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NASCAR driver Carson Hocevar waves to the crowd during driver introductions at New Hampshire Motor Speedway alongside an image of him crashing in the same race
Did Spire Motorsports star Carson Hocevar wreck intentionally prior to Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway? That’s what fellow driver and 2020 series champion Kyle Larson believes.
Larson made the accusation during a recent episode of the “Door, Bumper, Clear” podcast during a larger discussion about Hocevar’s polarizing antics.
“I mean spinning out before the race, that was 1000% just to get on TV,” Larson said.
Carson Hocevar Crashed Before The NASCAR Race At New Hampshire Even Started
The incident Larson is referring to occurred before the drivers even took the green flag for Sunday’s race. Inclement weather forced the drivers to start on wet weather tires, and Hocevar spun out while the cars were rounding the track on the pre-race pace laps.
And Larson wasn’t the only one to take exception to the incident.
Three-time series champion Joey Logano, who was just behind Hocevar on the track at the time of the spin, called the 23-year-old an “idiot.”
The pre-race spin for Hocevar was something, but the commentary from Logano… priceless. pic.twitter.com/uNN2nqFi5r
— Motorsport (@Motorsport) August 24, 2026
Hocevar went on to wreck again during the racing itself when he tried to pulled down in front of fellow driver Conor Zilisch while Zilisch was still alongside him.
That move drew the ire of points leader Denny Hamlin, who called out Hocevar on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast.
“It looked like the 77 one was trying to clear himself. Evidently, he was three-wide,” Hamlin said. “The problem with that is you must make sure that you’re clear.”
At one point this season, Hocevar was as high as fifth in the Cup Series point standings. However, after a recent rough patch, he’s dropped all the way to 11th.
“It just was not a very good CH [Carson Hocevar] day, that’s for sure. Just not the best work. The best thing that’s come out of that camp in a month has been his girl’s tutorial on makeup and racing,” Hamlin said about Hocevar’s struggles.
While that may sound harsh, it’s hard to argue given the results.