CARSON HOCEVAR'S ANTICS FINALLY CAUGHT UP TO HIM AS SPIRE MOTOSPORTS SUSPENDERS NASCAR STAR

 

Rising NASCAR star Carson Hocevar had been toeing the line of acceptable on-track behavior throughout the 2026 season. In Sunday’s race at Martinsville, Hocevar seemingly stepped over that line, and now he’s paying for it.

On Tuesday, Spire Motorsports announced that it had suspended the 23-year-old for the final race of the season at Homestead. The suspension comes in the wake of him brake-checking Team Penske driver Austin Cindric on multiple occasions at Martinsville, which ultimately ended Cindric’s day.

After the race, Hocevar claimed that it was just an unfortunate incident. But car tracking data showed that Hocevar slammed on the breaks in the middle of the straightaway, forcing Cindric to run into him.

What does the data say?

@SteveLetarte and @jamiemcmurray break down the contact between @CarsonHocevar and @AustinCindric. https://t.co/xKiHnNhM2K

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 2, 2026

Carson Hocevar Had This Suspension Coming

 There's no defying Hocevar’s talent. He won the first race of his career earlier this season and has routinely run in the top five in what many would consider sub-prime equipment.

But there’s also no denying his need to mature on the track. The incident with Cindric was just the latest of several run-ins with opposing drivers this year, one of which led to a fight with former series champion Ryan Blaney.

Up until now, Spire Motorsports owner Jeff Dickerson has backed his driver. But the latest incident left Dickerson no choice.

Jeff Dickerson statement:

“A decision like this has a lot of variables and a cascading effect across an organization like ours. The easy thing would have been to leave this in NASCAR’s hands and let them decide what any penalty should be. To us, however, this isn’t about money or points. We believe in respect. Our integrity matters. This is the right decision for Spire Motorsports.

“Everyone here loves working with Carson, and we’ve enjoyed watching him thrive alongside our team. Sometimes the right decision for someone you care about hurts in the short term. The way Carson conducted himself at Martinsville doesn’t meet the standard we set for our drivers, team members or employees, and there are consequences for that. That doesn’t mean we don’t love him and support him.

“Racing at the Cup level is a privilege, and it comes with an expected level of professionalism from everyone who represents Spire Motorsports. We’ll go to Homestead united and compete as an organization. After that, we can get ready for Daytona in February with the right mindset to contend for a championship.”

Justin Haley will drive the No. 77 car this week in Hocevar’s place.

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) November 3, 2026

“Everyone here loves working with Carson, and we’ve enjoyed watching him thrive alongside our team. Sometimes the right decision for someone you care about hurts in the short term,” Dickerson said in a statement. “The way Carson conducted himself at Martinsville doesn’t meet the standard we set for our drivers, team members, or employees, and there are consequences for that. That doesn’t mean we don’t love him and support him.”

Carson Hocevar Addresses Suspension

Hocevar also took to social media and issued a statement.

“This is an embarrassing day for me,” his statement began. “I let the people down that gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to drive a Cup car. I also let down my team, sponsors, and fans. I crossed the line with on-track actions and gave Jeff and Spire Motorsports no options but to put someone else in the 77 car this weekend at Homestead.

“I’ll be rooting for the entire organization this weekend and look forward to coming back in 2027 as a better driver, competitor, and teammate.’

Hocevar has had opportunities in the past to alter his behavior. He opted not to. Perhaps this is the wake-up call that was needed in order for him to do so.

Clay Sauertieg

NASCAR CEO: TOM CRUISE WANTS TO RACE IN ARCA FOR 'DAYS OF THUNDER 2'

"I’m not sure that’s going to happen, but he wants it to be as authentic as it can be."

Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/James Lang

Over 25 years following Days of Thunder’s original release in 1990, the cult classic’s long-awaited sequel is slated to hit theaters in 2028, with Tom Cruise reprising his role as Cole Trickle, a dirt open-wheel racer who enters the NASCAR Cup Series despite zero experience with stock car racing.

According to NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell, who discussed the upcoming film at Front Office Sports’ Tuned In conference on Tuesday, Cruise, who is famous for doing as many of his own stunts as possible, wants to get behind the wheel for real this time around.

“I was shocked. We have an ARCA racing series … Tom wanted to go race in one of those,” O’Donnell said. “I’m not sure that’s going to happen, but he wants it to be as authentic as it can be.”

While preparing for the first film in 1987, Cruise tested a second-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts Series car at Daytona, topping out at nearly 180 MPH.

