"Not terribly impressed": Spire co-owner reveals his cold message to Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell over Watkins Glen incident

Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson wasn't pleased with Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell's recurring run-ins at Watkins Glen International. The two drivers made contact twice in the 90-lap event, with the second clash coming crucially during the final lap.

On lap 52, Hocevar ran in 17th when McDowell braked hard into Turn 1 and clipped the former's rear bumper. The No.77 driver spun out from the contact and fell to 34th in the running order.

Hocevar and McDowell found each other again during the final lap, as they made contact while entering the final corner. Hocevar survived the scrap and finished ahead of his teammate in 18th.

During a media interview at Richmond, Dickerson reflected on the clash and expressed frustration.

“Like I told them both. I didn’t know we had a top-18 bonus clause in our contract that had them looking like Ricky (Craven) and Kurt (Busch) at Darlington (in 2003) coming across the line for 18th. I was not terribly impressed with our guys on that exchange,” via NBC Sports.

Carson Hocevar, meanwhile, remained nonchalant about the whole ordeal.

"Maybe it’s best-case scenario that we’re both gone (from the shop this week).It didn’t seem that big of a deal to me. Either he made a mistake or misjudged and, obviously, turned me. Then we were just fighting for the last lap, the last corner. Felt that was plenty OK to do considering the contact. I could play defense for one corner to try to get the spot,” he said via NBC Sports.

Notably, the finishing order at Watkins Glen plays a part in the qualifying order at Richmond Raceway. A poor finish would result in a qualifying run in group 2, when a lot of rubber has already been laid down and helps log faster laps, but a group 1 attempt would allow for a run in lesser traffic.

Carson Hocevar acknowledged the same and explained how 'one spot matters a lot' on qualifying at a track like Richmond, where it's notoriously difficult to pass.

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Carson Hocevar reflects on letting Zane Smith pass through at Watkins Glen

During a media session at Richmond Raceway, Carson Hocevar admitted letting Zane Smith pass through uncontested at Watkins Glen International. He explained how making amends for an earlier incident in Iowa was a deliberate move.

NASCAR reporter Jeff Gluck reported on the same through his X handle.

"If I could give that back in a spot that wasn't going to cost me anything, hopefully that mends a little bit of their race car getting wrecked (at Iowa) -- which wasn't intentional by any means," Hocevar said.

Jeff Gluck

@jeff_gluck

Notes from a @CarsonHocevar media session just now:​-- Hasn't spoken to @Mc_Driver yet about their WGI run-in. He said McDowell suggested sitting down this weekend at Richmond to discuss it. Hocevar felt after he got spun by McDowell ("either he made a mistake or misjudged"), it was "plenty OK" to race really hard for the position at the end because it affected the qualifying order at Richmond (a track where the spot you go out matters a lot).​-- He isn't sure why @keselowski was so upset in qualifying, because Hocevar was upset with Keselowski first. Hocevar felt Keselowski impeded his qualifying lap first by letting him go in a bad spot -- so in his mind, he repaid the favor by "staying in line and had him go around me" on the cool-down lap with Keselowski on his flying lap, though he acknowledged "emotions were high."​-- He knew @ZaneSmith's tolerance level was going to be low on the last lap at WGI, so "if I could give that back in a spot that wasn't going to cost me anything, hopefully that mends a little bit of their race car getting wrecked (at Iowa) -- which wasn't intentional by any means."

After the Watkins Glen race, Carson Hocevar also visited Smith after the race and let him know that his move was intentional.