Carson Hocevar made an honest admission about friendships in NASCAR. In an interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hocevar said he didn't talk or hang out with any driver, even before making it to the big league.
The conversation follows Hocevar's infamous aggressive driving this year, which resulted in run-ins with multiple drivers, including Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The 22-year-old currently drives the #77 Chevrolet Camaro for Spire Motorsports amid his sophomore season in the Cup Series.
The Hocevar told the Dale Jr. Download podcast that there's not one driver in any series he would call a friend. Instead, he only hangs out with his buddies from iRacing, a subscription-based online sim racing video game. When asked if he had a friend, the young Chevy driver said:
“Nope.” [0:12]
However, Carson Hocevar shared hanging out with two fellow drivers one time, adding:
“I've only hung out one time with any other driver. It was SVG (Shane van Gisbergen) and Bubba (Wallace) at his property. One time.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. then asked which driver greets him the most, to which he replied:
“F**k, I don't know [...] Whoever I didn't run into last week. I just know that I don't really talk to anybody.”
Carson Hocevar has had strong races this year. He had a few outings where he was close to scoring his first career victory, including the Atlanta spring race. He infamously finished second to Christopher Bell in that race before earning another second-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway.
After the Chicago street race last week, where he caused an early multi-car wreck, the Michigan native ranks 21st in the points standings with two top-5s and four top-10s. His next race is scheduled for Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.
“Biggest brain fade ever”: Carson Hocevar on on-track incident with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in Mexico
Carson Hocevar made headlines in Mexico City after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. confronted him inside his car due to their on-track collision on lap 90. He cited zoning out as the reason for him braking hard and locking up, which resulted in a contact with Stenhouse Jr., who was on the lead lap.
Explaining his side of the incident, the #77 Spire Motorsports driver told Dale Earnhardt Jr.:
“I'm just the biggest brain fade ever. I just got in the corner, and I was just like, ‘Oh, there's a corner here.’ And so, I went to the brakes. I locked up. I just got I just kind of got zoned out.” [58:30]
“For a minute, my guys thought I had passed out because my car just goes straight. And I am legitimately in there holding the wheel straight, either getting ready to turn right to go to the garage right there. Not actually, but I was just literally sitting there,” he added. [58:57]
Carson Hocevar eventually finished in 34th, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. came home in 27th. Shane van Gisbergen emerged victorious, with Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott completing the top three finishers.
The incident followed their run-in at Nashville Superspeedway, where Stenhouse Jr. spun out after making contact with Hocevar. At the time, the Hyak Motorsports driver warned the youngster about a payback before they got together again in Mexico City.
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