Carson Hocevar seemed to be in a position to contend for his second NASCAR Cup Series victory with ten laps left in San Diego. Instead, Hocevar finished disappointingly in 19th position after Corey Heim’s contact in the last bus-stop chicane sent him spinning. Heim then took advantage of the situation, defeating teammate Tyler Reddick and winning the race for himself. And as fans quickly took sides online, especially Hocevar’s supporters, NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace stepped in with a blunt defense of Heim.

Kenny Wallace calls out NASCAR fans’ hypocrisy

Kenny Wallace didn’t mince words on the latest episode of the Koffee with Kenny podcast when discussing the backlash directed at Corey Heim following the San Diego finish.

“Here’s my disclaimer. There’s not a bigger fan of Carson than me. I did a Kenny conversation with Carson Hocevar, but you guys are like a damn comedy. He can spin everybody out. But when Heim spins him out for the win, you guys cry over spoilt milk. Get with it. Earnhardt would not like that. Dale Sr. would say, quit your whining.”

The criticism Heim received centered on how the contact that spun Hocevar crossed the line, especially given the position he was in late in the race. One fan summed up the mood by posting:

“Had to spin out Hocevar to win it. #77 will remember.”

Heim didn’t let that criticism go unanswered. Instead, he responded with a clip from a preseason NASCAR YouTube video. In the clip, Hocevar was reacting to being voted the driver most likely to cause a wreck.

“Just get the f–k out of the way, and there wouldn’t be a wreck,” Hocevar said back then.

Now, when talking to Jeff Gluck after the San Diego race, Hocevar didn’t seem to hold any grudges. “I don’t know if he got hit from behind,” he said, giving Corey Heim the benefit of the doubt. But upon seeing the clip, Hocevar responded with an image of a fictional serial killer from the series Dexter, leading to fan speculation about payback.

And when Denny Hamlin disclosed what transpired just after the race, the situation got even more amusing. According to Hamlin, Hocevar texted him to get Heim’s phone number. Hamlin gladly agreed, as he thought Hocevar wanted to wish the young driver on his maiden victory. Hamlin didn’t understand Hocevar’s true intention until much later.

And when Hamlin figured it out, he admitted that, from his perspective, the incident looked like another NASCAR on-track mistake rather than intentional retaliation. Still, Wallace’s bigger point wasn’t necessarily that Heim was completely innocent. His argument centered on Hocevar’s reputation.

Over the past few seasons, Hocevar has built a name for himself as one of NASCAR’s most aggressive drivers. Just recently at Michigan International Speedway, Hocevar triggered a nine-car crash during a Lap 83 restart. Incidents like that have become part of the package that many fans celebrate (and critics hate) when discussing his driving style. He’s even called ‘Hurricane Hocevar’ for all the destruction he causes wherever he goes.

Owing to all that, Hocevar is often also called “The Next Earnhardt”. But Wallace believes that Dale Earnhardt understood the realities of hard racing, unlike Hocevar.

Throughout his career, Dale Earnhardt was involved in countless on-track run-ins, often both giving and receiving aggressive contact. Yet Earnhardt rarely spent much time dwelling on incidents after the race. His response was usually simple: get back in the car next weekend and settle the score through performance. His fan base also understood that it was the right way.