Carson Hocevar will not take part in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Spire Motorsports — not NASCAR — have taken action against their own driver, suspending him for one race.
Controversy has followed Hocevar all season, and last weekend at Martinsville, he intentionally brake-checked Austin Cindric multiple times until he delivered race-ending damage to the Penske driver. Hocevar later made light of it, saying “we were just having fun.”
The team did not specify either incident as the reason, treating it as a broader issue of respect and integrity.
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Spire Motorsports statement
“A decision like this has a lot of variables and a cascading effect across an organization like ours,” said Spire Motorsports team owner Jeff Dickerson in a Tuesday statement.
“The easy thing would have been to leave this in NASCAR’s hands and let them decide what any penalty should be. To us, however, this isn’t about money or points. We believe in respect. Our integrity matters. This is the right decision for Spire Motorsports.
“Everyone here loves working with Carson, and we’ve enjoyed watching him thrive alongside our team. Sometimes the right decision for someone you care about hurts in the short term. The way Carson conducted himself at Martinsville doesn’t meet the standard we set for our drivers, team members or employees, and there are consequences for that. That doesn’t mean we don’t love him and support him.
“Racing at the Cup level is a privilege, and it comes with an expected level of professionalism from everyone who represents Spire Motorsports. Well go to Homestead united and compete as an organization. After that, we can get ready for Daytona in February with the right mindset to contend for a championship.”
Hocevar: “This is an embarrassing day for me”
Hocevar fell from tenth to 12th in the championship standings at Martinsville, and could easily fall further down the Chase standings by missing Homestead.
Justin Haley, who previously raced for Spire at the Cup level and delivered the team its first-ever win in 2019, will drive the No. 77 Chevrolet this weekend.
Hocevar has apologized for his actions, saying on Tuesday: “This is an embarrassing day for me. I let the people down that gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to drive a cup car. I also let down my team sponsors and fans. I crossed the line with my on-track actions that gave Jeff and Spire Motorsports no option but to put someone else in the 77 car this weekend at Homestead.
“I’ll be rooting for the entire organization this weekend and look forward to coming back in 2027 as a better driver, competitor, and teammate.”
Hocevar has stolen headlines all year and has made a lot of enemies on the track. The Martinsville controversy is just the latest incident. Even during the Chase, he dumped Brad Keselowski at Darlington and got into a pit road brawl with Ryan Blaney after wrecking him at Bristol.
Watch: In-car cameras capture heated Hocevar-Cindric clash at Martinsville
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