The controversy over NASCAR driver Carson Hocevar’s actions during last Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway is still alive, and it’s Hocevar who’s keeping it that way.
Carson Hocevar owned his Martinsville brake-checks of Austin Cindric in a Thursday YouTube video, apologizing to fans while his employer, Spire Motorsports, has suspended him from racing at Homestead as punishment. The video, featuring Hocevar alone in a spacious, echo-filled room he describes as an “office,” goes on for more than 18 minutes. But Hocevar’s statement comes down to one blunt four-word message.
“I’m the bad guy,” Hocevar says in the video, posted on Thursday. He offers no defense for his actions but also addresses what comes next for a driver sidelined by his own team.
The video, titled “I got suspended from NASCAR,” follows the Nov. 1 Xfinity 500, when Hocevar hit his brakes in front of the No. 2 car driven by Austin Cindric on the Martinsville straightaways. SMT telemetry showed brake pressure topping 1,000 pounds while other drivers stayed on the throttle. The final contact crushed the front of Cindric’s Team Penske Ford and ended his day in 36th place. Hocevar finished 21st.
Hocevar confirmed the brake-checks were deliberate, saying he hit the pedal three or four times. He admitted, there is “no denying that that wasn’t racing.”
“If the two car was not behind me, I’m never touching the brake,” Hocevar said in the video that can be viewed below.
Hocevar Apologizes for Martinsville Debacle
Hocevar did not present a rationale. He said there is “no explanation I can sit here and explain of I was frustrated, or I wasn’t frustrated, or there was a master plan.”
“Ultimately, it doesn’t matter… the result is that I did it,” Hocevar said.
He said he is “always dishing it” in his aggressive racing style, but called the brake-checks a line he should never have crossed, taking responsibility for his actions and using the words “embarrassing” and “disrespectful.”
“I’m apologetic about it… I’m sorry to the 2,” Hocevar said. He also apologized to Spire employees who must explain the situation to family and friends, and to “pretty much everybody watching.”
“I’m the bad guy. You know, I made the mistake. I forced their decision,” Hocevar said.
He added that he is “100% in agreeance of their penalty or suspension” and believes the team made the right call.
“If he’s a father figure… he’s taking my car away… I’ll get the keys back next year,” Hocevar said of Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson.
Hocevar rejected any celebration of the incident.
“I’m not gonna repost a TikTok about it and think it’s funny,” he said. “I don’t think it’s funny. I just feel bad for all the NASCAR fans, all the people watching the race that go like, you know, ‘What am I watching? You know, this isn’t interesting. I’m going to turn this off,’ because I want the sport to grow. I want the sport to succeed, and moves like that are not going to do that.”
Carson Hocevar’s Suspension, Penalties and Return to Spire Motorsports
Spire suspended Hocevar for the season finale on Nov. 3, and Justin Haley will drive the No. 77 on Nov. 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hocevar’s conduct “doesn’t meet the standard we set for our drivers, team members or employees,” Dickerson said in a statement released Tuesday.
NASCAR fined Hocevar $100,000, docked 25 points and cited multiple violations of Section 4.4a, which covers actions detrimental to stock car racing. The fine was double the $50,000 penalty, also with 25 points, handed to Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry for a separate brake-check of Ryan Blaney. NASCAR Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer pointed to Hocevar’s prior behavioral history and earlier discussions.
Hocevar stays with Spire. He plans to attend Homestead for sponsor meet-and-greets, the merchandise trailer, the pit cart and team support, and he asked fans not to take offense if he spends his time with the team.
“My plan is to go years and years and years… and not brake-check anybody again,” Hocevar said. He said future incidents “are going to be racing incidents. They’re not going to be malicious… intentional… match-fixing almost.”
A Starbucks worker, he said, asked when his next race was while he drove the “Dale truck.” “Next year,” he answered, and the reply “stung.”
NASCAR’s Carson Hocevar Drops Blunt 4-Word Message on Martinsville in New Video