It seems like Carson Hocevar‘s racing antics are going nowhere, as he had another dramatic Late Model Series race at New Smyrna Speedway. Spinning a teenage rival but still finishing in the top five, Hocevar felt for the driver and reflected candidly on the incident.

Hocevar acknowledges his mess-up

In an attempt to make up for the lap he lost owing to a broken axle in his car, Hocevar was more aggressive than usual in the Late Model Race. He chased his competition down, and in an attempt to overtake Aiden Taylor, he ended up spinning Max Reaves.

“I was always really tight on the refires, and my stuff got rolling really good, that I was getting ready to pass AT, and he kind of missed it a little bit. And then I got them and just spun them. So I didn’t mean to do that or anything. I’m not, I think it’s Max Reaves,” he said in a post-race interview.

“Yeah, he looked really good. He was running the top, and he covered really well and made the lane change. And I drove in as if he wasn’t.”

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Reaves is a strong and upcoming driver. At just 16 years old, he has clinched multiple victories in the ARCA Menards Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. He was also having a good run, as Hocevar remarked; however, that came to an end after he spun the teenager. Yet, he felt sorry for the entire incident.

“I didn’t give his car enough credit that it would stick the rear. I thought he’d get a little free, and I didn’t even give him a chance. It barely got him and picked the rear up, and it spun him instantly. So yeah, it hurt me. I didn’t want, obviously, don’t want to do that,” he added.

This, however, is not an uncommon occurrence for Carson Hocevar. He is an aggressive driver, and more often than not, he has gotten in trouble for his driving style. Despite the speculation that the bigger teams in the Cup Series avoided signing him owing to his aggressiveness, Hocevar is adamant about his driving style.

While he now sticks with Spire Motorsports, there might be some good news coming up for him in the coming seasons.

Dale Jr. assesses that the Big Three might forgive Hocevar

Heading into his third full-time Cup Series season, Carson Hocevar just signed a long-term contract extension with Spire Motorsports. While the team currently struggles with consistency, Dale Earnhardt Jr. spots a golden opportunity for Hocevar: “They appreciate him for who he is, and they take him with all his flaws and imperfections,” he said on the Dale Jr. Download podcast.

Hocevar had plenty to deal with in 2025 after getting caught up in multiple incidents. A year earlier, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney went after him, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. later issued a direct threat. At times, seasoned drivers appeared to single him out.

At the same time, he did not impress the team owners as well. But Dale Jr. feels that the Big Three will keep this behind them if he manages to win a few races in the upcoming seasons with Spire.

“Some of the things that he did on the racetrack last year probably did sour some of the big three owners, Gibbs, Hendrick, Penske. But I’m telling, if you win races, if he goes out and wins a couple of races, everybody can look the other way. And they’ll have short-term memory right about a little times he ran into their race cars,” he said.

This seems to be a golden opportunity for Carson Hocevar. While the Chase format might not be the best for Spire Motorsports at the moment, it is more about his performance as a driver. No team would let go of a competitive driver, and although the likes of Hendrick, Gibbs, and Penske did not make him an offer this time around, they might change their minds in the future.