Carson Hocevar achieved a career-best finish in the NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday but found himself needing to explain his actions after the race.
Running in fourth, Hocevar made a bold move with two laps remaining, going three-wide by splitting Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain entering Turn 3. Initially, the maneuver didn’t gain him much ground, but on the final lap, Hocevar used a push from the outside lane off Turn 2 to help Bell take the lead over Kyle Larson. In Turn 3, Hocevar squeezed between Bell and Larson in an attempt to challenge for the lead as the caution came out. He was scored in second place at the time of the caution.
“I was hoping it stayed green,” Hocevar said. “I didn’t know they were wrecking, so in hindsight, maybe shouldn’t have pushed a Toyota past a Chevy. But I made the move to get into the middle, which was where I wanted to be. Unfortunate result, but you put yourself in a spot to win the race.”
Chastain was the first to approach Hocevar post-race. The two had a brief conversation away from the crowd, though neither revealed details of their talk.
“Sometimes you agree, sometimes you disagree,” Hocevar said. “I made the decision to go for the win, and we’ll talk more about it later since we have each other’s phone numbers.”
The second conversation Hocevar had was with Ryan Blaney, after he made contact with Blaney with 27 laps to go. Hocevar tagged Blaney as they entered Turn 1, causing Blaney to spin out. Blaney didn’t hold back on his team radio, calling Hocevar a “weapon” and a “moron,” criticizing his lack of judgment on when to bump another driver.
Afterward, Blaney spoke to Hocevar, telling him to “calm down” and offering advice on when to make aggressive moves and when to be more cautious.
“I told him a couple of moves were sketchy,” Blaney said. “He can’t just run into my bumper as I’m turning into a corner. He has a lot of talent, but he needs to be smarter at times.”
Hocevar acknowledged his mistakes but also saw it as a learning opportunity, especially since it was his first time competing at the front on a superspeedway, mixing it up with the leaders.
“I thought I could hit him harder,” Hocevar admitted. “It’s the first time I’ve lined up a Chevy nose with a Ford, and I got him in a bad spot. It’s on me.”
Despite the controversial moments, Hocevar earned 41 points, the second-most of the field, and secured Spire Motorsports’ best finish since becoming a full-time Cup Series team by placing second.