Carson Hocevar’s aggressive driving drew fresh scrutiny after Denny Hamlin said Spire Motorsports had “no adults in the room” following Hocevar’s latest on-track incident. Michael McDowell pushed back on that criticism, saying there are “a lot of adults at Spire” and that he was not offended by Hamlin’s comment. McDowell said conversations he has with Hocevar are private, described Hocevar as a “young knucklehead driver that likes stirring the pot,” and said the rest of the Spire team is focused on making its cars faster and improving its processes.
McDowell also said he understood Hamlin’s criticism and praised Hocevar’s aggression and passing ability, while noting that the same style can lead to mistakes. Hocevar’s latest flashpoint came Sept. 19 at Bristol Motor Speedway, when he and Ryan Blaney made contact that sent Blaney into the wall. A pit-road confrontation followed, and Hocevar threw punches. NASCAR did not penalize either driver.
The Bristol incident added to a growing list of clashes for Hocevar, who has also tangled with Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain. He was also fined $50,000 by Spire Motorsports for a vulgar remark in Mexico City. Dale Jarrett said Hocevar has the talent to become a NASCAR star, but warned that his aggressive style will hurt him unless he makes better decisions on track. Jarrett said Hocevar needs to know when to take risks and when to be patient, and that the Bristol incident may have cost him trust with other drivers.
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