Carson Hocevar Will Address the Media at Homestead-Miami Speedway

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Suspended NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar will address the media Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR released its weekly availability schedule Tuesday, showing Hocevar has an availability starting at 2:30 p.m. ET at the track's media center desk.

Hocevar will not be racing in the season finale this Sunday at the 1.5-mile south Florida track. Spire Motorsports suspended him for the race over his actions at Martinsville Speedway. Co-owner Jeff Dickerson stated his actions didn't reflect Spire's values and standards and that their integrity was at-stake following the incident.

Hocevar brake-checked drivers multiple times in the second stage at Martinsville. His actions caused Austin Cindric to run into the back of him multiple times while racing behind him, causing severe damage and ending his day. 

This came after Hocevar spun during a green flag run and brought out a caution. That set up the restart where his actions unfolded.

Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked on Hamlin's podcast and had words for Hocevar, calling him out for his actions. Hamlin questioned Hocevar's approach to generating new fans and attracting attention, saying someone needed to do something about him but that drivers couldn't with the new culture around Cup Series racing.

Hamlin also contrasted the style of racing in the Cup Series now vs. when he came into the sport in 2006 while Earnhardt was still racing full-time.

Previously, Hamlin described Spire as "unserious".

Hocevar has had incidents with Zane Smith, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney and others. He was fined after the race at Chicagoland Speedway in July over an incident with Smith. Just last month, the feud rekindled when Smith rammed into the back of his car after the race at Phoenix Raceway ended. NASCAR fined Smith $50,000 for that.

NASCAR also fined Hocevar over the Martinsville incident. They fined him $100,000 and docked 25 driver points. That knocked him to 13th in points and puts him at risk of finishing last – 16th – in the final standings after looking at the possibility of finishing top-10 in the standings for the first time in his Cup career.

NASCAR also penalized Josh Berry for similar actions against Ryan Blaney later in the race. They fined Berry $50,000 and docked 25 driver points.

With Hocevar out this weekend at Homestead-Miami, Justin Haley will fill in for him. Haley previously raced for Spire Motorsports and even earned the team's first Cup win – at Daytona International Speedway in July of 2019.