Carson Hocevar was once again labelled “Hurricane” Hocevar, not in a good manner, during the Cup race at Michigan as he triggered the massive wreck on lap 83, which undeniably earned him criticism from the rest of the field. However, as he finally found the time to review the footage, the #77 driver seemed to be avoiding responsibility for the wreck with a rather interesting comment.

“It caught me off guard that they stacked up. I kind of gave a little bit of space, but they just stacked up good. So, I don’t know why they did,” Hocevar told the media after the race.

Despite that explanation, what happened clearly did not go over well with the nine cars it affected. On the Lap 83 restart, Hocevar contacted Nemechek in front of him, turning the No. 42 Toyota across the track. Nemechek came up the track into Bubba Wallace, who got turned down the track into Ty Gibbs.

Wallace straightened out, but those around him weren’t as fortunate. Gibbs spun up the track, clipping Tyler Reddick, who tried to maintain control before spinning out. Reddick’s car spun backwards into the inside wall, bouncing off and sliding back onto the track. Austin Dillon was trying to weave through the melee and got back on the throttle to avoid the spinning Hamlin, which put him on a direct path into Reddick, severely damaging both cars.

Yet, Hocevar’s version of events is: “I mean, they just checked up right after the start-finish line. I went to like the low when I saw them check up, so it probably just shot him right and spun him [JHN],” he added.

The broadcast’s version, though, coming from Dale Earnhardt Jr., was considerably less forgiving.

“He’s moving left to go three-wide, but he does know he’s about to make contact with that car in front of him,” Earnhardt said on the Amazon Prime broadcast. “And he also knows, with the experience in these cars, that if he turns left while he makes that contact it’s absolutely going to turn the car in front of him. I don’t know that Hocevar can escape the disappointment that a lot of drivers are going to have here.”

So, even Junior, who had texted Hocevar words of encouragement as recently as earlier this season, wasn’t defending him this time, as the entire garage began calling him out.

Austin Dillon spoke bluntly from the care center.  “I’ve seen one replay, but what I saw, I looked like the 77 got in the 42 and turned him,” he said. “I hope at some point he figures it out. I know I’m not going to show anything to him for a long time.”

The came comments from Denny Hamlin, John Hunter Nemechek, even William Byron – who wasn’t involved in the crash – and, yes, from Richard Childress himself. Per Childress, it was all a matter of having a “small brain”.

That said, what makes it hard not to dismiss Hocevar’s defense is the footage itself. Hocevar had a promising start to the day, as he led the opening lap from the second starting spot and stayed in contention through the race’s first half. He had speed and didn’t need to force a three-wide. And therein lies the pattern that the garage has been documenting for two seasons now.

NASCAR insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi, after an earlier Stenhouse incident in 2025, described it as “the Chastain Disease,” the idea that Hocevar was clearly not going to get the benefit of the doubt, regardless, because everybody knows he races aggressively, everybody knows he takes what he can get. The Michigan footage, if anything, confirmed that reputation instead of challenging it.

Bubba Wallace reveals his post-race discussion with Carson Hocevar

Shortly after the race, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, who pulled off his best result of the season with a third-place finish, was caught sharing a moment with Hocevar. Having spent some time on the field now, and having been the victim of some harsh criticism because of his inconsistent driving earlier in his career, Wallace seemed to be the right person to guide Hocevar.

“I said ‘I’m jealous of how fast you are, kid.’ No doubt, he’s one of the fastest in the field, and that’s just natural ability. And so when you see that and you recognize that, I’ve got to give respect to it,” Wallace said.

At the same time, he brought about a massive realization for Hocevar.

“He’s fast, he’s going for every move every second, and it’s not worth it. He’s creating a lot of enemies. This is the same old story, same old Hocevar,” he added. “But I just told him, ‘You’re fast, a lot of us are jealous of what you have and what you’re able to do, but we’re beating you because we can put a race together better than you.’”

Carson Hocevar has impressed many on and off the field. Although this wreck did seem to prove that he still has to gain some more experience racing on the Cup field, Hocevar has already showcased a massive improvement from where he was at the start of the season.

The consistent finishes he has managed to pull off have already put him well within the top 16 and in possible contention for the title this season. While he would probably make the cut for the Chase, it is hard to argue if the #77 team will have enough competitiveness to have a more realistic shot at the same.