The 2023 NASCAR Truck Series came to an end on Saturday but the final race was not without its share of controversy. An incident between Carson Hocevar and Corey Heim proved costly for Grant Enfinger who looked set to win the title. In the end, the driver of the #23 truck was left frustrated. He did not try to hide his displeasure in the post-race presser.
Carson Hocevar made a huge error earlier on in the race when his truck slid into the rear of Corey Heim’s. The result was the #11 truck spinning around and losing a lot of track position. The Tricon Garage driver was understandably annoyed at Hocevar. When the #42 tried to pass him with 3 laps to go in the race, Heim did not hesitate to drive him into the wall and end his race.
Grant Enfinger rues unfortunate incident as Corey Heim vents frustrations
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The caution came out as a result and when the race restarted, Grant Enfinger lost his position to Ben Rhodes who held his advantage and won the Truck Series crown. Had it not been for Corey Heim exacting revenge on Carson Hocevar, the GMS Racing man would have probably won the title.
In the post-race interview, Enfinger cut a disappointed figure. Being sat next to Corey Heim, the 38-year-old said that Heim and Hocevar’s final contact was “unfortunate.” It was a rather awkward moment as that incident effectively crushed the veteran’s chances of emerging victorious with the title.
“It’s shame to have a championship come down to that,” Enfinger said right after the race as per AL.com.
Grant Enfinger, sitting next to Corey Heim in the postrace press conference, says it's "unfortunate" the retaliation from Heim on Hocevar with three laps to go essentially cost Enfinger the championship.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) November 4, 2023
Corey Heim’s comments post-race made it clear that he was also frustrated with Carson Hocevar’s racing style throughout the race. The 21-year-old said that the #42 had hit him multiple times during the race. It was evident that he had just lost his patience towards the end of the race.
“I passed him clean and then he hit me two or three times and then finally he had enough fun just kind of hitting me and then he wrecked me. It is what it is. Every guy on Sunday is going to see that and understand that they’re going to be racing against him like that,” the driver of the #11 truck said.
“I’m not too worried about it. I don’t gotta race him anymore so I don’t have to deal with it too much. It’s kind of expected. He’s been racing me like that since he was five years old. I raced with him in quarter midgets. It’s just part of championship racing,” he added.
While Heim and Enfinger were left frustrated, Carson Hocevar cut an apologetic figure. He was visibly annoyed at himself after he turned Heim. When the #11 wrecked him, he acknowledged that it was fair. Post-race, the Cup Series-bound driver was quite hard on himself.
Carson Hocevar accepts responsibility after controversial crash
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Carson Hocevar accepted his mistake and even said that Corey Heim would have won the title had it not been for him. Costing another driver the chance to win the Truck Series weighed heavy on the 20-year-old’s mind who clearly understands the value of winning the competition.
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“He should win the championship man, they should win. I didn’t want to do that at all and with my track record right it’s just gonna kill me. I can’t sit here and say I didn’t mean to. I just f****d up. Honestly, I just messed up. I was just trying really hard. I was blocking, doing everything I could. I just tried to slow them up and messed up,” the driver of the #42 truck said.
Carson Hocevar was obviously frustrated after his incident with Corey Heim in Phoenix. He says he did not intend to crash Heim and believes the payback was fair. pic.twitter.com/8Bz2bJoOCe
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 4, 2023
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The 20-year-old will not be a full-time part of Truck Series action in 2024. Carson Hocevar has made the double jump from Trucks to the Cup where he will be a full-time racer for Spire Motorsports. How do you think he will fare in NASCAR’s biggest competition? Let us know your views.
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