At Chicagoland Speedway, the animosity between Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith reached a breaking point when they got into an incident that ruined both of their races. Fans immediately argued over who was to blame. But the fight has already moved off the track. Smith has now spoken out, claiming that Hocevar is two very distinct people – one on track and one on social media.

Zane Smith calls out Carson Hocevar’s contradictory behavior

“He [Carson Hocevar] spends the rest of the race like waving at me, like playing nice guy, like, ‘Oh man, I’m so sorry. So sorry,'” Smith said. “And then goes on social media and like posts like uh admit one like I don’t give a f—. So, it’s like if you’re going to be the guy like hiding behind social media, like I don’t know. That’s a coward in my opinion.”

Following the most recent collision between the two drivers, Zane Smith made his toughest remarks yet about Carson Hocevar. Smith claims that after their Chicagoland encounter, Hocevar apologized right after. As the race went on, Smith said Hocevar kept waving at him to show the crash was not on purpose.

That, however, wasn’t what irritated Smith the most. Rather, what transpired following the race was the source of his frustration.

Right after the race, Hocevar posted an Instagram Story to mock the crash. He shared a famous clip from the movie 2 Fast 2 Furious where Roman Pearce (played by Tyrese Gibson) laughs off a threat, saying, “You think I’m worried about this fool, man. Haha. This is nothing.”

A few days later, during one of his Twitch livestreams, Carson Hocevar responded to the event with a sarcastic remark that swiftly went viral on social media.

“What’s Zane’s problem?” Hocevar laughed. “I don’t know man, maybe his T-shirt sales were low. I don’t know. Who cares?!”

According to Smith, Hocevar’s apologetic demeanor throughout the race was entirely at odds with his public responses. Ironically, Hocevar has built a reputation throughout NASCAR for being unapologetically himself both on and off the track. His candid interviews, Twitch streams, and willingness to say exactly what’s on his mind have become a huge part of his brand.

The two drivers’ conflict didn’t start at Chicagoland. The feud actually began at the 2025 Iowa Corn 350. In that race, Hocevar slid up the track and slammed Smith hard into the outside wall. Back then, Hocevar simply called it a racing accident.

Smith, however, believes the current situation represents something entirely different. He believes Hocevar’s behavior after Chicagoland didn’t match how he acted in the moment. Now, every time these two drivers share the track, the stakes are higher. They are no longer just fighting for position. They are openly attacking each other’s character.

What do you think? Is Zane Smith justified in calling Hocevar a hypocrite, or is Hocevar simply having fun with the rivalry away from the track?