“I Had No Brakes”: 20-Year-Old Winner Slams NASCAR’s Low Quality Parts for His Scary Wreck

Apart from its ongoing struggles with the Next Gen car, NASCAR also finds itself plagued by a major issue across all its three divisions—faulty brakes. Earlier this season, it was Noah Gragson who made headlines after a scary crash at the Gateway caused by exploding brake rotors. Left concussed after the scary crash, Gragson was then forced to miss out on the Cup Series race in Sonoma.

While Gragson’s crash brought the brake malfunctions issue into the limelight, other drivers, including Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, have also been plagued by faulty brakes. Now the 20-year-old Craftsman Truck Series star, Carson Hocevar has come forth slamming NASCAR’s low-quality parts.

NASCAR Truck driver Carson Hocevar falls victim to low-quality parts—again

Driving the #42 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports in NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series, Carson Hocevar has been enjoying a fairly stellar season. Ranked 3rd on the Truck Series standings, Hocevar has collected three wins this season. But his 2023 season hasn’t been a cakewalk either. Plagued by brake issues, Carson Hocevar first spun out at the Circuit of The Americas, narrowly avoiding a major crash. Arriving at Gateway, brake issues flared up once again, causing Hocevar to slam sideways into the outside wall.

Making a guest appearance on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, the #42 Niece Motorsports driver called out NASCAR for its low-quality brake parts. “Well, I’ve had it twice so far this year. In COTA, I had no brakes. The brake canister or whatever flipped up, fell off, so I had no brakes, no fluid left at all. Heading down, was it [Turn] 11? Like you go through the S’, go uphill, near the hairpin,” Carson Hocevar said.

He further added, “So I had nothing, I didn’t think about turning into a concrete wall or anything but the only thing I thought of was like I don’t wanna head on, so I just start clutching and like banging gears. So I bang third, I bang second like I just start the clutch. It broke the rear axle, it broke the rear end out of it. But it spun me out, and I kept spinning and landed in the gravel, which saved a truck. Like Justin Marks said in our truck it hit head on and door tubs down. Basically killed it, the whole chassis of it, and that’s all I thought of in that moment.”

Iterating how the outer wall saved him at Gateway, Hocevar said, “And obviously Gateway, like once the brake rotors failed, luckily it kind of spun me into the wall, but I didn’t ever plan on turning left. Once you see one big hit you’re like, Man if that ever happens, you gotta train your mind and I’ve always thought about like, ‘Straight, straight, don’t turn left at Pocono if you brake. Just hook right, day’s over anyways.”

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While Carson Hocevar spoke about NASCAR’s low-quality brake parts, failing brake rotors claimed another victim.

Chandler Smith succumbs to failing brake rotors

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Having claimed victims in the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series, NASCAR brake issues made their way to the Xfinity Series at Road America. Driving the #16 Chevy for Kaulig Racing, Chandler Smith was the latest victim of exploding brake rotors. Approaching Turn 1, Smith slammed the brake pedal to slow down the #16 Chevy, but to no avail. All that could be seen was debris flying off from the Kaulig Racing Chevy’s rear end.

Unable to tame his charging steed, Chandler Smith in a last-ditch effort turned towards the inside wall, slamming his car into the SAFER barrier. The impact completely mangled up the #16 Chevrolet as it came to a halt on the sand patch up ahead. Although the crash was gut-wrenching to watch, Chandler Smith did manage to walk away unharmed.

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Given the rise in the number of brake issues plaguing drivers, what steps will NASCAR take to increase driver safety remains to be seen.