Carson Hocevar was a proud man after his fight with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in Bristol last Saturday. It was the first time he landed a punch on a fellow NASCAR Cup Series star and went home to treat his fans to a 12% discount on his merch for half a day, taking further jabs at the driver. He became an even bigger enemy in the garage, but left the track to thousands cheering for him. Starting this weekend, however, he might have to watch out, as Jeremy Mayfield feels he has a target painted on his back.
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Talking about the Penske employees on the Jeremy Mayfield show, the former Cup Series driver said, “They get bonuses and stuff like that. Those guys work extra hard, and they get bonuses for wins and championships. I’m sure they do. They did before. A long time ago, they did. So now you’ve taken money out of their pockets by what you did the other night.”
With 43 laps to go, a tussle for second place ended with Hocevar making contact with the No. 12 Ford and spinning Blaney out of the race. It potentially cost Blaney a shot at the win, as he had looked strong that day after winning Stage 2. In NASCAR, teams also have performance-based bonuses for the crew members who work tirelessly on the car.
Blaney’s 33rd-place finish could cost those crew members their bonuses. On top of that, they now have to put in extra hours to repair the Ford before Blaney heads to Kansas for the next round of the Chase.
Penske will still have to pay up, but instead of that money going into the No. 12 team’s accounts as bonuses, it could now go toward repairing Blaney’s car. The exact figure remains unknown, but repairs to a Next Gen car after a crash can reportedly cost anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000, adding another financial burden to the organization.
“It’s everybody in his organization that’s p*ssed, because that’s the way it is. When you go racing, you don’t give two sh*ts about anybody else but your race team and what you’ve got going on there. But you don’t do anything stupid to jeopardize what you do have going on there. And I’m the first to tell you that. You know, I learned the hard way, and Carson’s going to learn the hard way,” Mayfield continued.
Mayfield would see a little of himself in Hocevar, who carries a “me vs. the world” attitude into his racing. The veteran was never afraid to clash with established figures in the garage, including his Penske teammate Rusty Wallace, creating a tense dynamic within the organization.
Mayfield also didn’t think twice about publicly criticizing Penske’s car after finishing 36th at Kansas in 2001. He compared it to a “1998 short-track racing” car that had no business being on a 1.5-mile track. Roger Penske responded by releasing him from the team.
Mayfield would go on to have issues with other teams in the following years, with lawsuits and tempers flaring. But when he became an owner-driver in 2009, he gained a better understanding of the financial implications of the equipment drivers rely on, particularly when that equipment gets wrecked in incidents on track.
Hocevar may not have been at fault for the Blaney incident, as many legends have opined in recent days. But the way he handled the post-race fallout would have ruffled some feathers in Penske’s cap. And heading into the final seven races of the 2026 Chase, having one of NASCAR’s most powerful teams as an enemy would not be something he should look forward to.
Mayfield also pointed to RFK Racing as an example, noting that the organization has multiple teams that could now be unhappy with Hocevar after what he did to owner-driver Brad Keselowski in the Chase opener at Darlington. The No. 77 driver spun the former Cup Series champion out of the race and was unapologetic about the incident.
Keselowski warned Hocevar almost immediately after the race. Others who were not directly involved in the incident have echoed that sentiment. Denny Hamlin called on Hocevar to show more respect on his Actions Detrimental podcast, while Bubba Wallace suggested that Hocevar is using his growing popularity as a license to race however he wants.
This aggressive style may be winning him fans, but it is also creating enemies around the garage. Mayfield believes that if Hocevar keeps crossing lines with different teams, the consequences could eventually catch up with him.