Even though the Ally 400 race was filled with unexpected cautions, one of them was no surprise. Carson Hocevar, known for his on-track antics, continued his notorious behavior in Nashville. The Cup rookie spun out rival Harrison Burton during a caution stage, sparking a wave of backlash. And this was not the first time he intentionally spun or wrecked someone!
And guess what? NASCAR didn’t hold back either, hitting him with a hefty $50,000 fine and docking 25 points from his rankings, which pretty much ruined his chances of being Rookie of the Year. But now, a new detail has come to light, adding another twist to Hocevar’s villain story.
Carson Hocevar earns more detractors
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Everybody was astonished when the No. 77 car made an unwarranted dash at the No. 21. After the caution flag flew on lap 242, it looked like Carson Hocevar was settling a personal score with Harrison Burton. The Spire Motorsports rookie right-hooked into Burton, making him spin. “I’m f***ing over. I’m done with it. He just wrecked me under caution because I blocked him on the backstretch. He can kiss my a**,” fumed Burton on his radio. Now, in a newer update, it seems like Hocevar unleashed his temper earlier as well.
A viewer shared a revealing video on X. They tweeted, “Todd Gilliland & Carson Hocevar during the 2024 Ally 400 @ Nashville, this happened during the caution before Hocevar dumped Burton.” Todd Gilliland’s in-car camera filmed Carson Hocevar shoving from the left, bumping the No.38 several times. Ultimately, Hocevar aggressively overtook Gilliland.
This revelation prompted an infuriated response from the victim’s better half. Todd Gilliland’s wife Marissa viciously shot a question about Carson Hocevar, citing his overall rowdy attitude in Nashville. “And here’s more. For real wtf is wrong with this guy.” Marissa Gilliland’s reaction is very well justified looking at the footage, and she is definitely not alone in her scathing criticism of Carson Hocevar. Her husband said his piece, too.
Shortly after Hocevar aggressively overtook him, Gilliland watched the No.77 driver wreck Harrison Burton. As soon as that happened, the FRM driver exclaimed on the radio, “I hate this kid. Honestly, I hate him.” Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin joined in on the reprimanding as well. On the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin demanded NASCAR punish the rookie financially.
And here’s more. For real wtf is wrong with this guy. https://t.co/VcGZBVfPlj
— Marissa Gilliland (@Mrs_TGilliland) July 3, 2024
“I’m gonna call on NASCAR here. They need to do something to Carson,” the No.11 driver said. “They don’t need to suspend him or anything like that, but they need to dig into his pocket a little bit. And we’ve seen this happen when he was in the Truck Series.” Hamlin was referring to how, during the Martinsville race last year in the Truck Series, the 21-year-old deliberately tried to wreck Taylor Gray. Subsequently, in the season finale, when Corey Heim was in contention for the title, Hocevar spun him out.
Looking at his track record, the executives took action accordingly, as Hamlin suggested. That said, reflecting on Hocevar’s feuds with multiple rivals besides himself, Harrison Burton said, “I don’t know, he blocks everyone every week and I blocked him once and he decided to try and wreck me under yellow. So, I don’t know. He’s on a lot of people’s lists as guys they don’t like racing. So, it kind of shows you why.”
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Carson Hocevar finished 15th, while Burton and Gilliland finished 28th and 17th, respectively. Earlier this year, in another caution-filled race, Hocevar ran well, albeit without any aggression.
Hocevar prevailed earlier as well
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In this year’s Martinsville race, Todd Gilliland was well on his way into the top 10 in the final stage. But then cautions set in and robbed Gilliland of his speed. John Hunter Nemechek brought out a late yellow and dropped Gilliland to 13th. Harrison Burton’s situation was way worse, as he left the race with a battered car and a 33rd-place finish.
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In contrast, Carson Hocevar’s fortunes played out way better. Although he finished 17th, four spots lower than Gilliland, his rookie status made this his best outing till then. Hocevar dodged a blow during the stage two break and even overcame a penalty. Eventually, he avoided the chaos and handed Spire Motorsports the best finish and the first top-20 spot at Martinsville.
Evidently, Carson Hocevar was not willing to let his freshman luck die out in Nashville either. But his pursuit got a tad bit desperate and hurt his driver rankings in the end. After all these revelations, it’ll be interesting to see what Hocevar has to say in his defense. However, what do you think of his on-track tactics? How will this pan out in the long run?