{"id":120749,"date":"2025-08-05T11:34:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T11:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/120749\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T11:34:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T11:34:09","slug":"denny-hamlin-breaks-down-carson-hocevars-ulterior-motive-behind-his-endless-nascar-feuds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/120749\/","title":{"rendered":"Denny Hamlin Breaks Down Carson Hocevar\u2019s Ulterior Motive Behind His Endless NASCAR Feuds"},"content":{"rendered":"

The tension crackled at Iowa Speedway as two young NASCAR<\/a> drivers exchanged another heated exchange. But for Denny Hamlin, the real story isn\u2019t about racing contact \u2013 it\u2019s about Carson Hocevar\u2019s priorities. The veteran driver sees talent in the 22-year-old but questions whether the Spire Motorsports driver cares more about social media buzz than checkered flags.<\/p>\n

Why Does Denny Hamlin Question Carson Hocevar\u2019s Focus After Iowa?<\/p>\n

After Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Hocevar may have made a new enemy this past race after moving Smith up the track at Iowa. The contact didn\u2019t just ruffle the feathers of the No. 38 driver. It sparked tension between the crew chiefs, teams, and fans alike, with Smith\u2019s crew chief confronting Hocevar after the race.<\/p>\n

What stood out was the 22-year-old\u2019s reaction. Despite the backlash and outrage, Hocevar seemed defiant and unbothered, even sharing a social media post following the 350-lap feature.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you without a doubt, 100% he did not purposely hit Zane Smith,\u201d began<\/a> Hamlin, dissecting the mid-race slip. Speaking on his \u201cActions Detrimental\u201d podcast, the No. 11 ace made it clear that Hocevar slipped up. \u201cIt was an accident.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Hocevar\u2019s defiance provoked the veteran, who shared his concern that the Spire Motorsports driver is more concerned about his social media clicks than winning races.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m telling you that your social media post \u2013 it\u2019s good for clicks, bad for results. And I think he (Carson Hocevar) is after the clicks right now. That\u2019s my opinion, I could be wrong,\u201d Hamlin said.<\/p>\n

How Did the Iowa Incident Unfold Between Hocevar and Smith?<\/p>\n

Smith was running 23rd before the No. 77 of Hocevar got loose, sending him off into the SAFER barrier on Lap 229. The result? An eighth-place finish for the No. 77 and a dismal P36 finish for Smith. The contact got both Smith and his crew livid.<\/p>\n

Later during the race, the 26-year-old attempted to repay Hocevar the favor. With 112 laps to go, Smith swiped at the No. 77 Chevy but failed to connect, prompting a dig from Hocevar, who said, \u201cNice try,\u201d on the radio.<\/p>\n

Tensions boiled over post-race as Ryan Bergenty, crew chief of the No. 38, confronted Hocevar mid-interview<\/a>, hurling heated accusations about his driving style.<\/p>\n

The Iowa fallout meant another missed opportunity for Smith, who had lost about 50 positions in the closing laps over the last four races before Iowa. Currently, he sits 27th in the points standings with three top-10s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The tension crackled at Iowa Speedway as two young NASCAR drivers exchanged another heated exchange. But for Denny…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":120750,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[1406,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-120749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-nascar","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114975949926340357","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}