FORT WORTH, TX - MAY 01: Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar 77 does an interview in the media center after winning the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Craftsman Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 250 on May 01, 2026 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire AUTO: MAY 01 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 250 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon1692605013099250

Jul 13, 2026, 3:21 PM CUT

“(He) is a goon”: Cup star's rivalry with Hocevar turns bitter as he lets out his disdain for the NASCAR sensation

Rivalries in any form of motorsport are what keep some fans really going, and the one between Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar has only gotten more intense in the last few weeks.

Speaking to the media hours before the Quaker State 400 race at Echopark Speedway, Smith reiterated he is not fond of the Spire driver, referencing specific incidents at Chicagoland and Nashville where he felt Hocevar raced him overly aggressively. He also criticised him for his tendency to run into others and then adopt a dismissive attitude in the media.

“It's not necessarily just me. Just like every time I'm around him, you know, it's hard racing, and that's fine. What created a lot of anger at Chicagoland was, our past run-ins together, and he's pointed me by a few times and then, like Nashville, just as soon as we're around each other, just runs into me and then points me by and then talks crap to the media, and I don't know. That's a goon in my opinion.”

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 21: Carson Hocevar 77 Spire Motorsports Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet races off of turn four during the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Brickyard 400 on July 21, 2024, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire AUTO: JUL 21 NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon116240721139

As reported by Frontstretch on their YouTube channel, Smith also explained that despite being teammates once, they rarely spoke because he was in an awkward position, being on loan to Spire from Trackhouse Racing, hence their rivalry is primarily rooted in their current professional interactions.

Smith and Hocevar’s rivalry dates back to last year at Iowa Speedway, when Hocevar made contact, which resulted in Smith going into the wall. This resulted in Smith clapping back a week later, accusing Hocevar of projecting a tough or intimidating persona but then behaving foolishly on social media.

More recently, at Chicagoland, it was Smith who slammed into Hocevar from behind, resulting in Hocevar hitting the wall, and ultimately, Smith also lost control of his car.

Both celebrated 100 career starts at Chicagoland, but it did not end well. After the incident, Smith had similar thoughts to those he had had last year, but with more expletives.

Multiple Cup stars called up to NASCAR hauler at Atlanta

On the Hauler Talk podcast, Mike Forde spoke about the incident between Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith at Chicagoland. Forde said NASCAR had no plans to take any action against the two but called them for a meeting nonetheless, reaching the same conclusion as it did with Shane Van Gisbergen’s incident at the same venue.

“Copy and paste what I said with the SVG stuff. No, nothing coming out of that. Same thing. Same review went into it. And nothing rose to the level of a penalty, no doubt about it. It was intentional. So we are opting to not penalize there. But we'll be having a conversation in the Hauler between those two drivers.

"So Zane and Carson will be in the Hauler this weekend as well. So it'll be busy. It'll be busy Hauler. And there'll be several Hauler talks this weekend.”

Written by

Aaradhya Singh

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason