or race suit, and Hocevar answered with two punches that appeared to land on Blaney’s face. Blaney swung back once as crews and NASCAR security separated the drivers. Before the confrontation, Blaney had said, “How about tonight?” and later, “Something’s going to happen [tonight].”

Hocevar said he had no regrets and believed Blaney spun himself, saying he did not know what he had done wrong. He said the two were racing hard for the lead and described the exchange as intense but “fun” in the moment, adding that Blaney was probably more frustrated with the playoff situation than with him personally. Joey Logano went on to win the race after taking the lead from Hocevar, and both Blaney and Hocevar remained in the Cup Series Chase after Bristol.

NASCAR officials were set to visit World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway next week to review the track’s pit-road layout after a multicar crash in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race there raised safety concerns. No changes have been decided, and NASCAR has not announced any specific pit-road modifications.

The crash happened on Lap 50 when William Sawalich checked up on pit road, setting off a chain reaction after Rajah Caruth’s car went sideways and involving Nick Sanchez and Brent Crews. Crew members Brad Donaghy, Bryan Backus and Matt Wilps were struck, though no serious injuries were reported.

Gateway’s pit road is 25 feet wide, the second-narrowest on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule behind Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 24 feet. NASCAR is studying whether widening pit lane could improve safety. Denny Hamlin called Gateway’s pit road “way too tight” and said concrete pit-wall changes should be made before someone is injured. He finished ninth in the Cup race, won by Kyle Larson, and his championship deficit to Larson shrank to nine points in a race that had 18 cautions and five brake failures.

Joe Gibbs Racing brought back Kyle Busch’s yellow M&M’s livery on Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota for Bristol Motor Speedway’s Saturday night race as a tribute to Busch’s long partnership with the team and Mars. Samantha Busch, Brexton Busch and Lennix Busch saw the car before the race, and the design featured images from Busch’s career, including his first Joe Gibbs Racing contract, his first win with the team, his wedding and photos of Brexton celebrating his victories. Bristol also planned yellow tribute towels and a Lap 18 salute, and team members and the Busch family called the unveiling emotional and meaningful.

The tribute also had a personal connection for Ty Gibbs and the Busch family. Brexton helped roll Gibbs’ car to the hauler at Joe Gibbs Racing, and Samantha Busch said Gibbs had spent time with her son, including lunches and breakfasts, and had talked with him about their fathers after both families experienced loss. Gibbs said he wanted to support Brexton as a friend, did not want to be in the spotlight and would like to see M&M’s return to NASCAR beyond this race. Heather Gibbs said the No. 18 would remain reserved for someone with the Busch surname and called it sacred after the organization rejected an idea to run that number again.

Busch’s Bristol record made the venue a fitting place for the tribute. He won eight Cup Series races there, along with nine Xfinity Series races and five Truck Series races, making him one of the track’s best drivers. The tribute also marked Busch’s 15-year run with Joe Gibbs Racing and M&M’s, a stretch in which he won two Cup Series titles. Gibbs, who won the spring Bristol race earlier this year, was set to start 13th after qualifying was rained out. He entered the weekend sixth in the standings, 51 points behind Denny Hamlin, and said his recent Iowa victory did not change his approach.