“We don’t want to change”: Carson Hocevar opens up on conversations with Spire boss following Nashville controversy

On the back of his impressive finish at the Nashville Superspeedway, Carson Hocevar spoke on his aggressive driving style during the race. He said that he doesn’t want the team to change much and lose their edge, but also work on getting better without hitting other cars.

Carson Hocevar delivered a standout performance at Nashville Superspeedway when he finished second in the 2025 Cracker Barrel 400. He started on the 26th and methodically worked his way through the field after overcoming a mid-race incident with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

On lap 106, Hocevar made contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in Turns 3 and 4, which sent Stenhouse into the outside wall and ended his race with a last-place finish, his first DNF of the season. Stenhouse, who had been hopeful of a playoff spot, was disappointed and noted that Hocevar had tried a similar “dive-bomb” pass just laps earlier and called him “over-aggressive”. Stenhouse publicly called out Hocevar for not reaching out after the incident.

In an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Hocevar reacted to the whole incident that unfolded at Nashville.

"You know, I've had a lot of people reach out like, you know, just massive people in the sport, but mainly just you know, just looking at it myself and then you know, Jeff and Luke and Tyler and our whole group, you know, we don't want to change. The biggest thing I guess is like you don't want to change and you know lose our edge but as Jeff had told me multiple times, we're just let's just round the edges off and have less moments of that and more moments of you know, Passing the other 25 cars without hitting any of them."

The runner-up result marked Hocevar’s second second-place finish of the season and his first in a traditional oval. Despite a strong showing, Hocevar described the result as “bittersweet”, expressing disappointment at missing out on a win but pride in the team’s execution and resilience after an engine failure at Charlotte the previous week. The driver of the #77 for Spire Motorsports has competed in 14 races with a current driver rank of 17th. He has amassed 287 points with two top-five finishes and three top-ten finishes.

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. called out Carson Hocevar's lack of accountability days after Nashville run-in

Stenhouse expressed his disappointment in an interview, stating that in his experience, drivers generally contact each other quickly after such incidents, especially if they feel remorseful. He noted that he had not received any communication from Carson Hocevar and interpreted this silence as a sign that Hocevar did not care about the consequences of his actions.

"I've been in the sport a long time. If you make a mistake like that, you generally pick up the phone as quick as you can. And, you know, especially if you feel bad about it. I mean, if you don't, you just roll on with it," Stenhouse Jr. (via RJ Starcevic on X)

"I haven't got a call from him. So, you know, to my point, he doesn't really care about it, which, you know, it's fine. If that's the ground he wants to stand on, that's completely fine. But definitely will be something I won't forget. And, you know, if I don't hear from him by the weekend, I'll probably confront him and we'll figure it out."

Stenhouse said he would not forget the incident and warned that if he didn’t hear from Hocevar by the weekend, he would confront him personally to resolve the matter.