ARCA is a minor, semi-professional national touring series that serves as a feeder series into NASCAR. The ARCA Menards Series will begin its 20-race schedule for 2027 at Daytona on Feb. 20, making stops at other iconic racing tracks such as Talladega.

It’ll be up to the discretion of NASCAR, which acquired ARCA in 2018, whether a 64-year-old Cruise will be qualified to race in the series. However, the barrier to entry is relatively low compared to the Truck, O’Reilly, or Cup Series, with 15-year-olds and even YouTube star Cleetus McFarland competing in the past.

O’Donnell says that the Hollywood icon wants the sequel to be as authentic as possible. Several drivers have said they’ve communicated with the filmmakers to help achieve that authenticity, answering questions about racing, and offering advice on stories and scenes, per USA Today. Carson Hocevar, who drives the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, has been in communication with Cruise’s team since January for the film.

“I think if you look at the first one, it showcased what NASCAR was at the time. And so, in talking to Tom Cruise when he was at Daytona, it’s all about where we are today and going forward,” O’Donnell said. “It’s embracing, you know, instead of a car being put together back in the garage, it’s embracing the technology, everything that goes into the sport. And Tom’s message to us was, ‘I’m going to put you in front of an entirely new audience, and you need to be ready.'”

Jonathan Levine will direct the film, with Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway starring alongside Cruise, who is also producing the sequel with Jerry Bruckheimer and Tommy Harper.

O’Donnell is looking at the upcoming blockbuster as a prime opportunity to grow the sport.

“Do people understand the point system? How does the Chase work? How long are your races? All these things to make sure that a new fan who may come out to the racetrack understands,” the CEO said. “Because for us, this is a whole new open door for us to bring new fans.”

- Qwame Skinner

NASCAR: KESELOWSKI-HOCEVAR CLASH FUELS PAYBACK DEBATE AFTER KANSAS CRASH

Getty

A tense NASCAR restart at Kansas Speedway sparked fresh questions about Brad Keselowski and Carson Hocevar after a multi-car crash during the Hollywood Casino 400. On Lap 122, Noah Gragson’s engine failure brought out a caution, setting up a Stage 2 restart.

When the field went back to green, Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet moved right and made contact with Ty Gibbs before crossing back across the track. Bubba Wallace, Josh Berry, Erik Jones and Zane Smith were also caught in the crash. Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford was directly behind Hocevar when the incident unfolded.

The NASCAR crash drew more attention because Hocevar had spun Keselowski at Darlington three weeks earlier. Keselowski had then warned, “There will be,” when asked about possible history between the two drivers.

NASCAR Restart Crash Raises Keselowski-Hocevar Questions

The NASCAR crash quickly became a talking point because Keselowski appeared to make contact with Hocevar during the restart. USA Network analysts Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton questioned whether Keselowski had pushed the No. 77.

Chase Briscoe’s crew chief, James Small, told his driver over the radio that Keselowski had gotten into Hocevar and knocked him loose. Keselowski’s spotter, TJ Majors, offered a different view, saying, “Move of the race, nice job.”

Keselowski replied that the move was “more of survival than anything else.”

The NASCAR incident came after Hocevar’s Darlington spin of Keselowski, adding another layer to the restart crash.

Brad Keselowski Explains Kansas Speedway Contact

After the NASCAR race, Keselowski rejected the idea that the Kansas Speedway crash was connected to the Darlington incident.

“I don’t know. They crashed. I didn’t see what happened. They were in front of me and then they weren’t. From what I’m told, they made some contact there, the outside lane. So I don’t really feel like that had anything to do with me, but it makes for a damn good story.”

In another clip, Keselowski said, “Yeah, I know. I gave him a push, and then they started wrecking to my right. I couldn’t tell what happened.”

NASCAR did not issue a penalty over the incident.

Carson Hocevar Takes Blame as Fans Debate NASCAR Crash

Hocevar also stopped short of accusing Keselowski of causing the NASCAR crash at Kansas Speedway. His No. 77 Chevrolet suffered right-front damage, while he finished three laps down.

“I felt contact from all over, honestly. I don’t know. Everybody was trying to go for the middle because that seems to be the perfect spot. I don’t know if I tried to fill that hole that we were all trying to merge into, but we wrecked.”

He later told Motorsport.com, “It looked like we just kind of met. I was trying to run middle, so was the 54. We all just kind of met.”

Hocevar also accepted some responsibility on USA. “He was in my blind spot, so I didn’t know he was shooting that middle. So, yeah, I guess on me.”

