The Wildest Driver Altercations and Brawls in NASCAR Cup History

NASCAR history has long featured famous altercations, beginning with the post-race brawl at the 1979 Daytona 500 between Cale Yarborough, Donnie Allison, and Bobby Allison following a final-lap crash. Occurring during the first live nationwide broadcast of a 500-mile race on CBS, the incident helped bring NASCAR into the national spotlight.

Between 2010 and 2014, a series of high-profile clashes occurred among experienced drivers. Notable incidents included Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton at Texas in 2010, a car chase and pit road confrontation between Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch at Darlington in 2011, and a garage brawl at Phoenix in 2012 between Jeff Gordon's crew and Clint Bowyer. Additional altercations included Tony Stewart lunging at Joey Logano at Fontana in 2013, and a chaotic multi-driver clash involving Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, and others at Charlotte in 2014.

Tensions remained high in subsequent years across multiple events. At Texas in 2014, Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski engaged in a brawl prompted by Kevin Harvick, leaving both drivers bloodied. In 2017 at Las Vegas, Kyle Busch threw a punch at Joey Logano and ended up on the ground with a bloody forehead. Later in 2019 at Martinsville, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano pushed and shoved on pit road before team members intervened.

From 2022 to 2026, further physical confrontations were recorded. Bubba Wallace repeatedly shoved Kyle Larson after a crash at Las Vegas in 2022, while Ross Chastain punched Noah Gragson in the face at Kansas in 2023. At the 2024 All-Star Race, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. punched Kyle Busch following a brief conversation, drawing in crew members and Stenhouse's father. Most recently at Bristol in 2026, Ryan Blaney confronted Carson Hocevar on pit road and was punched twice in the face after an on-track collision.