Carson Hocevar attributes his incident with Brad Keselowski in Darlington’s Cook Out Southern 500 to hard racing and he doesn’t believe an apology is necessary, but he is willing to talk with the NASCAR champion.
“I don’t like the BS apologies,” Hocevar said. “We’re just both racing hard. I think he knew what he was doing. He’s smart. He knows how hard he’s racing and trying to hold us off.”
Prior to the July Atlanta race, Hocevar said the lack of respect from his fellow competitors didn’t concern him because they had to deal with him whether they liked him or not. That they all had to stand up to the plate and bring it on, and he didn’t know that anyone really wanted to get in that war. Wednesday during a zoom conference with motorsports media, Hocevar said he still possessed that mindset.
“I race as aggressively as any of them,” Hocevar said. “I would be a hypocrite if I hated it or was going to complain about it. Jeff (Dickerson, team co- owner) and I don’t like hypocrites, especially he doesn’t, so I take that to heart.”
In Sunday’s Darlington race, Hocevar spun Keselowski’s Ford when he moved up in front of the Spire Motorsports driver as they exited turn four on lap 107. Keselowski recovered and finished 23rd while Hocevar placed 11th.
“I think Brad knew how aggressive he was being, racing super hard,” Hocevar said. “Obviously, trying to keep us behind him. I was racing really hard, trying to be aggressive and… just hurt his momentum a lot.
“I feel like you put yourself in that spot that it’s going to open up after 10 or 15 laps. Not patience running out… but it’s more so of when you’re just racing really, really tight within an inch of each other… it just starts to add the intensity of it. Sometimes you just hit. I’ve been hit multiple times in those races, throwing blocks… you kind of open yourself up to that. Shit happens sometimes when we’re racing hard.
“I wasn’t trying to spin him out or wreck him, but I was trying to pass him. Getting closer and closer of trying to pack air and… make his life a little more difficult because sometimes it’s tough to pass. He was doing a really good job holding me off.”
David Jensen//Getty Images
Carson Hocevar talking with the media.
After the race, when asked about Hocevar, Keselowski replied to a media member, “His day’s coming and it’s coming hard. Watch out, Carson.”
“He could have come down to me if he was that mad,” Hocevar said Wednesday. “If he wants to talk, sure, but I just think it’s racing.”
Several current and former drivers have criticized Hocevar’s on-track tactics, but he cited only three that have tangled with him during an event. He noted that Corey Heim dumped him at San Diego, Zane Smith tried at Chicagoland Speedway, and Bubba Wallace “full-throttled” him at Martinsville.
While several competitors may be angry at him, it’s obvious thousands of fans support him. Currently, Hocevar is No. 1 in online retail sales through the NASCAR Shop, and he is in the top five in trackside sales. His independent online souvenir shop brought in nearly $200,000 in the 24 hours following the Labor Day classic at Darlington. Last season at this point, he was 32nd in sales.
Hocevar, who’s 12th in the standings, believes there’s a balance between “just not caring and enjoying this.”
“This is a lifelong dream for me. I want to enjoy every second of this,” Hocevar continued. “I think a lot of people misinterpret me having fun or our team having fun being maybe unserious at times, that we don’t care. We just want to enjoy every aspect of the game. Part of the game is loving up to the fans.
“I care about what Jeff (Dickerson), the sponsors, and my team says. Racing is a family sport… and I just care what my family thinks.”
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.