Carson Hocevar achieved a career-best second-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but the race left him facing tough conversations with fellow drivers about his aggressive driving style.

The Spire Motorsports driver made a bold three-wide move between Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain with two laps remaining. On the final lap, Hocevar pushed Bell into the lead before forcing his way between Bell and Kyle Larson just as the caution flag waved, securing his second-place finish.

Post-race, Hocevar faced immediate conversations with Ross Chastain, his mentor, regarding his racing decisions. While both drivers kept the details private, Hocevar acknowledged that sometimes they "agree and disagree on things."

Ryan Blaney also confronted Hocevar about an incident with 27 laps to go, where contact from Hocevar's No. 77 car caused Blaney to spin in Turn 1. The defending series champion advised Hocevar to "calm down" and be smarter in certain situations, particularly regarding bump drafting timing.

Hocevar admitted responsibility for the incident with Blaney, explaining it was his first time running up front on a superspeedway: "That was the first time I've probably lined up a Chevy nose with a Ford, and it just got him in a really bad spot. It's 100 percent on me."

Despite the controversies, Hocevar's second-place finish tied for Spire Motorsports' best result as a full-time Cup Series team, and he earned the second-most points (41) in the field.

Related Articles

Previous Articles