Carson Hocevar on Incident With Keselowski: "Sh-t Happens"

Carson Hocevar, the driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, who offered little explanation on an early race incident with Brad Keselowski in post-race interviews following last Sunday's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway other than,"He spun," opened up about the incident in a media Zoom teleconference on Wednesday.

Hocevar chalked the incident, where he sent Keselowski spinning with a pair of taps in Turns 3 and 4 on the 107th lap of the event at Darlington, up as a racing incident.

"You know, kinda sh-t happens sometimes when you're racing hard, right?" Hocevar explained. "You know, I think Brad knew how aggressive he was being [while] racing super hard, obviously, trying to keep us behind him. I was racing really hard, trying to be aggressive, just trying, you know, hurt his momentum a lot. And we just got racing really hard, right?"

Hocevar, one of the 16 drivers battling for the NASCAR Cup Series championship, was desperately trying to get by Keselowski so he could have a chance to possibly drive his No. 77 car into a position to earn Stage Points. However, Keselowski proved to be a difficult competitor to pass, and after 10-to-15 laps of trying, Hocevar says he finally stepped over the edge. But he reiterates that he didn't try to spin Keselowski on purpose.

"And I feel like you put yourself in that spot, it's going to open up after 10 or 15 laps of you know -- not patience running out, because it just sounds like I'm just trying to turn him after 15 laps, like, 'Oh, I'm done with you,' but it's moreso when you're just racing really, really tight within an inch of each other for 10-12-13-14-15 laps, it just starts to add the intensity of it," Hocevar said. "And running really hard, sometimes you just hit. And sometimes you race really hard.

"And you know, I've been hit multiple times, obviously, in those races, throwing blocks and doing everything, and you kind of open yourself up to that. And sometimes, sh-it happens. You know, I wasn't trying to spin him out, or wreck him, or anything. But I was trying to pass him, and you know, getting closer and closer, trying to pack air and make his life a little more difficult because sometimes it's hard to pass. He was doing a really good job of trying to hold me off."

Hocevar's comments on Wednesday seemed like an attempt to possibly cool Keselowski off, who was heated after Sunday night's race. Keselowski's frustration likely increased after seeing Hocevar's interactions with the media following the race, where he refused to really engage with questions, and just flashed a smile when the topic of the incident with Keselowski came up.

It remains to be seen if Hocevar did enough in Wednesday's media availability to diffuse the situation with Keselowski.

Keselowski saw a promising day at a track where he has enjoyed some of his better finishes over the last few years turn into a forgettable 23rd-place finish. Conversely, Hocevar would claw his way to an 11th-place finish. After climbing from his car, Keselowski vowed that while his finish was forgettable, he wouldn't personally forget that it was the contact from Hocevar that started the downfall for his race on Sunday at Darlington.

Keselowski threatened retribution against Hocevar.

"His day is coming, and it's coming hard. Watch out, Carson," Keselowski stated emphatically.

In NASCAR, if you live by the front bumper, you eventually die by the front bumper. It's just a way of life in the self-policing world of stock car racing. Hocevar has drawn the ire of plenty of competitors through the opening few years of his NASCAR Cup Series career, and to this point, few of them have really engaged in pushing back.

However, if the competitors want to end Hocevar's aggression streak, or at the very least, make him at least think twice about his moves in close quarters, someone is going to have to eventually stand up to him.

Keselowski, who didn't make the Chase for the Championship and owns his own No. 6 RFK Racing Ford, seems like one of the best candidates to push back against the 23-year-old. Will he, or was his threat made to get in Hocevar's head?

Chances are we'll find out soon.

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