Perhaps the most divisive driver in the NASCAR Cup Series field, Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar has managed to alienate himself from many of his competitors during his first two seasons, seemingly including his teammates.

This season alone, the 22-year-old has been labeled a “moron” by Ryan Blaney, NASCAR’s “biggest dumb—” by Austin Dillon, and been threatened by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 

Another rival that Hocevar has seemingly gotten on the wrong side of over the last two years is now-former Spire teammate and current Front Row Motorsports star, Zane Smith, who has admitted he’d like to “punch him in the face” following their recent clash at Iowa Speedway on lap 230. Smith would go on to finish 36th, while Hocevar crossed the line in eighth.

The 26-year-old’s comments came during an appearance on the ‘Stacking Pennies’ podcast, hosted by Hocevar’s former teammate, Corey LaJoie, just days after both Smith and Hocevar finished in the top 10 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Reflecting on their collision at Iowa, which saw Hocevar get loose and spin Smith into the barrier, the FRM driver explained: “No, I didn’t talk to him. And it’s just you’re not going to get anything from it. Like, I don’t really know how else you can explain that. You want to go up to him and punch him in the face, but that’s $75,000, and that’s not very cool.”

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With this in mind, Smith has decided that he simply plans to give Hocevar a taste of his own medicine, explaining: “What it’s come down to me is like I just treat him how he would treat me. And it’s just how it goes. And until that changes, I’m not going to change.”

LaJoie clearly knew exactly where Smith was coming from when reflecting on his time as Hocevar’s teammate in 2024. “I could appreciate how fast he drives in a circle,” he said. “He’s exceptional with manipulation and dirty air. 

“He can make the car do things that I could watch, like I need to get better at that. And the way he drives the [simulator] with how, I mean, he’s an iRacing kid at heart. So, like he’d pick up on the cues really quickly, and he pushed me to become a better race car driver and work on some of my weaknesses. 

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“When it comes to team building and all the things, not the guy who I’d pick to lead my team. Luckily for him, they’ve got (crew chief) Luke Lambert, who is one of the all-time, in my opinion, one of the great managers, he’s great for Carson if you listen to his radio, and Tyler Green is the best spotter on the roof. 

“They have put him in a really good system, and it’s paying some dividends. Also, overly frustrating when you have a beef with him because he literally doesn’t give a s— about anything.”

Disinterested in forming friendships within the sport, as Hocevar has previously discussed with Dale Earnhardt Jr., his devil-may-care attitude could come back to haunt him down the line, according to the Hall of Famer. Earnhardt believes that when it comes to Hocevar, “everything’s fine until he runs into one of Rick [Hendrick’s] cars or something like that, and he has to go into the office and talk to Rick Hendrick.”

He added: “It might not be Rick, but it’ll be a person like Rick that when he has to go in and have that conversation, that will have an effect. That might not fix it all, but that will have an effect on the decision-making behind the wheel.

“I’m entertained by Hocevar until it becomes my problem. I think it’s all fine until he does something that irks Hendrick. Or somebody that’s directly above his chain of command.”

Fast forward to the Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, and having clearly not paid attention to Earnhardt’s advice, Hocevar lashed out at Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott after being spun by the No. 9, yelling over his team radio: “F— him. I don’t care who he drives for.”