Fans offered different views of the NASCAR incident. Danielle Trotta wrote, “Brad’s smart. If it was intentional, he’s smart enough to not make it look like it was. Ways to ruin someone’s day that aren’t blatant. Likely payback from Darlington, and don’t expect BK to admit it to reporters.”

Stephen Harrell disagreed, writing, “Hocevar absolutely turned right to fill the gap in the middle. Trust me, as a Keselowski fan, I WISH that was Brad paying him back! But nope, just another boneheaded move by the 77.”

Jordan Ferrell also rejected the payback theory: “I don’t think that was a retaliation from Keselowski. Hocevar was laying back. Left Brad with few options.”

Bubba Wallace recovered to finish inside the top 10 after repairs. Keselowski finished 12th, while Kyle Larson went on to win the NASCAR race.

The Kansas Speedway crash added another chapter to the Keselowski-Hocevar storyline, but neither driver confirmed it was payback for Darlington.

- Dogli Wilberforce

RYAN BLANEY PULLS OFF THRILLING NASCAR CUP SERIES VICTORY AT ATLANTA

Getty

In a race that did not finish until early hours of Monday morning, Ryan Blaney put on a dominating performance in the NASCAR Cup Series at EchoPark Speedway.

The driver of the No. 12 led a race-high 171 of 263 laps and outdueled Carson Hocevar on the final lap to win the Quaker State 400 at the EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta. Blaney secured his second win of 2026, 19th career victory, and first triumph at Atlanta.

Christopher Bell finished second, followed by Hocevar third, Ty Gibbs in fourth, and Erik Jones wound out the top five.

Bubba Wallace initially finished the race runner-up, but was penalized for advancing his position below the yellow line down the backstretch on the final lap. Because of this, Wallace finished 29th. 

Blaney passes Hocevar on the final lap to win Atlanta

with six laps remaining.   

A multi-car crash involving Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Riley Herbst, Austin Hill, and others set up an overtime restart.

Hocevar started up front for the restart and had his No. 77 machine in prime position to take the win as the field took the white flag.

The Spire Motorsports driver had built a gap on the rest of the field. However, a push from Wallace propelled Blaney past Hocevar. The two ran side-by-side, which then opened the door for Wallace to dive three-wide underneath.

With one final push from Bell up top, Blaney crossed the finish line first and scored the win.

The thrilling victory capped a dominant performance for the North Carolina native.

Rain delayed NASCAR’s finish by over three hours

Blaney started on the pole and led the field to the green flag. The 2023 Cup champion led all 60 laps of the opening stage en route to the victory. Tyler Reddick was second and Kyle Larson was third.

Blaney continued to lead for the bulk of the second stage, but swapped the lead with Kyle Larson. At the red flag on lap 108, Blaney was in command with Bubba Wallace second and Reddick third.

The rain delay lasted three hours and nine minutes as the cars did not get re-fired until just after 11:30 p.m. Eastern time. At 12:01 a.m. Eastern time, the race resumed on lap 123.

In the waning laps of the second stage, Blaney held off challenges from Wallace, Joey Logano, and Hocevar to complete the stage sweep. Reddick finished second in stage two, followed by Logano in third. 

Gibbs assumed the lead after a round of pit stops and was out front to start the final stage.

With just over 60 laps to go, A.J. Allmendinger’s single-car spin on the frontstretch brought out the fourth caution of the race.On the cycle of pit stops, Bell took over the lead, with Larson in second. 

The fifth caution came out with just under 30 laps remaining after Allmendinger slapped the outside retaining wall. 

With 23 laps to go, Wallace led the field back to green with Blaney alongside him. Blaney overtook Wallace and held the advantage with 19 laps remaining, when Larson spun through the infield grass and triggered the sixth caution.

With six races until The Chase, Denny Hamlin leads the points standings by 24 over Reddick.

- John Breeden

TYLER REDDICK WINS AT ATLANTA TO GIVE MICHAEL JORDAN SECOND STRAIGHT NASCAR VICTORY

 

Tyler Reddick rebounded from a crash to become the first driver in 17 years to sweep the first two races of a NASCAR Cup Series season, winning in double overtime Sunday at Echo Park Speedway. David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire

HAMPTON, Ga. — Whether on or off the racetrack, all Michael Jordan does is win in NASCAR.

For the second consecutive Sunday to open the season, the basketball great and co-owner of 23XI Racing celebrated in victory lane with driver Tyler Reddick. This time, after a thriller at Echo Park Speedway.

