Carson Hocevar’s Rowdy Reputation Finally Catches Up to Him as NASCAR Refuses to Let Go of His Career-Long Shenanigans
NASCAR finally listened to Denny Hamlin and in fact, did more than he asked for. When the #11 urged the officials to ‘do something’ on his podcast, he really shed light on how ‘actions can be detrimental’. And NASCAR just brought his warning to life by delivering a heavy blow at Carson Hocevar.
The young Spire Motorsports driver, labeled a “repeat offender” by Hamlin, had been getting away with reckless behavior for too long. However, his intentional spin of Harrison Burton at the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway proved to be the final straw. While this isn’t Hocevar’s first penalty for intentional contact, NASCAR hopes that the severe consequences will finally drive the message home.
Few could have predicted what was going to happen when Brad Keselowski spun into the wall on Lap 243, bringing in the 10th caution of the race. Carson Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro bumped into Harrison Burton’s No. 21 Ford Mustang’s rear, forcing the Wood Brothers Racing driver to spin on the backstretch. The maneuver forced multiple drivers, such as Todd Gilliland and Austin Cindric, to take evasive measures to avoid a larger incident while John-Hunter Nemechek narrowly avoided being caught in the crossfire as well.
Tired of such antics, coupled with a similar history of questionable behaviors, Denny Hamlin brought both NASCAR and Hocevar under his radar, as he said, “I’m gonna call on NASCAR here. They needed to do something to Carson. They don’t need to suspend him or anything like that. But they need to dig into his pocket a little because I think that you have to”. And that’s exactly what the penalty did, hitting right where it hurts the most. NASCAR dropped the hammer on Tuesday, announcing a hefty penalty for Carson Hocevar: a 25-point deduction from his driver standings and a stiff $50,000 fine.
