Coming off his first NASCAR Cup Series win at Talladega Superspeedway, Carson Hocevar returned to the track where he cut his teeth behind the wheel, Berlin Raceway. But the homecoming kicked up a storm when, after spinning Andrew Scheid entering Turn 4, Hocevar was sent to the rear of the field. And fans accused him of parking his car, rage-quitting the Super Late Model race at Berlin Raceway instead of fighting his way back through the pack.
During a scrum interview ahead of the Pocono race weekend, Hocevar finally addressed the chatter and cleared the air over claims that he had “rage quit” at Berlin. According to the driver, the truth was nowhere near the version making the rounds among fans. Offering his account when asked if he “rage quit” the race, Hocevar said,
“No, I just, I thought it was funny. I was like, whatever. If that’s what people think, I don’t care. Like, if I cared, I would have stopped racing a long time ago. But, no, I thought it was funny. I was just like, no. I mean, but, like, it’s not my (place), people can think what they think and do what they want to do. But I get to enjoy late model racing.”
“If it’s not a cup car, I’m just there for fun and get to enjoy it. Like, if I took that stuff way seriously, I mean, I ran the B-main at Eldora and never even saw an A-main. Like, if I cared about how good I run, I would have been like, ‘Oh, this sucks,’ and been miserable and everything. So, yeah, I mean, especially at Berlin. Like, I’m just happy to see my dogs and my parents. Like, yeah, the race is secondary to me,” he continued.
Hocevar explained that his focus was fixed on winning when, after a caution with fewer than 70 laps remaining, Majeski pitted alongside Hocevar and charged through the field on the restart.
With fewer than 50 laps left, Majeski cleared both Hocevar and Andrew Scheid, who were battling for second place. At that moment, Hocevar felt the clock was ticking and that if he wanted a shot at the win, he had to make a move.
The Spire Motorsports driver said Majeski was racing him tooth and nail, prompting him to force the issue and try to stick his car into the opening.
Behind the scenes, however, his crew was growing increasingly concerned about the right-front tire, which kept coming apart. Moments later, Hocevar spun Scheid entering Turn 4, and the race control sent him to the rear of the field.
During the rain delay, Hocevar even had to persuade his crew to stay in the fight, as they wanted to argue for another set of tires. His team was unsure whether the car would even survive long enough to reach the next pit stop without a tire failure. Hocevar pointed out that they had been leading the race.
The Spire Motorsports driver further revealed that once he was sent to the back, his team informed him that their options had narrowed considerably.
According to his crew, the car would either end up in a wreck or force Hocevar to make aggressive moves, neither of which offered a realistic path to victory. With little hope of reaching Victory Lane and growing concern about the tire situation, the team decided to park the new car.
That was the reason he parked the car. Addressing the perception that came afterward, Hocevar said,
“I just thought it was funny. Everybody was like, ‘Oh, he said no comment.’ I was like, ‘Man, TB never came over to me. I was in my shirt. I was laughing with Tyler Lupton next door. I was like, ‘Man, I had a soda in my hand. I was laughing. Richie was there with Tristan, so I was giving him a hard time. I just started walking around pit road and telling everybody that I knew and liked.’ I was like, ‘Man, you’re running six. You guys suck today.’ And, giving them all hard times.”
The controversy gathered steam after a fan account alleged that Hocevar had simply walked away from the race, frustrated. According to the post, the Michigan native had paced the field for around 50 laps before becoming involved in an on-track incident while battling for second place near Lap 100.
The account further claimed that Hocevar turned Andrew Scheid while entering the corner and was subsequently sent to the rear of the field by race control. That moment became the spark that lit the fuse.
The post alleged that immediately afterward, Hocevar drove down pit road, removed his helmet and steering wheel, and walked away without speaking to reporters.
Hocevar’s response on social media later poured cold water on those claims, making it clear that his decision to exit the race stemmed from a desire to preserve a brand-new race car instead of lashing out over the penalty.
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