Denny Hamlin reacts to Carson Hocevar spin, Chicago traffic jam: ‘Yikes’

It didn’t take long for the field to stack up during Sunday’s Chicago Street Race. Carson Hocevar slammed the wall off Turn 10 and went for a spin, causing a massive pileup that blocked off most of the track.

Eight drivers, including Hocevar, were involved in the Lap 4 wreck. Hocevar made a mistake, Hamlin explained on Monday’s “Actions Detrimental” podcast.

“At first glance, I was like, ‘How in the world did he misjudge the corner that bad?’ Not the first one that he actually hit, but the second one where he flat sided the left side. You look at the replay a little better and they did a good job on TV of showing this — he clipped the right side first and then that shot him into that area,” Hamlin said.

“Listen, it’s a mistake that can definitely happen. Many people cut the corners a little sharp, it’s just that’s a high speed one — yikes, I don’t know if you want to cut that one close. It was a mistake, it cost him. Certainly, he probably wishes he could do it all over again, but not ideal because it stacked up a bunch.”

Carson Hocevar has early exit in Chicago Street Race

Hocevar’s car was junked after the accident. It was unfortunate for Hocevar, who had shown to have a fast No. 77 Chevrolet. He started on the front row but quickly lost spots after the race went green. Then, he spun out at a tricky spot on the street course. The end result was the fifth DNF of his 2025 campaign.

Austin Dillon was ticked off with Hocevar after the incident. His day ended early because of Hocevar’s mistake.

“Carson Hocevar is the biggest dumbass in the entire sport,” Dillon said on his radio.

Dillon further expounded while speaking with the media: “Disappointing day in the No. 3 Breztri Chevrolet at the Chicago Street Race. Crew chief Richard Boswell and everyone on the RCR team brought a really fast Chevrolet to the streets of Chicago. We qualified 10th and thought we would be a contender today in the race. A car spun in front of us on the first lap. It ended our day before we could even get it started.

“It’s a shame and I’m just at a loss for words at this point. We’ll just keep bringing cars like this and hope our luck turns around for us at some point.”