Jordan’s team now has the top two drivers in the Cup Series points standings with Reddick and Bubba Wallace. The six-time NBA champion already added a ring last week with Reddick in the Daytona 500, the crown jewel of stock-car racing.

Oh, and Jordan also settled a federal antitrust lawsuit with NASCAR in December, a major legal victory that secured a permanent franchise-style model and ensured his team would remain in business for the long-term.

“The guys worked hard all summer, and I know we had our little ordeal,” Jordan said after Reddick’s victory Sunday, referring to the bruising court battle that ended with him making peace with NASCAR CEO and chairman Jim France. “They kept working hard and this is the fruit of their labor. They put forth the effort, and for us to come out and win the first two races says a lot about our whole team.”

It especially says a lot about Reddick, who put on another dazzling performance the week after he became the fourth driver in history to win the Daytona 500 by leading only the final lap.

This time, he led a race-high 53 laps on the 1.54-mile oval south of Atlanta – including the final two in a double-overtime restart. He snatched the lead from Wallace despite the right-front fender of his No. 45 Toyota being damaged in a nine-car crash on the 224th of a scheduled 260 laps. Reddick fell two laps down for repairs but came roaring back from 27th for his 10th career victory.

“I mean, that’s crazy, ain’t it?” said Reddick, who became the first driver since Matt Kenseth in 2009 to win the first two NASCAR Cup Series races of the season. “I just found a way to get back in the top five, and I tried to stay committed to somebody.”

He got a helpful push from runner-up Chase Briscoe. Ross Chastain finished third, followed by the Spire Motorsports tandem of Carson Hocevar (who triggered a large crash in the first overtime) and Daniel Suarez.

“Tyler had like another gear,” Chastain said. “(He had) no fender, and he pulled us so fast.”

In a race that featured a track-record 57 lead changes, Wallace was first entering the final restart but shuffled to eighth. He still gained the second-most points (48) by winning the second stage and leading 46 laps.

“Tyler did an unbelievable job,” Jordan said. “I feel bad for Bubba because he had an unbelievable day. But Tyler drove his ass off. I’m very happy for Tyler. I’m very happy for 23XI.”

Green turns to yellow

Austin Cindric took advantage of a stretch of 61 green-flag laps to open the race, winning the first stage after starting 30th.

It was the second consecutive year that the first stage in the February race was completed without a yellow flag – an oddity for a track known for chaos since its 2022 reconfiguration into a high-banked drafting oval.

The cautions quickly picked up pace in the second stage with three yellow flags in 40 laps that collected 16 cars and eliminated notable drivers Ty Gibbs, Josh Berry, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch. The 160-lap middle segment ended under another yellow when defending Cup Series champion Kyle Larson slammed the outside wall after a collision with Shane van Gisbergen.

No Las Vegas love lost

Busch was perturbed after his No. 8 Chevrolet “got rammed” exiting Turn 2 by the No. 4 Ford of Noah Gragson on the 125th lap.

Though both drivers hail from Las Vegas, Nevada, the 40-year-old Busch felt little kinship in taking issue with the aggressive style of Gragson, who is 13 years younger.

“He didn’t give me an opportunity to make sure I was straight before hitting me or get into me gently to try and get the momentum back,” said Busch, who finished 33rd. “He just drove right through me.”

Up next

The NASCAR Cup Series will race at the Circuit of the Americas, the first road course of the 2026 season, on Sunday, March 1. Christopher Bell outdueled Kyle Busch and William Byron to win at the Austin, Texas, track last year.

- Associated Press

WILLIAM BYRON WINS DAYTONA 500 UNDER CAUTION

USA TODAY Sports 

The perfect script played out for Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the 66th Daytona 500 on Monday.

Race leader William Byron finished a four-lap shootout under caution in a Presidents' Day Daytona 500 delayed a day because of rain, making him the winner of the Great American Race in Daytona Beach, Fla.

As the late-afternoon start turned into night at the historic Daytona International Speedway and with the white flag approaching, Ross Chastain made a move into the middle lane and wrecked with second-place Austin Cindric.

That gave Byron his first Daytona 500 win and 11th of his career in the series.

Byron's teammate Alex Bowman finished second, giving Hendrick Motorsports its ninth 500 win, tying the organization for first all-time with Petty Enterprises, and a 1-2 finish in its 40th anniversary season in NASCAR. Monday marked the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports' first Cup Series start, which came in the Daytona 500.