During Sunday night’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series 2025 season, Carson Hocevar angered a number of drivers. A caution flag was raised in the midst of the last lap, and Hocevar finished in second place. It indicated that the winner was the driver who was leading at the moment of the caution. The winner this time was Christopher Bell, who was followed by Hocevar and Kyle Larson. Nevertheless, several drivers were observed chatting with Hocevar following the race. Some of his coworkers didn’t seem to like the 22-year-old’s aggressive driving.
According to NASCAR.com, Hocevar stated, “We’re here to win races, not be a boy band and love each other and play on the playground together.” “So obviously, there’s learning lessons. You don’t want to irritate or p— anyone off, and I would definitely tidy up some stuff. However, that will only happen as you learn. Once more, I often finish in the teens and am in the 40th position, hoping they crash and waiting for them to do so. I can therefore feel proud of myself for being in the lead, earning stage points in both stages, and having a chance to win. Additionally, I’ve always claimed that I’m a terrible superspeedway racer, so this at least boosts my confidence a little.” Among others who responded to Hocevar’s racing were Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch.
Hocevar gave Blaney a nudge on Lap 234 while he was vying for the lead. A caution flag was raised, and Blaney was sent reeling. After rescuing his vehicle, Blaney returned to the lead and finished in fourth place. Blaney stated, “I wasn’t slowing,” When I was turning into [Turn] 1, he delivered me a shot while drafting to me without lifting, which caused me to spin out. I was simply relieved that I managed to stay on the apron and avoided hooking a straight back into anyone. At the time, Chastain’s vehicle was among the fastest. He refused to enter the specifics of their conversation.Busch noted that Hocevar had a lot of “close calls” in the race.
“I mean, he wasn’t even clear on me, I had to lift, and he put me in the fence off of two in the first stage,” he stated to NBC Sports. He is merely attempting to patch holes at the last minute, causing log jams on the back in the process. Simply said, do it in the final 30 laps rather than the first 230. It was Hocevar’s seventh top 10 result and his 45th NASCAR Cup Series race overall. He had never finished so well on the circuit. At Watkins Glen last year, he had previously placed third.
