As the United Rentals 300 wound down, Carson Hocevar found himself in a chaotic multi-car crash. Any hope of a big finish disappeared in the aftermath of the wreck. But it didn’t end there. An irate Carson Ware stormed toward Hocevar once both climbed out of their cars, and both drivers unloaded their anger.

“That’s not cool, bro. I know you don’t have to, but that’s the problem; you have no respect,” Ware vented.

Ware’s frustration was rooted in Hocevar’s role in the multi-car crash, which caused Ware to briefly lose control of his car. Things only escalated from there, as Hocevar appeared to also flip Ware off during the cooldown lap. That added another arguably needless moment to the list of issues involving the Spire Motorsports driver.

Ware’s challenges were also more tied to pit strategy and timing. He pitted during the green-flag cycles alongside other midpack cars, including Anderson, Hocevar, Poole, and many others, which cost him track position and shuffled him back in the field. The pit sequence, combined with the heavy traffic in the mid-pack, limited Ware’s ability to contend with the leaders late in the race, and the 25-year-old ultimately finished the race in 19th with Hocevar up in 20th.

And that is when Ware did not hesitate to point fingers at Carson Hocevar. The driver later went on to explain what pushed him over the edge with the Spire Motorsports ace.

“I’m cool with people flipping me off, you know, I got thick skin, that’s fine with me, but, you know, I was just really displeased with Hocevar dooring our race car and tearing up stuff after the race,” he said post-race. “You know, our guys at Barrett Coat work really hard, man, and they put a lot of hours into this stuff.

“That’s cool, I get it, everybody has emotions. But when we start tearing up racecars after the checkered flag, that’s just something I’m not cool with.”

On the other hand, Hocevar appeared frustrated when Ware slowed down in front of him, as he wanted to move past. However, the former’s team instructed him to stay put to avoid drawing a penalty.

“I think he was frustrated that we didn’t get going,” Ware added. “But I let the 88 and another guy in front of me, because they understood and saw that I was kind of lagging back. It’s a green-and-white checkered at Daytona, so we’ve seen what happens, right? I don’t know why he just didn’t get around. He’d done it earlier on in the race, right, when we were lagging back. I don’t know. He said that’s what he was frustrated over.”

Ware will definitely be taking time to cool off. As for Hocevar, it is important to note that Daytona International Speedway seems to be his first enemy this season.

A look into Carson Hocevar’s Daytona nightmare

The Michigan native’s weekend at Daytona got off to a dramatic start in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he showed plenty of speed early by winning stage one and leading laps, showing he had to pay to contend up front.

Unfortunately, that promise quickly unravelled. He suffered a string of mechanical issues and flat tires, spinning multiple times and ultimately finishing a disappointing 35th, a far cry from his early potential and a harsh reminder of how unpredictable pack racing can be at Daytona.

Although his truck series result was rough, Hocevar turned heads in qualifying for the America 250 Florida dual, part of the buildup to the Daytona 500, ran competitive laps, and demonstrated solid speed among Cup regulars, helping secure his spot in the field as he prepares for Sunday’s Cup race.

While the exact starting position in the dual doesn’t guarantee a perfect day, qualifying strongly is a boost after an otherwise tough truck and Xfinity outing.

With limited opportunities left this weekend to turn things around, it can be said with much certainty that the 23-year-old will now shift focus to the 68th running of the Daytona 500, where he will look to salvage his performance with a strong Cup Series result.