“You’re driving for my dumb a–.” Carson Hocevar’s team owner did not mince his words after what his driver did at Nashville. Entering Turn 2 during lap 106 of the Cracker Barrel 400, the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet bumped Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s No. 47 car, as it slid sideways and slammed the SAFER barrier. The action came out of the blue and was an avoidable one. Now, Hocevar’s owner is open to harsh measures.

After all, Carson Hocevar hardly has a squeaky clean reputation. From his Craftsman Truck Series career to entering the Cup Series, run-ins with rivals have become a habit. Hence, when Ricky Stenhouse Jr confessed he wanted payback, Hocevar’s team owner might let him have it.

No respite for a rowdy Carson Hocevar

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. can deliver a heavy response. We saw that in the 2024 All-Star Race, where he delivered an upper cut to two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch for the latter’s aggression. He landed a $75,000 penalty for that fistfight, and that is probably the only reason that stopped the Hyak Motorsports driver from approaching Carson Hocevar at Nashville Superspeedway. However, the sentiment was apparent in his post-wreck interview. “Definitely will have something to do about it at one point,” said Stenhouse Jr.

Stenhouse entered Nashville in 13th place, and his consistency in avoiding DNFs was remarkable. But Carson Hocevar‘s antics landed him in 39th place and his first DNF of 2025, besides shaving off 16 points from the championship standings. Hence, Ricky Stenhouse Jr issued a warning to his rival about a confrontation. Interestingly, Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson is fine with that.

In a recent ‘Door, Bumper, Clear’ episode, Dickerson touched on how he expects Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to react: “Ricky, to me, is a guy like, he’s not going to wreck our car, he’s going to go beat the hell out of him…Which is how it probably should be. You know what I’m saying? But you can’t get it until you go through it. It’s like being a parent. Sometimes your kid just wants to shut your hand in the car door to see if it hurts, right? …Sometimes, you just got to let him.”

Hocevar’s words after the race didn’t save him too much either. Instead of owning up to his mistake, Hocevar said, “I felt like I was there enough to get a call inside and have him [Ricky Stenhouse Jr.] run the middle. Honestly, he probably could have cleared me… There were a bunch of people that got shipped that didn’t wreck or didn’t get wrecked.” This response is typical of a young driver unfamiliar with the unwritten rules of racing. Dickerson even commented on Hocevar’s response, saying, “This isn’t a Carson thing, it’s general… They’re too young to know that it’s cool to be like, ‘Man, I f—– that up.’ That’s where I wish they would help themselves more.”

Jeff Dickerson also didn’t shy away from pointing out Hocevar’s mistakes, adding, “Man, you [Carson Hocevar] didn’t need to do that. You just didn’t need to do that. It wasn’t going to cost him anything to let Ricky back in line. I just wish he could have cut him a break. I have a personal relationship with Ricky, and I don’t want that to cloud it. I’m like, ‘S—, man.’ There’s plenty of times I go to Carson and I’m like, 35-year-old Carson is not going to be cool with what you just did or what you just said.” 

Dickerson feels that Hocevar could and should have let Ricky by, as that is not a battle he wants to get into this early in the race, and in his career. However, actions have consequences, and every veteran knows that. Even Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin felt that a wreck from Stenhouse to Hocevar is something to look out for in the future. Hamlin said, “Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will absolutely wreck Carson Hocevar sometime in the near future. You know, he ain’t gonna punch him in the face, but he will absolutely wreck him. If you’re Carson, just know that it’s coming, so don’t be surprised.”

Clearly, Carson Hocevar has not racked up good points for his Nashville behavior. Nevertheless, the rest of his efforts got a round of applause.

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A good finish nonetheless

Well, Carson Hocevar has been the star of Spire for some time now. As a sophomore Cup Series driver, he has picked up 3 top tens and 2 top fives in 2025, and his prowess was visible at Nashville Superspeedway. Despite starting in the 26th place, he climbed his way up to 2nd place by the end. He even overtook veteran driver Denny Hamlin for the last part of the race, trailing Ryan Blaney all the way to the checkered flag. That is why Jeff Dickerson was proud of him despite the aggressive stunt. He said, “We didn’t have the outright speed like we did last week. We had to work for it. Carson had to work for it. He passed 10 cars on a restart. Luke called a great race, and the pit crew executed, so I am just really proud of that.”

Even race winner and 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney acknowledged, “Spire has been really, really fast this year. Mainly the 77 (Hocevar). He’s been really, really good and had a great shot to win that race last week and ran really good tonight.” Carson Hocevar’s runner-up finish moved him to within 4 points of the final playoff spot.

So, his crew chief, Luke Lambert, also focused on the positives: “Super proud of our group and what we’re doing right now. We are proving that we are heading in the right direction. We’re going to keep it up. The fact that we rallied and got this finish tonight is just another example of we’re heading in the right direction. Good magic for next week. Let’s have some fun.”

Hence, it is a mixed deal for a well-performing Carson Hocevar. Nevertheless, let us see if he can get a grip on his aggression as his team owner asked him to. Do you think Hocevar’s aggression is unwarranted or a breath of fresh air? Let us know in the comments!