{"id":34761,"date":"2025-06-04T20:53:02","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T00:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=34761"},"modified":"2025-06-04T20:53:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T00:53:02","slug":"hocevar-faces-heavy-criticism-after-wrecking-stenhouse-at-nashville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/06\/04\/hocevar-faces-heavy-criticism-after-wrecking-stenhouse-at-nashville\/","title":{"rendered":"Carson Hocevar Faces Heavy Criticism After Wrecking Stenhouse At Nashville"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Carson Hocevar is back in the news this week; again, it is not good. It&#8217;s another week and another victim of the sophomore drivers&#8217; aggressive driving. But this time it hurt Ricky Stenhouse, who was on track to have a solid day at Nashville. This will cast a dark cloud on his 2nd place finish and have him looking over his shoulder going into Michigan.<\/p>\n<h2>Carson Hocevar Faces Heavy Criticism After Wrecking Stenhouse At Nashville<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_34767\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34767\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-34767 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/imago1058794471-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/imago1058794471-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/imago1058794471-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/imago1058794471-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/imago1058794471-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/imago1058794471-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/imago1058794471-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/06\/imago1058794471-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34767\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carson Hocevar being interviewed during Media Day for the Daytona 500 on February 12, 2025, at Daytona International Speedway. Photo by Jeff Robinson\/Icon Sportswire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway, tensions boiled over between Carson Hocevar and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. during the Cracker Barrel 400. On Lap 106, Hocevar made contact with the rear of Stenhouse\u2019s car entering Turn 3, sending the No. 47 hard into the outside wall. The crash ended Stenhouse\u2019s race, handing him a last-place finish and his first DNF of the season.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Carson Hocevar Isn\u2019t Making Friends with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 2025 NASCAR Cracker Barrel 400\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/G0739taadPg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Prime Video broadcast team didn\u2019t hold back. While the commentators each brought their unique tone, they echoed a shared sentiment: the wreck could\u2019ve, and should\u2019ve, been avoided.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe had the chance to give him a break there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was an opportunity not to do that,\u201d said Dale Earnhardt Jr.<\/p>\n<p>Steve Letarte added, \u201cThese are the coin flips that Carson has to give to Stenhouse if he wants to be raced with respect when it\u2019s his turn to cut down. A little discretion could\u2019ve gone a long way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ricky Said, &#8220;It&#8217;s not out of the norm for him&#8221; to Marty Snider outside the care center on Sunday night.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"&#039;I\u2019ll Have Something to Do About It&#039;: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Sends Warning to Carson Hocevar | NASCAR\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VEIjOaepjMw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3><strong>This Isn&#8217;t Intimidation, It&#8217;s Immaturity:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>I get that fans want personality in their drivers, but this isn\u2019t the kind of personality NASCAR needs. Wrecking Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for 17th place? That was chicken-sh*t. Hocevar had the better car; he knew it, and he still dumped him. There\u2019s no defending it.<\/p>\n<p>Some have started comparing Hocevar to Dale Earnhardt. Let\u2019s stop that. Earnhardt was 27 when he won his first Cup race. Hocevar is just 22. He\u2019s still learning, still maturing\u2014and it shows.<\/p>\n<p>Denny Hamlin said it best when talking about the &#8220;Intimidator&#8221; persona Hocevar seems to be adopting: \u201cYou\u2019re not that guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And after the race, instead of showing any hint of remorse, Hocevar doubled down in his interview with Frontstretch:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Maybe I could\u2019ve had a break too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not grit or edge. That\u2019s just a lack of empathy.<\/p>\n<p>Some fans are embracing this as part of his \u201cpersonality\u201d\u2014a loose cannon who\u2019s not afraid to mix it up. But let\u2019s be real: this isn\u2019t toughness. It\u2019s inexperience. It\u2019s arrogance. And it\u2019s not going to earn him respect in the garage.<\/p>\n<p>Look, I think Carson Hocevar does have the talent and potential to be a star in the Cup Series. He has the speed, the raw skill, and now he has another second-place finish at Nashville to prove it. But let\u2019s call it like it is: he wrecked Stenhouse because he wanted the position, not because he needed to. A more experienced driver would\u2019ve known: <em>I\u2019ve got the better car\u2014I\u2019ll get him clean.