If there’s one name that’s been the chaos master since 2024 in the NASCAR Cup Series, it’s none other than the sophomore driver, Carson Hocevar. Despite starting so young, Hocevar has already fallen into several conflicts. From spinning Harrison Burton in the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400 to getting in Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s path in Nashville, there is no dearth of Hocevar’s wild stories. That wildness continued into this Sunday’s Charlotte Roval race – yet with a toned-down response from the victim, Austin Cindric.

Cindric’s Team Penske is once again running high for the 2025 Cup Series title. Ryan Blaney is already locked into the Round of 8, and Joey Logano’s epic battle with Ross Chastain till the final lap saw the former seal the last berth. But Austin Cindric, unfortunately, was the outlier, ending his playoff dream right at the very bottom. But looks like he’s already moved past the incident, already forgiving his aggressor.

Austin Cindric saw no ill will from Hocevar

Rolling off from the 19th spot, Austin Cindric’s day spiraled from the very beginning. He blew the corner at Lap 9, serving his stop-and-go penalty on the racing surface before falling to 23rd position. Then, Cindric spun in Turn 3 off the nose of Justin Haley’s car, forcing him to pit road with scuffed tires. Finally, when it couldn’t get any worse, on lap 32, Carson Hocevar entered the scene.

Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet entered Turn 16 with too much speed and smoke, imbalanced through the corner, hitting Cindric. The latter’s No. 2 Ford fell 22 laps down as a result of the damage, and eventually finished 36th.

However, Austin Cindric believed that Carson Hocevar had no malicious intent. Speaking about the Spire Motorsports driver’s actions in a post-race interview, Cindric said, “I don’t think it was intentional. Like, I didn’t feel like I was targeted. I was just a victim of somebody else’s mistake.” This counters the previous incidents where Hocevar’s rivals explicitly blamed him, like Ryan Blaney in Atlanta and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in Nashville.

Yet Austin Cindric added about Hocevar’s actions, “I mean, he had all of his tires locked up, passed three cars, and T-boned us.” It was the second incident that Hocevar had partial responsibility for. He had made contact with Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Chevy in Turn 1 of Lap 1 as the Richard Childress Racing driver hit the wall and fell several laps down.

Eventually, Austin Cindric failed to advance beyond the Round of 12 for the third year in a row after cracking them this year with his Talladega win in April. But instead of blaming Hocevar, he accepted the defeat graciously while saluting Team Penske’s efforts.

“Yeah, I think our hopes were definitely over at that point. But getting the car back on track. And yeah, exceptionally proud of my team in moments like that, in moments throughout the week. It’s kind of hard to describe without being there and seeing it. But on a day like today, that’s what I walked away with the most…it’s how good of a group I have around me.”

What’s good is that Carson Hocevar and Austin Cindric apparently had a conversation and sorted things out. Although Hocevar has yet to publicly address this Roval incident, he has addressed the Kansas fiasco.

A lighthearted take on a not-so-light fine

Well, controversy never seems to escape Carson Hocevar‘s vicinity. Just a week before dashing Austin Cindric’s hopes, Carson Hocevar drew the ire of NASCAR officials when he spun on Lap 260 of the Hollywood Casino 400. This caused the tires of the No. 77 to go flat, forcing him to remain stationary by the track. When safety workers arrived at the scene to tend to his car, NASCAR apparently noticed Hocevar revving his engine and spinning his tires. This landed Hocevar a hefty $50,000 fine due to the safety risks involved.

In response, Hocevar found a way to make fun of this punishment. During a recent live stream, he set a $50,000 donation goal and went viral. He is one of the most popular Cup Series drivers on social media, with more than 15,000 subscribers on YouTube and 23,000 followers on Twitch.

However, Carson Hocevar had a comprehensive explanation for the incident. He said, “I fired it up just to throw it into neutral. It’s sometimes hard to get these things into neutral, so I fired it up. Honestly, I didn’t know it spun the tires. Obviously, there’s a tow truck in front of me, so I’m not going anywhere…I was sitting there in third gear doing a burnout, so it’s on me, not thinking about the tires spinning. It was educational for me. It’s expensive too. It’s educational for our guys too, so I could just say I’m stuck in second and go from there.”

Hocevar added, “NASCAR doesn’t have the intent. They can’t know the plan and story behind everything and judge everything, and sometimes they have to call it the way they see it.”

Evidently, Austin Cindirc kept a bigger heart and chose not to add to Carson Hocevar’s already questionable reputation. With Cindric’s playoff hopes dashed, let’s see how his teammates fare in the upcoming Round of 8 starting at Las Vegas.