“I was shocked.” These words hardly suit Carson Hocevar’s mouth, but he was in for a surprise on Saturday. The Spire Motorsports driver keeps alive his penchant for stirring up controversy almost every weekend. His most recent brush-up happened with Ryan Preece at Texas Motor Speedway, where Hocevar derailed his peer’s chances for a top-five finish. Yet in a shocking twist, a rival hoped to do the same to Hocevar at Kansas, but failed.

This exchange of rowdy roles happened at the Heart of Health Care 200 Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway. Carson Hocevar undertook double duty this weekend, enrolling in both this Craftsman Truck Series event before his Cup Series appearance. And the effort proved to be worth it – albeit eliciting a round of boos from fans online.

Carson Hocevar mocks his rival with a classic gesture

Well, flipping the bird has been an age-old thing in NASCAR. Be it Austin Hill showing it to Shane Van Gisbergen on road courses or Taylor Gray making Sammy Smith lose his temper in Martinsville, the classic gesture is not uncommon. Yet nobody would have expected Carson Hocevar to use it in retaliation, as usually, the sophomore Cup Series driver is the one enticing retaliation from rivals.

The final laps of the Truck series race spelled something different, though. After the final caution with 25 laps to go, Hocevar had an indomitable speed. But Layne Riggs quickly erased a 1.5-second gap with Hocevar and dove into the left rear quarterpanel of the No. 7 Truck on the final lap. That sent Hocevar into the wall along with Riggs, but Hocevar could maintain his balance and charged to victory with Riggs finishing a close second.

Just before crossing the start-finish line, however, Carson Hocevar flipped the bird at his rival, who trailed behind him. That was clearly in response to the wild tactics that Riggs resorted to. In a post-race presser, Bob Pockrass asked Hocevar what the intention behind that bird was, and Hocevar giggled all the way through his explanation. Hocevar said, “Um, it was somewhat friendly, right? I don’t remember what I really did, to be honest. If anything, I just wanted to remind him of just like, ‘Hey. I still won,’ I guess, I don’t know.” 

Hocevar and Layne Riggs were involved in a fierce battle during the last few laps. Riggs had to work his way up the field from 16th place earlier in the race after an ill-timed green flag pit stop hampered him. The #34 showed no signs of giving up and rode inches away from the wall at Kansas and even brushed up against it, but held his nerve while chasing Hocevar. While Riggs’ run ended in vain with Hocevar flipping him off, the race winner didn’t forget to give Riggs credit where it was due.

Layne Riggs won two Craftsman Truck Series races last year as a rookie driver for Front Row Motorsports. This year, Riggs fetched his second runner-up finish in Kansas, but he is still searching for that elusive win. Carson Hocevar acknowledged Riggs’ efforts, albeit while visibly spitting short smirks. “At the end of the day, he did a really good job; he’s super, super-talented. That group built a really, really fast truck. I remember watching Zane [Smith] go on to win against us in that Truck. Yeah, I mean, it’s all harm, no foul. You know, I’m sure my bird is really small compared to getting contact. It’s all friendly, and when I see him, I’m sure we’ll laugh about it.”

Layne Riggs also did not mind Carson Hocevar’s gesture, as he admitted the latter was mad at his tactics. “He won the race, and I think he was mad at me. I think he flipped me off all the way down the frontstretch coming to the checkered…But it’s all good. It’s great racing with Cup cars, and I think that just proves that I’m going to be there one day.”

Despite Riggs sanctioning Hocevar’s bird, fans on social media were not pleased. The grandstands at Kansas were cheering Hocevar after a thrilling win, but the keyboard warriors went after the race winner as his antics did not please them.

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NASCAR community bashes the troublemaker

Well, Carson Hocevar’s reputation precedes him. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series got a healthy dose of his chaotic antics in 2023. The most prominent incident was probably his wrecking antics with Corey Heim in the championship race, which derailed both of their efforts. Fans, who remember that event alongside others, accordingly bashed Hocevar’s bird despite its retaliatory nature.

One fan wrote, “There’s a reason everyone hates the pr—.” Also, Hocevar’s off-track antics have a poor reputation along with his on-track ones. After ticking off several rivals like Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney in Atlanta, he did not issue a formal apology. So another fan wrote, “Just proves how disgusting hocevar is. He really is a punk.”

Other fans issued somewhat toned-down responses to Carson Hocevar’s antics. After all, the sophomore driver is the leading face of Spire Motorsports at present. The reigning Cup Series Rookie of the Year has already fetched two top-ten finishes and one top-five finish through 11 Cup races this season. So one fan wrote disapprovingly about an otherwise good driver: “Yep, saw that. Kind of uncalled for IMO, but I’m sure there will be people praising it. I like Carson, but he has no right to flip people off for contact with the way he races on a near weekly basis.” 

After his brush-up with Ryan Preece, Hocevar initiated an apologetic discussion with his rival. That move not only appeased Preece but some fans as well. However, somebody wrote that now Hocevar has ruined that effort: “I was just starting to be cool with him and now he’s a douche again.”

Carson Hocevar’s antics have already gained a reputation in the Cup Series garage. Veterans like Dale Earnhardt Jr, two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, and 56-time Cup race winner Denny Hamlin have bashed his aggressive moves. So, despite driving well, Hocevar continues to ignore his peers’ feedback. Echoing this sentiment, one fan wrote: “Carson has to be the least self aware driver in the garage. Big time talent though.”

Clearly, Carson Hocevar just set off another storm in NASCAR. His retaliatory bird has not been the brightest idea in terms of grabbing fans’ sympathy. Nevertheless, let us see how he performs in the Cup Series race. Do you think Hocevar can replicate his Truck success in the Cup car on Sunday? Let us know in the comments!