MARTINSVILLE, Va.: Ross Chastain did not see his NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series teammate Carson Hocevar attempt to turn a driver in the late stages of Friday night’s Long John Silver’s 200 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, but the two-time Cup Series winner is standing by his younger teammate.
While racing three-wide on a restart with Matt DiBenedetto and Taylor Gray on Lap 116, the trucks came off Turn 2 onto the backstretch when Gray and Hocevar door slammed causing Hocevar’s No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado to get loose. He quickly recovered but the agitated driver then appeared to attempt to intentionally spin out Gray approaching Turn 3.
The two trucks connected again but Gray was able to save his truck, while Hocevar spun and triggered the caution. NASCAR did not like what it saw of the incident and parked the Texas Motor Speedway Truck Series winner for two laps.
The rain was called a short-time later because of inclement weather leaving Hocevar with a 34th-place finish and 122 laps complete.
“I’m proud of our Worldwide Express team for working so hard today in less than optimal conditions,” Hocevar said after the race. “It was hard to get into any kind of rhythm with the weather delays and cautions. We’ll regroup and look ahead to the next one.”
Hocevar hasn’t spoke about the incident publicly, but his teammate Chastain did.
“I saw a replay of it later and, yeah, I don’t have really much to say on it,” Chastain said Saturday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway. “He served his penalty and NASCAR called the penalty, so I just chalk it up to that.”
Chastain then discussed his mentor role at Nice Motorsports and how the young drivers within the Mooresville, N.C.-based team are going to make mistakes.
The Alva, Fla. native said he will continue to support the team’s young fleet of drivers, including Hocevar but encourage the Portage, Mich. native needs to minimize his mistakes, especially ones that can be deemed controversial.
“I’m super loyal and you feel like family there (at Niece Motorsports),” Chastain explained. “No matter who is driving there, we’re going to be close and get close because I’m going to be racing there. I’ve got to know Carson (Hocevar) and try to give him advice for things I’ve done and mistakes I’ve made, and good things I’ve done and decisions.”
Since joining the Truck Series tour in 2019 and full-time in 2021, the 20-year-old has attracted attention for the garage for his on-track speed and results, but on occasion has also been blasted for what many believe are overly aggressive attempts at retaliation.
Before Saturday night’s edition, Hocevar outraged fans and those in the industry with what many believed was an intentional incident with Colby Howard last summer at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Chastain, though said young drivers like Hocevar will continue to make errors as they grow, but through his mentoring – if drivers such as Hocevar can minimize mistakes moving forward, the mentorship pays off.
“Look, we’re race car drivers driving to the limits and we’re going to make mistakes. There are going to be so many decisions to make on and off the track that if I can just help guys younger than me make one less mistake.
“He’s going to make mistakes; I’m going to make mistakes. Just try to minimize that, that’s the ultimate goal in how I can help guys like that and try to help everybody move forward.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 or email at: [email protected]