Carson Hocevar has found a way to turn a NASCAR penalty into a headline of his own making. The 22-year-old Cup Series driver appeared on a live stream with a $50,000 donation goal displayed, directly mirroring the fine he had just received from the sanctioning body.According to NASCAR officials, Carson Hocevar was fined $50,000 for violating the member conduct policy during the Hollywood Casino 400. On lap 260 of the race, his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet spun on the backstretch and flattened several tires. Safety workers were dispatched after the yellow flag.While they attended to the car, Hocevar revved his engine and spun his tires in an attempt to get back on track. NASCAR ruled the action as a safety violation, saying it put personnel at risk. The post that first came from an account named Ethan on X, who posted a screenshot of Hocevar with the caption,“Hocevar on stream has a 50k donation goal on display lmao.”On his live stream, Carson Hocevar showed a donation goal of $50,000, the same amount as his fine. It looked like he was poking fun at the penalty by matching the number. What made it click was the timing, since NASCAR had announced the fine only a few hours earlier after the Kansas Speedway race.Hocevar had been running 13th before the incident. It was the second time that day he was involved in trouble on track.Earlier, on lap 217, he was part of an 11-car crash triggered on a restart in turn one. He ended the race 29th, four laps behind the leaders. NASCAR made clear that the $50,000 penalty was for his behavior with safety officials present, not from the accidents themselves.Carson Hocevar says his preparation is misunderstoodEarlier this season at Nashville, Carson Hocevar turned Ricky Stenhouse Jr. into the wall. That move ended Stenhouse’s playoff hopes while Hocevar went on to a career-best second-place finish.Tensions carried over to Mexico, where Stenhouse confronted and threatened him after another clash. The pattern has drawn scrutiny, with several drivers labeling him reckless.In a conversation on The Athletic’s “12 Questions Podcast” with Jeff Gluck, Carson Hocevar defended his methods. He argued that his preparation looks different,“I think the consensus is, ‘He doesn’t try. He doesn’t put in any effort. He just shows up.’ I feel like I do. I’ve been alive for 22 years, and I’ve been analyzing racing since I was 4… Now I’ve done this long enough that I can show up ‘blind,’ but I’m not actually blind. I’ve got so many years of watching and studying,” he said.Hocevar also explained that he runs through races mentally instead of relying solely on footage or simulation. He added,“I run races a thousand times in my head. I’m running through races and ideas. That’s more powerful for me to envision it all than to sit there and watch… I don’t care what people think or say unless they’re in this hauler with me. There’s reasons to the madness of not wanting to look at that stuff. I don’t want to mess up the ideas I already have. That’s the process that works for me.”Hocevar's clashes haven’t been limited to Stenhouse. Hocevar has been involved in run-ins with Brad Keselowski at Watkins Glen, his Spire teammate Michael McDowell, and Zane Smith of Front Row Motorsports.