Craving to hear a popular villain own up to his mistakes? If so, you are up for a treat today. In the NASCAR Cup Series, Carson Hocevar is currently the new-age black hat. The 22-year-old speedster has ruffled feathers multiple times in the 2025 season alone. Veterans like Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have reasons to place targets on him. While that does not bother him too much, Hocevar is more bothered by a controversy he caused in 2023.

Driving as a sophomore driver for Spire Motorsports, Carson Hocevar is one of the most popular icons in NASCAR at present. His stellar image thrives alongside his controversial one, and he loves the spotlight. But he recently used it to own up to a chaotic Truck Series race that saw him miss out on a potential championship.

Carson Hocevar bows his head in guilt

Well, the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series championship was a spectacle to watch. Corey Heim was poised to win the title, and he led for 47 laps in the Phoenix race, passing Carson Hocevar on lap 118. But the latter was fighting tooth and nail for it too, as he contacted Heim’s left-rear quarter panel two laps later, spinning Heim and Stewart Friesen out.

With three laps left, Hocevar tried to pass again, but this time, Heim turned right and sent both Trucks into the wall. The retaliatory move cost Heim a $12,500 fine and a 25-point redux. Although it left Heim with more damage, Hocevar held more guilt for causing the entire fiasco. The young speedster admitted in late 2023: “I feel bad I robbed them of that [title]. I just feel sorry for them… deserve it if it was [intentional]. Just messed up.”

In 2025, Carson Hocevar harbors the same remorseful attitude. Speaking to Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a recent episode of The Dale Jr Download, the Spire driver recalled his motives, “It wasn’t like I’m gonna make it. It was me going, ‘This might be my only and last time to win a championship.’ Like, I don’t know if I’m going to win a Cup championship… Like, this is it. I just signed with Spire at that time, I was like, we ain’t winning a championship anytime soon. I gotta go get this thing.” He aligned his intentions with Corey Heim accordingly: “I wasn’t trying to ideally wreck him; my plan was to hit him in every f—— corner…’cause I was like, I can’t let him get two cars in between…if there’s a restart, he’s gotta be next to me. The only goal I have is to keep him as slow as possible.”

What turned out was more serious than Carson Hocevar intended. Corey Heim’s retaliatory moves came in the way, yet Hocevar took it all on himself. He continued, “I remember getting into him twice and everything…What cost me was him actually passing a truck. I thought he wasn’t passing the truck, or that he was gonna make the corner. I thought he was trying to get away from me, and he was gonna slide, and we’re gonna slide. And I just f—— backed him right into the fence… Anytime I see the video, I’m just embarrassed.” What bothered him further was his hurt reputation: “All I remember is, ‘Aww, m——-‘…All these people that I looked up to, believed I turned a corner here. Now I’m just like, I just made them look stupid.”

The remorse in his tone is evident. Even if you view the replay of the incident, Hocevar’s in-car camera shows him waving his hands in frustration before covering his face in embarrassment as he realized what he had done. Not only did he ruin Heim’s chance at a championship, but after racing Heim all season, some part of him knew the retaliation was coming, and that’s what cost both of them the championship.

Carson Hocevar’s regret from that night in Phoenix is not just limited to his actions, but also his response in the car.

Never losing sight of his goal

After all, Carson Hocevar is thoroughly focused on his racing ambitions. During the controversial Nashville race this year, he admittedly was worried about losing track position. That is why during stage 2 of the race, Ricky Stenhouse Jr was running 17th when Hocevar hit him from behind and spun him around. That left the Hyak Motorsports driver fuming at the youngster, swearing revenge on him. Nevertheless, Hocevar got what he was hoping for, finishing 2nd in that race. Hence, Hocevar regretted one more thing about the 2023 Truck Series fiasco. The fact that he gave up hope of winning.

During the caution that followed Corey Heim’s initial spin, Carson Hocevar lamented so much that his crew’s call to pit could not reach him. On the ensuing restart, Hocevar sank to 18th place. He recalled that painful loss to Dale Jr: “One of my biggest regrets was like, I needed it at the moment, but now that I look back at it, I was like, yeah, that was really stupid. What’s the worst of it, or the crime of it…is that I gave up. I just quit…We were supposed to pit…we were leading in points…You just wrecked the guy that had the only shot to beat you, and I gave up…If I got out of the Truck right there and said, ‘I’ve f—– up.’ Al Niece [Niece Motorsports owner], it took him 8 months to get over it.”

Carson Hocevar regrets his past wrecks. Yet his regrets become larger when it is at the cost of a potential win. Let us see if the sophomore whips up more controversy in the Cup Series this season.