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>What happened at Atlanta might\u2019ve been a rookie mistake. But this time? It feels a lot more deliberate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/26\/why-all-the-hate-for-carson-hocevar-hes-just-like-every-other-young-driver\/\" target=\"_self\">Why All the Hate for Carson Hocevar? He&#8217;s Just Like Every Other Young Driver<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Ricky Stenhouse and Hyak Motorsports Deserved The Break:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Sunday night\u2019s crash at Nashville saw Hocevar get into Ricky Stenhouse Jr., effectively derailing what was shaping up to be a solid night for the No. 47 team. Stenhouse dropped from 13th in points, a strong position in the playoff picture, to 19th, now three spots outside the cutline. And for what?<\/p>\n<p>Stenhouse has every right to be furious. If he retaliates, no one would blame him. Hyak Motorsports and Stenhouse came into the season as a bit of a joke. The Twitter jabs were brutal:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c&#8230;spinning into the wall,\u201d and \u201cHyak also translates into Can Only Win On Plate Tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But after 13 races, they were outperforming expectations. They were in the playoff picture on points, something teams with more funding and more personnel were still struggling to do. And now all of that is in jeopardy because of a move that didn\u2019t need to happen.<\/p>\n<p>It seems Hocevar has not tried to mend the situation. Wednesday, Stenhouse went on the Motor Stardom Show and said Hocevar had not called him to mend the situation. He added &#8220;Definitely be something I won&#8217;t forget&#8221; and &#8220;If I don&#8217;t hear from him by the weekend, I&#8217;ll confront him and we&#8217;ll figure it out&#8221;.\u00a0 RJ Starcevic shared the clip on Twitter:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">No call yet from Carson Hocevar yet to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.<\/p>\n<p>Watch full episode now -&gt; <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UooJDmackA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/UooJDmackA<\/a><a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NASCAR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NASCAR<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oW6bZlUhbN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/oW6bZlUhbN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 RJ Starcevic (@RJStarcevic) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RJStarcevic\/status\/1930063390736593326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 4, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Ominous word heading to Michigan, Carson&#8217;s home track.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Hocevar&#8217;s Heading Home With A Target On His Back<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Carson Hocevar doesn\u2019t need this kind of press. He\u2019s a likable guy with real speed and a growing fan base. His Twitch streams, he&#8217;s making friends with Cleetus McFarland, and his social media presence\u2014those have all helped build a good image. He doesn\u2019t need to be making enemies. Not now. Not heading into Michigan, his home track, where he will probably have the speed to contend for his first win.<\/p>\n<p>Imagine the headlines: Carson Hocevar scores first Cup win at home. Instead, the narrative is Can he survive the race without getting dumped? He should be looking forward to Michigan. Now he\u2019ll be looking over his shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>Carson Hocevar will win Cup races. Hell, he may win this weekend. But I think this could derail what could have been a hell of a storyline going into Michigan.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read Next:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/08\/16\/can-fords-dominance-at-michigan-be-stopped\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Can Ford&#8217;s Dominance at Michigan be stopped?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Photo:\u00a0<\/strong>Meg Oliphant, Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Recording Date: October 19, 2024<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Carson Hocevar is back in the news this week; again, it is not good. It&#8217;s another week and another victim of the sophomore drivers&#8217; aggressive driving. But this time it hurt Ricky Stenhouse, who was on track to have a solid day at Nashville. This will cast a dark cloud on his 2nd place finish [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4347,"featured_media":34768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1664],"tags":[2107,2544,1427,1470,563],"class_list":["post-34761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","category-nascar-cup-series","tag-carson-hocevar","tag-hyak-motorsports","tag-michigan-international-speedway","tag-nashville-superspeedway","tag-ricky-stenhouse-jr"],"modified_by":"Hayden Murdock","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4347"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34761"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34770,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34761\/revisions\/34770"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}