HAMPTON, Ga. — Zane Smith claims he’s got no problem with any driver in the NASCAR Cup Series except for one: Carson Hocevar.
And after contact between the two at Chicagoland Speedway that led to a private conversation in the NASCAR hauler, Smith won’t keep quiet. His on and off-track frustration with Hocevar boiled over in a Saturday media session (July 11) where he labeled Hocevar a “goon.”
“I just don’t like him,” Smith said in a wide-ranging interview at EchoPark Speedway. Insinuating both Hocevar’s attitude and racing are out of line, Smith said the two won’t be able to continue to race together without trouble.
“I’m not going to create the trouble,” Smith clarified. “But I’m a big believer in I’ll race you how you race me, so, until [Hocevar] proves that to me [that he can race clean], we’ll go from there.”
Smith went on to explain the past run-ins between the two had his anger boiling over with their contact at Chicagoland. He claimed it’s part of a long line of incidents where Hocevar “pointed him by” only to make contact with him after doing so, bringing up an incident at Nashville Superspeedway back in May.
“Just runs into me and then points me by,” he said, “And then talks crap to the media and, I don’t know. That’s a goon, in my opinion… he might act like a tough guy, but he won’t even look you in the eye [off the track].”
“Every time he seems like he’s behind me, he runs into the back of me, so [I’ll] just return the favor.”
Over on the other side of the room, Hocevar was just trying to digest the hatred. After all, he admitted to laughing on the in-car camera after the two made contact at Chicagoland, sending Hocevar into the wall.
But in reality, neither driver left happy with each other or with a solid finish: Hocevar was 22nd while Smith wound up 28th. The duo have had a fractured relationship since their time together as teammates at Spire Motorsports, when Smith was there on loan for a year in 2024 as a part of Trackhouse Racing’s driver lineup.
Still, the level with which Smith has had it with his rival took Hocevar by surprise.
“We’ll have to go to couples counseling,” Hocevar joked. “A lot of times… you don’t see [what’s wrong]… It caught me off guard a little bit… at the same time, I’m not bothered by it. I don’t mind it.”
He also expressed skepticism that any personal problems between the two will translate into fenders rubbing at Atlanta.
“I did tell the NASCAR guys in the hauler,” Hocevar explained. “I was like, ‘Well, if you expected it to continue, I don’t know if I would have picked this week. We’re going to Atlanta.
“If we’re going to Martinsville or something, I’d be like ‘Yeah, it makes sense.’ But I was like, ‘I don’t know if you can wreck anybody intentionally here in Atlanta. Hard to do it.'”
Smith said NASCAR expects both drivers to “race with a little more respect” around each other, something he’ll “judge off [Hocevar].”
It’s indeed unlikely for either driver to make contact at Atlanta, a high-speed drafting track, but their rivalry appears to be going nowhere anytime soon.
According to Hocevar, at least, that’s a great thing for NASCAR.
“I think that’s what drives sports,” Hocevar said, “Is passion and, um, clashing. It’s good.”
“It just goes back to I’m going to race everyone how they race me,” Smith added. “And it seems more of a constant [conflict] with him, and that’s fine. I’m OK to play that game. That’s just how it goes.”
Michael Massie’s reporting contributed to this article.
The author of Did You Notice? (Wednesdays) Tom spends his time overseeing Frontstretch’s 50+ staff members as its majority owner and Editor-in-Chief. Based outside Philadelphia, Bowles is a two-time Emmy winner in NASCAR television and has worked in racing production with FOX, TNT, and ESPN while appearing on-air for SIRIUS XM Radio and FOX Sports 1's former show, the Crowd Goes Wild. He most recently consulted with SRX Racing, helping manage cutting-edge technology and graphics that appeared on their CBS broadcasts during 2021 and 2022.
You can find Tom’s writing here, at CBSSports.com and Athlonsports.com, where he’s been an editorial consultant for the annual racing magazine for 15 years.
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