Frustrations are already boiling over in North Wilkesboro Speedway. During Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series practice for Saturday’s Faith Fest 250, Carson Hocevar, driving the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado, lost his patience with Tanner Gray, the driver of the No. 15 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra.
With just under 19 minutes remaining in the session, Hocevar would nudge his way past Gray on the track, and as he pulled away from the driver of the No. 15 truck, Hocevar decided to send a message to his team on the radio.
Carson Hocevar moved and then dissed Tanner Gray, and then went on to turn the fastest lap in #NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series practice at North Wilkesboro.pic.twitter.com/2VcPN4Wa5y
— Toby Christie (@TobyChristie) July 17, 2026
“Maybe his daddy can go buy another team,” Hocevar said.
While Hocevar is an aggressive driver who has begun gaining a solid fanbase by his against-the-grain style, the radio transmission was a pretty big low-blow to Gray, and it felt especially unwarranted given that the frustration came during a practice session.
Gray’s family, legends in the NHRA ranks, moved to NASCAR during the 2019 season, and since then, the Gray family has bought into TRICON Garage, a team that was formerly known as David Gilliland Racing.
While the 27-year-old Gray hasn’t found victory lane, the New Mexico native has not had a horrendous career in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series by any means.
In 156 career starts, Gray has recorded 13 top-five finishes and 35 top-10s, and he has narrowly missed the Playoffs several times in his six full-time campaigns in the series.
While there may have been some truth to Hocevar’s statement, as the Gray family pocket-book has helped pave the way for the driver’s opportunities, the comments only further cement the feeling in the garage that Hocevar lacks respect for his fellow competitors.
That being said, Hocevar once again proved to be fast in Friday’s NASCAR Truck Series practice, as he paced the session. Hocevar turned a fast lap time of 18.639 seconds (120.715 mph), which allowed him to top Christopher Bell, a fellow NASCAR Cup Series star, by a margin of 0.004 seconds.
Gray, who struggled throughout the session, would rank 26th-fastest in the practice session.
