Kevin Harvick casts doubt on Carson Hocevar’s claim that his spin at Richmond was an accident. Hocevar previously defended a similar move at New Hampshire by saying he tested the track to avoid a crash. Harvick suggests the driver was just careless. The race start at New Hampshire had been moved up to beat bad weather. Rough weather arrived early anyway. The track stayed wet for the pace lap.
The Spin That Stopped the Race
Carson Hocevar executed a move that signaled the race start would likely face delays. He lost control on the pace lap while the field utilized wet-weather tires. Joey Logano witnessed the incident from the front row. Logano found the situation humorous. He observed the Spire Motorsports driver revving his engine near the pace vehicle before spinning out. Logano did not hesitate to share his opinion on the driver.
“Look at this guy. Look at this idiot,” Logano said of Hocevar as he lost his car. Those words hit hard. Logano and his team had already confirmed they were “Team thumbs down” on starting the race. They knew the track was unsafe. Apparently, Hocevar was on “Team thumbs up.” That choice added a bit more comedy to his spill. It is simply never a good look to spin out during the pace lap. Drivers should respect the track and the fans.
A Driver Who Defends the Wrong Move
Following the spin, Hocevar immediately took to social media to defend his actions. He attempted to justify why he pushed the car so aggressively. He asserted his intention was to verify if the surface was safe for the green flag. His post stated, “I much rather test the track when no one’s around vs green flag and ppl around.” That post was deleted shortly after he sent it out. He did not stop there. He added more to his defense.
“If no one else was gonna test it, I’ll do it lol,” he wrote. This attitude is dangerous. Racing is not a test track. It is a place for competition and skill. You cannot just run your car around to see what happens. The drivers are there to race, not to check the weather. This behavior puts everyone at risk. It shows a lack of respect for the sport and the other drivers on the track.
Kevin Harvick knows what he is talking about. He has seen it all in the Cup series. He questions the nature of Hocevar’s actions. A spin like this at Richmond looks like a mistake, not a test. The facts from Motorsport.com NASCAR Cup show the driver made a poor choice. Harvick’s doubt makes sense. We need drivers who act with care, not those who gamble with safety.
Weather and Timing Made It Worse
NASCAR’s race in New Hampshire on Sunday was set to start an hour before its originally scheduled start time of 3 p.m. ET. The start of the race had been moved up in an effort to mitigate the effects that some rough weather could have on the race. The officials wanted to avoid a delay. They wanted to get the fans their show. But the weather had other plans.
Rough weather decided to move up an hour as well. This left the track extremely wet as the field circled the track for the pace lap. All drivers were on wet-weather tires.