It was only a matter of time before Carson Hocevar crossed a line and got punished for his unruliness. The Spire Motorsports driver made an offensive statement about Mexico City ahead of the race weekend there and drew a fine of $50,000. A week later, he explained at the Pocono Raceway what led him to make such insensitive remarks.
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Shortly after arriving in Mexico, the youngster had begun a livestream on Twitch and called the city a “s—hole.” He had gone on to list various concerns about the hotel he was staying in and the area surrounding it. The comments did not come to light till after Sunday’s race was completed and the bags were packed.
Just as it began surfacing in the real world, Hocevar issued an apology on social media. He said that he was embarrassed by his comments and that they weren’t his first-hand opinion to begin with. He claimed that he’d hastily drawn the wrong image of the city after hearing the opinions of other parties. In Pocono, he doubled down on this reasoning.
“The issue wasn’t for the team having their kind of frustrations, that I’m giving my opinion and putting it out there. It’s just the fact that, you know, my opinion wasn’t my opinion. It was just based on everything else, you know, that I’ve heard or seen, right? I didn’t go do my own homework and voice my own opinion,” Hocevar said.
The mistake he made was that he didn’t give the city a chance. He mentioned that he ought to have walked around town and spoken to people before making such a severe judgment. Things are in the past now, and there’s nothing that can be done to change them. Hopefully, the driver will catch himself by the collar to prevent a harder fall going ahead.
The $50,000 fine was inevitable after NASCAR threatened that it might take stricter action against him if Spire Motorsports didn’t do something about him. The money will be split among three organizations that serve Mexican communities — the Mexican Red Cross, United Way Mexico, and a nonprofit that combats childhood malnutrition.
Hocevar, meanwhile, will undergo cultural sensitivity training to properly understand why what he said won’t be accepted now or in the future. Judging from his skill and talent behind the wheel, it can be assured that he is going to stay on the Cup Series field for a long time to come. It can only be a positive that he learns this lesson early on in his career.
