By Jerry Jordan, Editor
Spire Motorsports suspended Carson Hocevar for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Tuesday, two days after the No. 77 driver brake-checked Austin Cindric at Martinsville Speedway and ended the Team Penske driver’s race. Shortly thereafter, the NASCAR penalty report was released and Hocevar was hit with a $100,000 fine and a 25-point deduction.
Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson said the team chose to act on its own rather than wait on NASCAR.
NASCAR fined Hocevar $100,000 and assessed the loss of 25 driver points for the Martinsville incident, citing “multiple violations” of the code of conduct and actions detrimental to stock car racing under Section 4.4A. Hocevar, who is 23, sat 12th in the standings entering the season finale. Not being behind the wheel will significantly impact his position in the overall standings.
“A decision like this has a lot of variables and a cascading effect across an organization like ours,” Dickerson said. “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 Spectrum Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on Sunday. Haley drove for Spire earlier in his career and now runs in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Kaulig Racing.
The suspension is due to actions by Hocevar in Stage 2 of Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville, where SMT data showed he brake-checked Cindric’s No. 2 Ford multiple times. The contact crushed the nose of the No. 2 and Cindric retired with a 36th-place finish. Cindric pleaded over his radio for NASCAR to take action and Hocevar, who finished 21st, dismissed the contact afterward as Martinsville racing.
After the suspension and the NASCAR penalty, Hocevar fell on his sword, apologizing for his behavior.
“This is an embarrassing day for me,” Hocevar posted Tuesday on social media. “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 my on-track actions and gave Jeff and Spire Motorsports no option 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.”