NASCAR issues penalties to Carson Hocevar and Josh Berry for Martinsville brake-checks

Carson Hocevar, a driver with Spire Motorsports, recently denied any intent behind an aggressive incident with Austin Cindric during a race at Martinsville Speedway. The collision occurred just over 200 laps into the race, when Hocevar aggressively braked-checked Cindric, causing significant damage to the front bumper of Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford. As a result, Cindric was forced to the garage, unable to finish the race and finishing 36th overall, while Hocevar went on to finish 21st.

Following the incident, NBC asked Hocevar for his side of the story. "No, I don't know, I got lost there for a second," Hocevar initially replied, followed by a more detailed explanation. He described the circumstances as normal Martinsville racing, emphasizing that both he and Cindric have raced each other well in the past. Hocevar stated, "I think we were just having fun."

He also expressed his belief that racing at Martinsville often involves aggressive actions from all drivers, as they all try to move each other in a competitive environment.

Later, Hocevar reiterated his stance during a media session, adding that "sometimes you're getting hit, sometimes you're causing it." He further clarified, "I just felt like it was normal Martinsville racing. Everybody's trying to move people. I think he [Cindric] was on the lead lap, I was maybe one down. Everybody's going to be hitting behind him, and everybody's going to be hitting behind me, and I'm going to try and move people too. It's just tough on the restarts and whatnot."

Cindric had a different perspective, expressing his frustration on FOX Sports. Bob Pockrass reported that Cindric questioned NASCAR's approach, calling it "weaponizing cars" and suggesting that the collision had put him in a state of mental breakdown during the restarts. Onboard and other footage confirm Hocevar's braking actions before the collision, with his spotter repeatedly urging him to continue racing.