Spire Motorsports Suspends Carson Hocevar For Martinsville Antics

Spire Motorsports has suspended its star driver, Carson Hocevar, for the 2026 season finale this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway after Hocevar brake-checked Austin Cindric, ending Cindric’s race at Martinsville.

NASCAR, which didn’t penalize Hocevar in the moment, is still considering any penalties to Hocevar and Spire’s actions likely will not impact NASCAR’s.

Spire tapped Kaulig Racing truck series driver Justin Haley, a former Spire driver, to replace Hocevar at Homestead.

“A decision like this has a lot of variables and a cascading effect across an organization like ours,” Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson said in a statement. “The easy thing would have been to leave this in NASCAR’s hands and let them decide what any penalty should be.

“To us, however, this isn’t about money or points. We believe in respect. Our integrity matters. This is the right decision for Spire Motorsports.”

Dickerson, whom Hocevar has often mentioned as a mentor and as someone he takes his cues from, said the team still supports the 23-year-old Hocevar, who is 12th in the season standings and earned his first career victory this year at Talladega. 

“Everyone here loves working with Carson, and we’ve enjoyed watching him thrive alongside our team,” Dickerson said. “Sometimes the right decision for someone you care about hurts in the short term. The way Carson conducted himself at Martinsville doesn’t meet the standard we set for our drivers, team members or employees, and there are consequences for that.

“That doesn’t mean we don’t love him and support him.”

Cindric did not speak to reporters after the Martinsville race but pleaded on his in-car radio with NASCAR to take action. Hocevar seemed to dismiss the brake check as just racing at Martinsville.

“It’s just Martinsville,” Hocevar told me and other reporters. “Everybody’s running hard and making moves and stuff. … Sometimes you’re getting hit and sometimes you’re causing it and vice versa. 

“I had fun.”

It will be the last time for Hocevar — who finished 21st — to have fun racing for this season as his team decided to bench him.

“This is an embarrassing day for me,” Hocevar said in a social media post Tuesday afternoon. “I let the people down that gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to drive a Cup car. I also let down my team, sponsors and fans.

“I crossed the line with my on-track actions and gave Jeff and Spire Motorsports no option but to put someone else in the 77 car this weekend at Homestead. I’ll be rooting for the entire organization this weekend and look forward to coming back in 2027 as a better driver, competitor and teammate.”

Dickerson had been criticized in recent weeks by driver Denny Hamlin, saying there were “no adults in the room” at Spire for not disciplining Hocevar for previous actions he viewed warranted a response from ownership.

“Racing at the Cup level is a privilege, and it comes with an expected level of professionalism from everyone who represents Spire Motorsports,” Dickerson said. “We’ll go to Homestead united and compete as an organization.

“After that, we can get ready for Daytona in February with the right mindset to contend for a championship.”