One name has been the chaos master since 2024 in the NASCAR Cup Series. That is none other than sophomore driver Carson Hocevar. Despite his young age, Hocevar has fallen into several conflicts. From spinning Harrison Burton in the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400 to getting in Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s path in Nashville, there is no dearth of Hocevar’s wild stories. That wildness continued into this Sunday’s Charlotte Roval race – yet with a toned-down response from the victim.

Team Penske is again in a solid run for the 2025 Cup Series title. Ryan Blaney is already locked into the Round of 8, and Joey Logano beat Ross Chastain for the last berth. Austin Cindric, on the other hand, was the outlier – being 48 points below the cutline. And his tangle with Carson Hocevar did not help.

Austin Cindric saw no ill will

Rolling off from the 19th spot, Austin Cindric’s day spiraled from the very beginning. He blew the corner at Lap 9, serving his stop-and-go penalty on the racing surface before falling to 23rd position. Then, Cindric spun in Turn 3 off the nose of Justin Haley’s car, forcing him to pit road with scuffed tires. Finally, on lap 32, Carson Hocevar entered the scene. His No. 77 Chevrolet entered Turn 16 with too much speed, spinning through the corner and contacting Cindric. The latter’s No. 2 Ford fell 22 laps down as a result of the damage, and eventually finished 36th.

However, Austin Cindric believed that Carson Hocevar had no malicious intent. He talked about the Spire Motorsports driver’s actions in a post-race interview: “I don’t think it was intentional. Like, I didn’t feel like I was targeted. I was just a victim of somebody else’s mistake.” This counters the previous incidents where Hocevar’s rivals explicitly blamed him, like Ryan Blaney in Atlanta and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in Nashville.

Yet Austin Cindric added about Hocevar’s actions: “I mean, he had all of his tires locked up, passed three cars, and T-boned us.” It was the second incident that Hocevar had partial responsibility for. He had made contact with Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Chevy in Turn 1 of Lap 1 as the Richard Childress Racing driver hit the wall and fell several laps down.

Eventually, Austin Cindric failed to advance beyond the Round of 12 for the third year in a row. He had cracked the playoffs by winning in Talladega in April. Instead of blaming Hocevar, he accepted the defeat while saluting Team Penske’s efforts. He said, “Yeah, I think our hopes were definitely over at that point. But getting the car back on track. And yeah, exceptionally proud of my team in moments like that, in moments throughout the week. It’s kind of hard to describe without being there and seeing it. But on a day like today, that’s what I walked away with the most…it’s how good of a group I have around me.”

Carson Hocevar and Austin Cindric apparently had a conversation and sorted things out. Although Hocevar has yet to publicly address the Roval incident, he has addressed the Kansas fiasco.

A lighthearted take on a massive fine

Well, controversy never seems to escape Carson Hocevar‘s vicinity. Just a week before dashing Austin Cindric’s hopes, Carson Hocevar drew the ire of NASCAR officials. He spun on Lap 260 of the Hollywood Casino 400. This caused the tires of the No. 77 to go flat, forcing him to remain stationary by the track. When safety workers arrived at the scene to tend to his car, NASCAR apparently noticed Hocevar revving his engine and spinning his tires. This landed Hocevar a hefty $50,000 fine due to the safety risks involved.

In response, Hocevar found a way to make fun of this punishment. During a recent live stream, he set a $50,000 donation goal and went viral. He is one of the most popular Cup Series drivers on social media, with more than 15,000 subscribers on YouTube and 23,000 followers on Twitch.

However, Carson Hocevar had a comprehensive explanation for the incident. He said, “I fired it up just to throw it into neutral. It’s sometimes hard to get these things into neutral, so I fired it up. Honestly, I didn’t know it spun the tires. Obviously, there’s a tow truck in front of me, so I’m not going anywhere…I was sitting there in third gear doing a burnout, so it’s on me, not thinking about the tires spinning. It was educational for me. It’s expensive too. It’s educational for our guys too, so I could just say I’m stuck in second and go from there.” He added, “NASCAR doesn’t have the intent. They can’t know the plan and story behind everything and judge everything, and sometimes they have to call it the way they see it.”

Evidently, Austin Cindirc chose not to add to Carson Hocevar’s already questionable reputation. With Cindric’s playoff hopes dashed, let’s see how his teammates fare in the rest of the postseason.