Another week, another Carson Hocevar on-track run-in. In last Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, the opening race of the 10-race NASCAR Chase for the Championship, Hocevar got into Brad Keselowski a couple of times on Lap 107, and finished him off by sending him spinning off his front bumper in Turn 4.
After the race, a very heated Keselowski vowed that “[Hocevar’s] day is coming, and it’s coming hard. Watch out, Carson.”
In the latest edition of the Actions Detrimental Podcast, Denny Hamlin refused to give Hocevar the attention that he feels the 23-year-old driver seeks from his on-track incidents.
“You’re not going to get anything more from me because I’m not going to give him what he wants,” Hamlin explained. “I’m not going to give him the clip that he wants. Period.”
Instead, Hamlin chose to go scorched-earth on Hocevar’s Spire Motorsports team, which has enabled the on-track antics that Hocevar has utilized since going full-time NASCAR Cup Series racing in 2023.
“So, you want me to talk about Spire? I’ll talk about Spire,” Hamlin said before unleashing his unfiltered thoughts about the once backmarker team, which placed two cars in the Chase this season.
“There’s no adults in the room, clearly, in that building,” Hamlin explained. “No adults. That’s my opinion.”
Hamlin then fired off one last shot at Spire Motorsports before moving on from the topic.
“Because how can you honestly think that that’s what is best for your company if you’re running a serious organization? I think they’re unserious,” Hamlin concluded.
Sheesh, Hamlin is a 64-time race winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, but on Monday afternoon, he looked reminiscent of Macho Man Randy Savage, who was known for his flying elbow drop from the top rope during his legendary wrestling career.
But Hamlin does have a point, as many continue to be critical of Hocevar’s uncalculated aggression on track.
While he ultimately scored an 11th-place finish at Darlington, Hocevar likely messed with the wrong driver in Keselowski, who has very little to lose over the next 9 races. Keselowski, unlike Hocevar, is not in the Chase for the Championship, and unlike many drivers in the sport, Keselowski owns his No. 6 race car. A one-race suspension for a retaliatory incident aimed at Hocevar wouldn’t hurt Keselowski the way it would hurt a typical driver.
Also, Keselowski is part of NASCAR’s current old guard, who have been desperately trying to get Hocevar to understand the fine line between aggression and respect over the last few seasons. This would give Keselowski a perfect opportunity to show Hocevar that there are consequences for every on-track run-in.
Will Keselowski exact revenge? That remains to be seen, but keeping an eye on the No. 6 and No. 77 cars over the next nine races will be must-see TV.
As for Hamlin’s assessment of Spire Motorsports, Hamlin has always been very vocal for pure racing in NASCAR’s top division, and he hates when drivers choose to use aggression instead of race craft to pick off positions in races. Hamlin, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, has also had his sights set on Spire Motorsports all season long, as Joe Gibbs Racing has entered a legal battle with Spire Motorsports over allegedly stealing Joe Gibbs Racing proprietary data, including car setup files, when the team acquired Chris Gabehart, the former competition director for Joe Gibbs Racing, in the offseason.
So, there are more layers to Hamlin’s “no adults in the room” comments.
It must be noted that as of this time, Spire Motorsports has not been proven to have conducted any inappropriate behavior. The trial between Joe Gibbs Racing and Spire Motorsports is set for February 2027.
