“He Doesn’t Know Who He’s Fu–Ing Dealing With”: Cup Series Veteran Goes Off at Carson Hocevar in COTA

“You know [Carson Hocevar is] going to be the aggressor,” Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell had warned said just last month, after what was a controversial—and iconic for Hocevar—finish at Atlanta. While controversies ran unbridled, with several drivers openly criticizing the young racer back then, Hocevar’s retort was simple: We are not in a boy band. Translation? The aggression isn’t going to end anytime soon. And perhaps that’s exactly what makes the 22-year-old the odd one out, with his stories dominating radio chatter whenever he’s nearby…

But before we get to that, for the unversed: Hocevar has been the one to stick to mellow racing. Already known for his fondness toward bumping and dumping, fans got a first experience of this in July last year when the Spire Motorsports driver spun Harrison Burton under caution at the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. While NASCAR fined him $50,000 and penalized him 25 points, the antics have continued. And so have NASCAR racer’s wariness. The latest instance?

During the Circuit of the Americas race where NASCAR veteran AJ Allmendinger became the latest driver in direct a warning at the racer. The controversial/surprising incident unfolded after the Kaulig Racing driver qualified in 12th place for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. By lap 15, he was running close to Hocevar and battling for the 7th position. Fans and drivers were fresh off of shock after Ross Chastain bizarrely rammed into Chase Elliott on the very first lap. So the No. 16 spotter Frank Deiny cautioned: “Be careful with this dude, you know what you’re dealing with.” To this, Allmendinger boldly retorted: “He doesn’t know who he’s f—— dealing with.”

Immediately after, AJ Allmendinger smoothly completed the pass, zooming past Carson Hocevar. Subsequently, the Kaulig driver clinched a tenth-place finish in Stage 1. Then he gathered 5 points for finishing in 6th at the end of stage 2. During the closing laps, Allmendinger was contending with the leaders – hounding Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell for the lead. Sadly, tire issues affected his run, and the racer fell back to 30th by the time the race ended. Yet, Allmendinger’s toward Hocevar was only indicative of the growing dissent toward the latter, especially after the Atlanta race…

Interestingly, the Spire racer had succeeded at ticking off not one, not two, not three, but four Cup Series drivers, who made some noteworthy statements throughout and after the race. The controversy first unfolded when Hocevar’s bid to muscle his way through forced Kyle Busch to lift to avoid a wreck at the end of the first stage. “Go tell that fu—– 77 he’s done the same move ten times. I don’t care if I wreck the whole fu—– field, I’m over him. He’s a fu—– d-bag. I’m gonna wreck his a–,” the two-time Cup Series champion had said.

Then, while entering Turn 1, Hocevar tried to make his way through once again—this time spinning Ryan Blaney. “I told you, Timmy [Fedewa, spotter] … He’s just a moron! He just runs right into the back of you. He has zero idea of where to bump somebody, where not to — he’s swiping across my bumper as he’s doing it. He just has no idea,” the racer had said. And then came Ross Chastain’s turn.

The Trackhouse Racing star, who was in the front row, aiming for a shot at victory alongside Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell, saw his dreams fade away as the #77 positioned himself in the middle, forcing his “brother” to finish eighth. Later, even back-to-back race winner Bell issued warnings about Hocevar later, saying “If there’s a hole, he’s going to take it. If there’s not a hole, he’s going to make one.”

Having said that, this past weekend, while Hocevar’s antics seemed relentless, Allmendinger was not one to bow down.

Top Comment by NREsq

Wasn’t this last week’s story? This week its Chastain/Elliott. Next week it’ll be someone else. Its NASCAR.

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Debate

AJ Allmendinger aggressively denied Carson Hocevar any opening at COTA. However, he could not do the same just two years ago on the same track.

Allmendinger fell prey to the other rabble-rouser

Maybe the Kaulig Racing speedster learned his mistakes in a span of two years. The 2022 rendition of the NASCAR Cup Series COTA race was memorable for chaos. AJ Allmendinger was on the brink of clinching a double win during the COTA weekend. But Ross Chastain never left his side – the two racers fought tooth and nail for the lead. Alex Bowman also entered the foray as a late riser, trying to take advantage of the two drivers’ fight. But on the final lap, Chastain stamped his signature style of doing whatever it takes. A pivotal push from his end sent Allmendinger’s car ricocheting off Bowman’s, clearing the way for a breakthrough win for both Chastain and his team Trackhouse Racing.

The sheer aggression of this pass would have been enough to tick off anybody. However, AJ Allmendinger controlled his emotions. He said: “At the end of the day, like I said, you’ve got to look at yourself in the mirror. If you’re OK with it, you’re OK with it. Every person is different. So it doesn’t matter what I think. We had a shot to win a Cup race. It’s pretty special.” In 2023, he completely forgave Chastain: “We all know how hard he can race but at the same time, we all race that hard at times, you know?” But we can see how that incident took away his fears, as Allmendinger faced Hocevar bravely at COTA.

With the majority of the Cup Series schedule left, we will get to see more of AJ Allmendinger’s bold moves. Let us see what the Kaulig Racing driver dazzles us with next.