Carson Hocevar has been warned that both his and Spire Motorsports’ sponsors could desert him if he continues to stir controversy in races.

Hocevar has become infamous for his aggressive driving style, which has already angered Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. this season. After causing chaos in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta in February, Ryan Blaney also called Hocevar a moron.

During the Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway last week, which was won by William Byron, Hocevar — the 2024 Rookie of the Year — took out Zane Smith on lap 229. He was confronted by a member of the No. 38 team on pit road after the race, while Smith himself seemed to attempt to collide with Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet.

Hocevar’s aggressive style is clearly rubbing people the wrong way, and the sophomore is not delivering the results that would cause people to overlook his behavior. He sits 22nd in the Cup Series standings with zero wins and just two top-five finishes in 2025.

Hocevar is 131 points out of the playoff picture, so a win is needed if he is going to make it to the postseason. However, Tommy Baldwin believes the 24-year-old could be in danger of losing his seat if his antics on the asphalt continue.

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“The problem with Carson is the crew chief knows already, he’s got a lot of talent,” Baldwin said on the ‘Door Bumper Clear’ podcast. “There’s no question about it. 

“There’s a lot of other people coming up that also has a lot of talent and knows how to race better than him. He needs to be careful, because things happen quickly in our sport. Business people, sponsors, get tired of it.

“As much as everybody wants to think about the situation with Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing, I don’t care what anyone says — they got tired of it. As good as he was, and how great of a race car driver he is, and as many wins as he’s had, they just get tired of it. 

“He’s going to get to a point that there’s going to be an opportunity that they’re going to go, ‘Oh my god, that guy’s available? Do we really want to deal with this s— anymore?’

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“It might not happen this week, but it might happen and it’s gonna give somebody an easy out to make a better decision for their business because of it. Mark my word.”

Hocevar is next in action at Watkins Glen when the Cup Series continues on Sunday, August 10.