Hocevar Is Sorry to His Team, but He Hasn’t Apologized to Cindric Yet.
After the brake-check debacle against Austin Cindric, Carson Hocevar was under heavy fire from the NASCAR community. While most of the fans and experts were relying on NASCAR to bring forth a solid verdict against him, Spire Motorsports took up responsibility for his actions and surprisingly punished him right before the NASCAR Cup Series finale at Homestead. Over the season and over the years in the Cup Series, there have been many calls to get Carson Hocevar parked or benched from Spire Motorsports.
While NASCAR has not really paid heed to those words, it seems like Spire Motorsports finally had enough of him. NASCAR already fined Hocevar with a $100,000 fine and docked 25 of his driver’s championship points. But Spire Motorsports went a step further and benched Carson Hocevar for the finale to teach him a lesson. It was a move that almost nobody had expected, considering the kind of backing Hocevar has from Spire and the type of fan following he brings to the organization. Nevertheless, according to Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson, this was a matter of integrity and not just official judgment.
And Hocevar Has None but Himself to Blame for His Predicament
Carson Hocevar had to face the media after the repercussions of his actions right before Homestead. When this controversy first took place, Hocevar’s words were rather cheeky. He suggested that he was not trying to do brake checking and that’s just how short-track racing goes, keeping in mind the fact that Hocevar's move had destroyed Austin Cindric’s car and taken him out of the race in the process. But when he finally received the booking he was due, Hocevar couldn’t help but accept his fault.
“It’s defendable when it's racing, and that wasn’t really racing. I think ultimately the line in the sand for all of us is just, let’s keep racing… Before I started hitting the brakes, I knew that there was a possibility for sure, but I took a percentage of risk on that, and clearly I didn’t win on it or didn’t come out looking good,” Hocevar responded when asked about his thoughts prior to the brake-checking maneuver.
As of now, Hocevar has said that he would apologize to Cindric when it comes naturally. So, for now, the No. 77 driver has not tried to mend his relationship with Team Penske. Although Carson Hocevar readily apologized to his team over his actions and took the blame off of their shoulders for benching him. Coming off a heavy hit at Talladega from Zane Smith, Hocevar should’ve had the maturity to behave like a racing driver. In the end, he not only ruined his own reputation, but he also gave Spire Motorsports a chance to look for better options that don’t bring too much heat to the organization post-race.