NASCAR’s championship race Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be missing one of the circuit’s most popular drivers, Carson Hocevar. Also one of NASCAR’s most polarizing personalities, Hocevar will serve a suspension imposed by his team, Spire Motorsports, that stems from his repeated brake-checking incidents at last week’s Martinsville Xfinity 500. NASCAR also fined Hocevar $100,000 and deducted 25 points from his Chase total.
In his “State of the Sport” remarks Friday, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell weighed in on the Hocevar controversy, one day after the driver’s YouTube apology for the Martinsville incidents that led to his sitting out the final race of 2026.
But O’Donnell’s verdict on Hocevar was surprisingly upbeat.
“Does he have some things to work on on track? Absolutely,” O’Donnell said, in response to a question about the 23-year-old driver as quoted by The Athletic reporter Jeff Gluck. “But I think if you look at licensed merchandise, engagement, fans are really hungry to embrace a driver, to find their driver. And the more drivers we can have (who) the fans say ‘that’s my favorite driver,’ the better the sport will be.”
O’Donnell announced no further discipline. “We’ve talked about that,” he said of Hocevar’s on-track issues, according to Gluck. NASCAR’s response to Martinsville came Tuesday, and Spire Motorsports, not the NASCAR authorities, benched Hocevar for Homestead.
Hocevar filmed Thursday’s 18-minute video alone in an office, without a script.
“There’s no denying that that wasn’t racing,” he said, adding, “I’m the bad guy.”
He put the number of brake-checks on Austin Cindric at “three or four times.”
How Hocevar’s Martinsville Incident Led to Suspension
The trouble started in Stage 2 of the Nov. 1 Xfinity 500. Hocevar brake-checked Team Penske’s Cindric repeatedly on the straightaways, with brake pressure spiking above 1,000 pounds. The last hit knocked the No. 2 Ford out of the race.
Cindric told his crew over the radio that Hocevar “had a mental breakdown,” according to WPXI.
“I had fun,” Hocevar told reporters after the race, according to Fox Sports.
NASCAR didn’t find Hocevar’s behavior “fun.” The body hit Hocevar with a $100,000 fine and a 25-point deduction on Tuesday. Josh Berry drew a $50,000 fine and the same deduction for brake-checking Ryan Blaney. Spire Motorsports then suspended Hocevar. Justin Haley takes the wheel of the No. 77 on Sunday.
How Carson Hocevar’s Career, Controversies and Divided NASCAR Fans
Born January 28, 2003, in Portage, Michigan, Hocevar won 15 national championships in quarter midgets, then moved up through the Truck Series to Spire’s Cup program in 2024. He won his first Cup race April 26 at Talladega, where he sat outside his car’s window on the frontstretch during his celebration lap.
NASCAR parked Hocevar for two laps in 2023 for trying to wreck Taylor Gray in a Truck race at Martinsville, then fined him $50,000 for wrecking Harrison Burton at Nashville in 2024, according to NBC Sports.
This season, asked at Darlington about contact that spun Brad Keselowski, Hocevar replied, “Yeah, he spun,” according to Racer.
Hocevar was No. 1 in NASCAR Shop online sales this season, and his Talladega win produced the highest 24-hour Lionel diecast sales since the company’s 2010 NASCAR deal.
Online critics rejected Hocevar’s “just Martinsville” explanation for his repeated brake-checks, and fellow Cup driver Zane Smith called him a “coward” on a podcast, according to NASCAR.com. Hocevar acknowledged in his video that his fan base “gets a lot of flack.”
He added, “I love people that hate me.”
O’Donnell, then newly named CEO, called Hocevar “one of those guys we’re going to rely on as a sport” after the Talladega win, according to the Associated Press. Hocevar, the 2024 Cup Series Rookie of the Year, signed a long-term extension in February that keeps him in the No. 77 “into the next decade.”
He plans to spend Sunday working sponsor events and the merchandise trailer at Homestead, then return to the No. 77 in 2027. How the garage, the fans and the CEO treat the driver who comes back is the next question.
NASCAR CEO Gives Surprising Carson Hocevar Verdict Before Championship Race