CHICAGO — After intentionally spinning Harrison Burton under caution last Sunday (June 30) at Nashville Superspeedway, Carson Hocevar was hit with a $50,000 fine and 25-point penalty prior to this weekend’s action in Chicago.
When I asked Carson during Saturday’s (July 6) media session if he and Harrison had talked in the past week to try and smooth things over, he gave me a very straightforward response: “No.”
Given that this is not Hocevar’s first incident involving intentional spins or right-rear hooks, some NASCAR Cup Series drivers shared their thoughts on Hocevar’s actions last weekend and the resulting penalty he received.
“Yeah, don’t hook anybody,” Ryan Blaney said. “You get penalized. Pay money, pay points, park them if you have to. That’s something I’ve seen too many times out of that guy (Hocevar) from different series. That’s not cool. Don’t do that. …
“I think everyone made a big deal when Hocevar did that in the Cup race, and then they rightfully penalized him after the race. That’s the only way you’ll get that stuff to stop. You have to make them pay a lot of money, fine them from points, things like that. If it’s bad enough, make them sit out. You know, that’s just stuff that you learn as a young driver. Don’t do. There are a lot of no-no’s, and that’s one of them. And I don’t care if it’s under caution or under green. Both of them are bad. …
“And like I said, that’s something I’ve seen reoccurring with him that hopefully he learns from it. And hopefully when there’s a little bit of hole in his pocket after the money he had to pay, it teaches you a lesson of don’t do that anymore.”
Todd Gilliland had a bird’s eye view of Burton’s spin last weekend, and he echoed the sentiments Blaney shared in his press conference.
“Absolutely,” Gilliland said. “I think to me, there’s a different video of him, and I was leading at Vegas in the Trucks and he just [intentionally] spun out on the apron. And it’s just like little things like that, that’s just lame in the moment. But then it keeps happening, and it’s just like, why? It just seems selfish at some point.
“Everyone can change and, obviously, [Hocevar] has a lot of talent. He’s been fast. So yeah, it’s just disappointing to see that kind of over and over, for sure.”
Denny Hamlin was asked about using SMT data to determine fault or intent in incidents (something he has done in the past), but he also said that the picture told the story of what went down between Hocevar and Burton last week.
“You just use your own two eyes and brain to come up with what you think happened, and sure, there’s always that element of real data that can back it up or maybe even cause even more questions to whether it was intentional or not,” Hamlin said. “But I don’t think anyone should question the Carson thing last week; I think we all saw kind of how that played out.”
While climbing his way up the NASCAR ladder in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Brad Keselowski had repeated run-ins with established Cup drivers, most notably with Carl Edwards. From that vantage point, Keselowski talked about the difficulties a driver like Hocevar might have in making a name for himself and the balancing act in finding the right level of aggression.
“I certainly understand how hard it is to break through in the Cup Series and that desire to make an immediate impact,” Keselowski said. “You have to be careful, in my experience. I haven’t gone through it to not allow that to be a negative to you, right? To almost try too hard. And it’s a good and bad thing to try too hard sometimes. You certainly prefer someone who tries too hard for someone who doesn’t try at all, but there’s certainly a sweet spot there that I think each driver, to some degree, has to find on their own.
“And there’s a strong argument to me that [Hocevar] is on the other side of that and not living in that sweet spot, and I hope for his own sake he can find that spot. Maybe I have some empathy for that and with respect, too. I always felt like I needed to flirt with that border of being too aggressive, and that served me well. And sometimes I would look back and say, ‘yeah, I probably might have gone just a touch too far, on the line or over the line.’ So, I think you got to find that spot and decide where it is and live comfortably there.”
Hocevar is the youngest driver in the field at 21 years old, and Nashville marked the first time that he was docked points and fined money for on-track behavior. His talent has been undeniable in his rookie Cup season, and now only time will tell if he gets a message and finds that right level or aggression, or if he has another incident like Nashville down the road.
About the author
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly columns include “Stat Sheet” and “4 Burning Questions.” He also writes commentary, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Can find on Twitter @stephen_stumpf.
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UNDER CAUTION. Was Hocevar sending a message? Sure.
Was he trying to injure? No. He was trying to get the rolling chicane that is Blinkie’s kid out of the way
And yet, NASCAR in their infinite “wisdom”, didn’t dock Wallace points for door slamming Bowman during the cool down lap