Confrontation has rocked NASCAR at Nashville Superspeedway. It all began when two young NASCAR drivers clashed in a heated incident that left the racing world reeling. Tempers flared in the final stage of the Cup race in the ‘music city’, as a controversial move by rookie Carson Hocevar sparked a war of words with Harrison Burton.

Hocevar, currently in his rookie season in the Cup Series, hooked Burton under caution, resulting in a spin for the Wood Brothers Racing driver. The race ended with pretty contrasting fortunes for the two, with the Spire Motorsports driver salvaging a 16th place finish while Harrison Burton suffered his first DNF of the season. This incident has raised questions about Hocevar’s strategy and potential penalties on the way, also putting limelight on the officials for not making a prompt decision.

Harrison burton unleashes fury on Carson Hocevar

It all began on Lap 243 when Brad Keselowski spun hard into the wall, bringing about the 10th caution of the race. Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro was then seen bumping into Burton’s No. 21 Ford Mustang’s rear, resulting in a spin down the backstretch. However, Burton managed to avoid hitting the wall and suffered no significant damage. Yet, in a shocking twist, Hocevar dodged penalty bullets, leaving Burton seething and fans stunned!

After the incident, Harrison Burton was told on the team radio, “He’s wrecked you under green; he’s wrecked you under caution.” In response, a furious Burton replied, “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**. He wrecked me because I blocked him down the back straightaway, he can go kiss my a**. F*** you.”

Burton’s anger is justified, given Carson Hocevar’s lucky escape from punishment during the race. However, just because Hocevar hasn’t been fined yet, doesn’t mean he is out of the hot water. According to Bob Pockrass, NASCAR will review the incident to assess if Hocevar deserves a penalty. So, for Harrison Burton, justice may still be on the horizon.

This also points a finger toward NASCAR’s inconsistent penalty enforcements again. Earlier, in a similar incident at the same venue, Layne Riggs was penalized with a two-lap penalty for spinning out Stefan Parsons. So, it is natural that fans and other driver alike, including Denny Hamlin, have asked NASCAR to act accordingly.

During the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver took shots at Hocevar as he stated: “I’m gonna call on NASCAR here, they need 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 bit. I think that anytime someone goes before a judge, they always take into your past history.”

Though, talking about past history, this is not the first time the 21-year-old has resorted to wrecking tactics.

Hocevar likes to race hard!

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During last year’s Truck Series Championship race, Hocevar’s No.42 had made contact with his fellow championship contender Corey Heim (who was running 6th at the time), spinning him through Turns 1 and 2. Then, three laps later, in a purely retaliatory move, Heim’s No. 11 bumped #42 sending both into the wall, ending their title aspirations. Though, Hocevar had admitted, “I did not mean to do that,” on his team radio immediately after the first contact, Heim was not one to take excuses!

“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 he wrecked me, so it is what it is,” Heim said. “You know, every guy on Sunday (in the Cup Series) is gonna see that and understand that they’re gonna be racing against him like that,” he had shared. And even then, Denny Hamlin was not pleased.

Talking to FOX Sports, he had appealed for penalties in such incidents and opined, “Some of these are blatant enough that you can see that someone hits someone, and they kept pushing. Those are the types of incidents, you just, you know; penalize.” Unfortunately, the Tricon Garage driver was fined $12,500 and docked 25 points in the Truck Series drivers standings for the retaliation, while his opponent escaped unscathed.

As for Burton and Hocevar, it remains to be seen how the stock car organization reacts! But for now, it seems, the rivalry between the two will surely flare up. Even though Carson Hocevar is in his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series, he has fared significantly better than Harrison Burton. Ten places ahead of Burton in the standings, the 21-year-old has exceeded expectations, showing great consistency throughout the season. As things stand, Hocevar has two top-10 finishes and top-20 ten times, with an average finish of 19.889.

In comparison, Harrison Burton hasn’t had the season he would have wanted. Currently ranked 33rd in the standings, Burton has just one top-10 finish to his name, with seven laps led and an average finish of 26.667. A DNF at Nashville Superspeedway was his first of the season, and it remains to be seen if it’ll be his last. The 23-year-old has been a part of the Cup Series (full-time) since 2022, but as yet to visit Victory Lane. In his first season, Burton finished 27th in the final standings, while in 2022, he finished 31st.

While a playoff spot may seem out of reach for them, both Carson Hocevar and Harrison Burton will look to finish the season strongly. With youth on their side, both of them will also look to learn valuable lessons and build on the experience for better performances in the future.

Do you think Carson Hocevar should be penalized for the incident? Let us know in the comments!