Carson Hocevar won’t compete in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway due to Spire Motorsports suspending him for his actions during the NASCAR Cup Series race last weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
Justin Haley will drive Spire’s No. 77 entry at Homestead.
“A decision like this has a lot of variables and a cascading effect across an organization like ours,” Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson said in a prepared 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.”
Before the halfway point in last weekend’s 500-lap Martinsville race, Hocevar brake-checked Austin Cindric on one of the track’s straightaways, destroying the Team Penske Ford’s front end and eliminating Cindric from the event. The incident left Cindric 36th in the rundown and dropped him from eighth to 11th in the driver standings. Hocevar left Martinsville four points behind Cindric in 12th.
Putting Haley in Spire’s No. 77 Chevrolet for the Homestead event won’t affect the owner standings. The No. 77 enters the season finale 11th in the owner standings, nine points behind Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 car (Chase Elliott) in 10th and one point ahead of Team Penske’s No. 2 Ford (Cindric).
“Everyone here loves working with Carson, and we’ve enjoyed watching him thrive alongside our team,” Dickerson continued in his statement. “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.
“Racing at the Cup level is a privilege, and it comes with an expected level of professionalism from everyone who represents Spire Motorsports. 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.”
NASCAR has yet to release it’s penalty report for Martinsville.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.
