Carson Hocevar was apologetic after he was involved in a late-race incident with William Byron at Talladega Superspeedway, which ultimately ended the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s chances of winning
Byron spun out of the Talladega race on the final lap(Image: GETTY)
Carson Hocevar issued an apology for his part in eliminating William Byron at Talladega.
During Sunday’s second Round of 8 race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Chase Briscoe secured a stunning victory at Talladega to punch his ticket to the Championship 4. He joins Denny Hamlin, who claimed the win in Las Vegas the previous week.
This puts two Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in the title fight, while Hendrick Motorsports will be left feeling bitter after a triple catastrophe. Briscoe overtook Kyle Larson for the lead as Byron went spinning.
With only two laps left, Chris Buescher held the lead down the backstretch when he took a vicious hit from Byron, sending the RFK Racing pilot crashing hard into the inside barrier.
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Hocevar had originally given Byron a push before making contact with the No.17 machine, reports the Express US.
Carson Hocevar apologized immediately after colliding with William Byron(Image: GETTY)
Right away, Hocevar expressed regret to Byron over the radio, while also mentioning Larson’s fuel shortage.
He radioed: “Tell the 24 sorry about that. I was trying to shove and got pushed through him. That f—— us with the 5 running out.”
Byron wound up 25th after spinning in the tri-oval as he neared the finish line. The 27 year old was crushed by the outcome, but remains determined to capture a win at Martinsville to move forward.
“It’s just the way that it goes,” Byron said. “Just felt like I was in the right position on the bottom lane, and we just couldn’t get linked up off (Turn) 4, and those guys pushed past us, and then (Larson) ran out of fuel and just kind of broke up all the energy.
“Just couldn’t quite get the pushes to go our way at the very end.
“Definitely got to go (to Martinsville) and try to win the race.
“We’ve put ourselves in position to win these last two, so I don’t see why it would be any different there. Just got to go there and regroup and try to win.”
Byron has secured 2 NASCAR Cup Series victories at Martinsville Speedway, with his latest triumph occurring in April 2024. His track record at the venue also features 5 top-5 results and 8 top-10 placements.
The concluding race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 occurs at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 26.