Carson Hocevar reflects on infamous Phoenix NASCAR Championship DNF: ‘I’m just embarrassed’

Nov. 3, 2023, is a night that Carson Hocevar still remembers vividly. That night, at Phoenix Raceway, was the NASCAR Truck Series Championship Race.

Hocevar was one of four drivers vying for the Championship along with Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes. But during that race, Hocevar spun out Heim while racing for the lead. Hocevar gained a reputation that night for being perhaps an over-aggressive driver, which has followed him to the Cup Series. Hocevar recently reflected on that night with Dale Earnhardt Jr., saying he was “embarrassed” by the entire situation.

“It was me going, ‘This might be my only and last time to win a Championship.’ Like, I don’t know if I’m going to win a Cup Championship. I don’t get a shot at Xfinity — this is it,” Hocevar said. “I had just signed with Spire at that time, and it was ‘We ain’t winning a Championship any time soon.’ I wasn’t trying to wreck him, but my plan was to hit him in every f*cking corner. Hit him three times. I can’t let him get two car lengths in between us; if there’s a restart, he’s gotta be next to me. The only goal I have is to keep him as slow as possible.

“… What cost me was him actually passing a truck. I thought he wasn’t passing a truck, and… I just f*cking backed him right into the fence. That whole night — any time I see the video I’m just embarrassed by it.”

Carson Hocevar on Phoenix incident with Corey Heim: ‘I gave up’

Even after the incident with Heim, Hocevar was still leading in the points. But he lamented the mistake so much, that he missed a call to come down pit road during the caution that followed Heim’s spin. Hocevar fell back through the field before wrecking with three laps remaining in regulation via more contact with Heim. He posted a DNF in the biggest race of his career.

Hocevar lost the Championship that night. He admitted that mentally, he gave up after wrecking Heim.

“What’s the worst of it or the crime of it, even more was I gave up. I just quit. I was so mentally out of it, I gave up,” Hocevar said. “We were supposed to pit, and I completely missed pit road. Now, we were leading points — we were gonna win the Championship still. I just wrecked the guy that had the only shot to beat me, and I gave up. I completely quit. … And then I had to go walk into the Cup garage. I was so embarrassed the next day.”

Hocevar has shown speed in Cup competition. But he’s also had his share of run-ins with drivers such as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Veterans of the sport have said publicly that Hocevar needs to clean some things up on the racetrack — it’s something every young driver goes through. As talented as he is, however, you have to think that first Cup win is coming.