Carson Hocevar has made many enemies on the track with his aggressive racing style. After Sunday’s race at Iowa Speedway, he has found himself another foe in Zane Smith.
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Hocevar spun the Front Row Motorsports driver during the race, relegating him to a 36th-place finish. This led to him being confronted by Smith’s crew chief, Ryan Bergenty, during his post-race interview.
Seething in anger, Bergenty yelled, “Hey, when are you going to f***ing drive, dude? Man, you wiped us the f*** out. Our car is f***ing wrecked because you drive like a f***ing re***d.”
Any other driver would have taken such an incident to heart and decided to mellow out of a fight. But Hocevar is not just any other driver. The youngster has made it clear on plenty of occasions that he is not on the race track to make friends.
He held firm when he went on social media and put up a post that is bound to send Smith and his crew over the edge. The post was an image of a token collection machine that read, “Please take a number.” Hocevar also added Drake’s IDGAF to make his sentiment clearer.
Judging by @CarsonHocevar’s Instagram post and song choice, doesn’t seem like he’s bothered in the slightest by the latest controversy. pic.twitter.com/ioF8DiPXdF
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) August 4, 2025
The unruliness that he displayed through this left hordes of NASCAR fans on X impressed. They supported and applauded his nerve and unwavering character at a time when most drivers would have chosen to stay within the lines set by their higher-ups.
One fan said, “Good. We need more like him.” Another added, “Honestly, hell yeah. The ones who become real superstars didn’t let anyone change them and went toe to toe. Obviously, he needs to win to actually achieve that status, but Harvick, Busch, Earnhardt, Stewart…all of them never backed down. Finished 8th after all of the shenanigans.”
A third said, “Protect him at all costs. Don’t let him tuck tail like Ross. Keep him the way he is.” The comparisons between Ross Chastain and Hocevar are never-ending. Chastain used to be a similarly aggressive driver before Rick Hendrick intervened and knocked sense into him. Clearly, fans expect that Hocevar doesn’t follow a similar route.
One comment read, “There’s a reason why he’s become one of my favorite drivers. He is exactly what modern NASCAR needs as far as personality. A young hotshot with lots of skill, doesn’t GAF, caters to the youngest generation of fans with live-streaming. It’s exactly what we need.”
All Hocevar needs at this point is a Victory Lane visit. Without success on track, such an attitude won’t get any driver very far. Hopefully, the No. 77 driver will be able to back himself with strong results through the rest of the season.
