# NASCAR Leaves Payback Unpunished

> NASCAR chose not to penalize Sawalich after his contact with Day, signaling drivers will self-police.
- Title: NASCAR Leaves Payback Unpunished · Racing America On SI
- Summary: NASCAR chose not to penalize Sawalich after his contact with Day, signaling drivers will self-police. NASCAR's decision to not penalize Sawalich after his…
- Keywords: nascar, william sawalich, corey day, nascar cup series, brad moran, brad keselowski, carson hocevar, ryan preece, ty gibbs, bass pro shops night race, bristol motor speedway, sports
- Source: Racing America On SI — https://si.com/onsi/racing-america/news/nascar-made-one-thing-perfectly-clear-by-not-penalizing-sawalich
- Published: 2026-09-16T16:07:38+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: nascar, william sawalich, corey day, nascar cup series, brad moran, brad keselowski, carson hocevar, ryan preece, ty gibbs, bass pro shops night race, bristol motor speedway, sports
## Sawalich and Day clash
William Sawalich took a swipe at Corey Day, one of 12 drivers battling for the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series championship.
## Lap 134 collision
Sawalich side-slammed Day on Lap 134, turning Day's No. 17 car left and causing a collision with Justin Allgaier.
## NASCAR's decision
NASCAR chose not to penalize Sawalich, making it clear payback is once again on the table in the NASCAR National Series.
## Brad Moran explains
Brad Moran, NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director, said the contact was a door-to-door collision that didn't warrant a penalty.

> The way the incident was viewed, is it was a door-to-door contact. They were at it for a lap or so.
## Keselowski's threat
Brad Keselowski declared Carson Hocevar's 'day is coming, and it's coming hard' after Hocevar spun him out at Darlington.

> I'll keep my belts tight.
## Preece's penalty
Ryan Preece was docked 25 championship points after colliding with Ty Gibbs at Texas Motor Speedway.
## Preece's outcome
Preece won the final race of the regular season at Daytona International Speedway after being docked 25 championship points.
## Keselowski's opportunity
NASCAR's decision to not penalize Sawalich may have given Keselowski the green light to exact revenge on Hocevar.
## Bristol race
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race this weekend.
## What happens next
Will Brad Keselowski take the opportunity to settle his score with Carson Hocevar at Bristol Motor Speedway?
## Key takeaway

NASCAR's decision to not penalize Sawalich after his contact with Day shows drivers will self-police payback.