NASCAR News: Denny Hamlin Expects Carson Hocevar Discipline – ‘You Gotta Do Something’

Denny Hamlin, currently sat third in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, has raised serious concerns over Carson Hocevar’s behavior during the recent Ally 400 race at Nashville Superspeedway. Speaking on the “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Hamlin argued that NASCAR needs to take disciplinary action against Hocevar for his intentional misconduct on the track, specifically for spinning Harrison Burton under caution during the final stages of the race.

The controversy unfolded with just 56 laps left in the race when Hocevar, reportedly frustrated by Burton’s previous driving, deliberately caused Burton’s car to spin. This aggressive action not only reflected poorly on Hocevar’s sportsmanship but also led to Burton crashing out and finishing a disappointing 28th, while Hocevar managed to end the race in 16th position.

Hamlin’s frustration was palpable as he highlighted a pattern in Hocevar’s behavior, noting a similar past incident in the Truck Series.

“I’m gonna call on NASCAR here — they need to do something to Carson. They don’t need to suspend him or anything like that, but they need to dig into his pocket a little bit because I think you have to — anytime you have someone that goes before a judge, they always take into account your past history. And we’ve seen this happen when he was in the Truck Series, I think he right rear hooked someone under caution at Martinsville,” Hamlin explained.

Pushing for a financial penalty or something of that leve, rather than suspension or points deduction, Hamlin continued:

“Carson goes through these moments where he’ll be fine and then all of a sudden, he’ll just lose it. Certainly, Harrison took exception to it as he should. The 77 crashed him under caution. You need to dig into his pocket. Points is whatever, I don’t really know if he cares about points. … You gotta do something.”

On his part, Burton’s response was equally severe during the race when he was pushed under caution. He vented:

“I’m f***ing over. I’m done with it. He just wrecked me under caution because I blocked him on the backstretch. He can kiss my ass.” Burton further added to his complaint after he finished P28 after another wreck.

“I don’t know, he blocks everyone every week and I blocked him once and he decided to try and wreck me under yellow,” he told Frontstretch (video embedded below). “So, I don’t know. He’s on a lot of people’s lists as guys they don’t like racing. So, it kind of shows you why.”

Whether NASCAR will heed Hamlin’s call remains to be seen, but the incident has undoubtedly stirred significant questions regarding when the line is crossed on the track.