Carson Hocevar was not a fan of the way Tyler Reddick raced Corey Heim in the closing laps of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at San Diego. The driver of the No. 77 said Reddick “gave six car lengths” to Heim, which helped the latter go on to win.
Based on the way Reddick raced Heim, his 23XI Racing teammate, Hocevar said things like that “devalue” winning. The Spire Motorsports driver went on to make a unique analogy about how Reddick raced Heim.
Hocevar on Reddick’s move: ‘You pretty much turned your TV off’
With three circuits remaining in Sunday’s race, Heim overtook Reddick for the lead.
Reddick made a crossover move in an attempt to regain control and battled side-by-side with Heim. As they went into the fifth corner, Reddick made slight contact with Heim, causing both drivers to nearly lose control.
Both drivers continued and, because of the contact, it looked as though Reddick got out of the gas, allowing Heim to pull away.
During his time as the fill-in host of the “Dale Jr. Download,” Hocevar sounded off on what happened.
“If you are a race fan, does this not devalue how much the drivers want to win? It would be different if Reddick was the guy running him (Heim) down and moved him by accident and was like, ‘Oh, I want to do it right.’ Not the guy holding on. Reddick gives him six car lengths. You pretty much turn your TV off or you know like, ‘Oh, it’s over,” Hocevar said.
Hocevar was baffled by the slack Reddick cut Heim, noting the driver of the No. 45 is racing for a win and for regular season points.
Hocevar believes NASCAR struggles with prestige and credibility. With the way Reddick raced Heim, Hocevar feels it added to the problem.
“This is a massive race. You pretty much showed, ‘Ah, winning’s not that important,” Hocevar said.
He compared the incident to if something similar happened with Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23XI Racing, on the basketball court.
“Imagine Michael like doing a dirty block and then going, ‘Oh (expletive). I didn’t mean to do that. Hold on, try again,’” Hocevar said.
Reddick on how he raced Heim: ‘No second thoughts’
While Hocevar has an opinion on how things played out on Sunday, Reddick has no regrets on how he handled the situation.
Based on the way Heim raced him, Reddick felt the need to reciprocate the same respect, as he told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Because they are expected to be teammates for years to come, Reddick felt obligated to race Heim with respect.
“He (Heim) was clean, he was patient, he waited for the opportunity, he took the opportunity, and got alongside. One, I definitely used him up a bit and I made the aggressive move to cross him over into (turn) five and I flat out overdrove it and washed up into him. I’m definitely happy and have no second thoughts about how that played out and how I handled it,” Reddick said.
Reddick continues to be the man to beat in the NASCAR Cup Series. The 23XI Racing driver has held the points lead the entire season to this point. He has a series-high five wins, including an unprecedented three straight to start the season.
Carson Hocevar Says Tyler Reddick’s San Diego Actions Devalues Winning