Carson Hocevar Calls Out NASCAR’s New Watkins Glen Restart Zone After Chaotic Truck Series Restarts

Neha Dwivedi | 09/08/2025
NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar (77) during qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

For this weekend at Watkins Glen, NASCAR shifted the restart zone to the entrance of Turn 7, the final bend before the start-finish line. Under the usual rulebook, drivers cannot pull out of line until reaching the stripe, with any premature move earning a pass-through penalty for a restart violation.

But with that restriction not applicable at Glen, once the drivers clear the restart zone, they could fan out before the flagstand. The change aimed to set up a cleaner fight in Turn 1, a corner long plagued by opening-lap trouble. Yet, after watching the Truck Series race, Carson Hocevar made it clear he was not sold on the idea.

The event saw roughly nine restarts, including three in overtime, and the Spire Motorsports driver was clearly unimpressed with NASCAR’s tweak to the zone.

Overtime brought more mayhem, with multiple trucks, including Andres Perez’s, spinning and pounding the wall at the bus stop. The restart zone itself became a flashpoint, triggering quite a few contacts throughout the field.

Hocevar responded to a race update from Jeff Gluck, who wrote, “There have been some big hits in this Truck race today. Sheesh.”

The driver fired back with a sarcastic jab at NASCAR, posting, “restarts have been pretty calm with new zone location.” He later deleted the tweet.

 

Soon after, he replaced it with a sarcastic mea culpa, writing, “I am currently watching all these wrecks. so i apologize. I feel guilty by association. Will do better moving forward.” A sarcastic acknowledgment shaped by his frequent role as the scapegoat for on-track wrecks, even when NASCAR’s own calls spark the chaos.

Fans echoed Gluck’s point about the damage toll. One remarked, “Tearing up the place.” Another, eyeing the upcoming Xfinity and Cup races, admitted, “Honestly, I’m kinda worried for Glen this weekend.” A third, watching live, added, “Ohh another 1 wow.”

Amid the wrecks, Corey Heim survived the chaos to fend off Daniel Hemric and win his sixth race of the 2025 NASCAR Truck Series season at Watkins Glen International. Driving Tricon Garage’s #11 Truck, Heim secured his fourth straight road course win in the series and the 17th one of his career.

His teammate, Gio Ruggiero, claimed P3, while Christopher Bell salvaged P4 after running dry while battling for the lead in the closing laps as a substitute for Stewart Friesen. Tyler Ankrum rounded out the top five.

Post Edited By: Nidhi
Carson Hocevar

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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