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The simmering feud between Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith isn’t staying behind at Chicagoland Speedway.
With NASCAR confirming the two drivers will meet with series officials before Sunday’s Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at EchoPark Speedway, Smith made it abundantly clear this week that his opinion of Hocevar hasn’t changed. If anything, it has only hardened.
Appearing on the “Racin’ With The Boys” podcast, the Front Row Motorsports driver revisited the growing rivalry that spilled over during last weekend’s Cup Series race and offered one of his strongest public criticisms yet of the Spire Motorsports driver.
The tension between the two drivers has been building for months.
Last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, contact between the pair on Lap 32 sent both cars into the outside wall. NASCAR reviewed the incident afterward and elected not to issue penalties, but the series will hold a meeting with both drivers before Sunday’s race at EchoPark Speedway.
During his podcast appearance, Smith explained that his frustration goes well beyond aggressive racing.
“Honestly, my approach with Carson, because he’s fast, me and him had a run-in at Iowa, and we’ve raced hard and whatnot,” Smith said. “And there’s a difference [because] certain guys will race you hard, but he’ll just put us both in a bad spot to where it’s costing us lap time and neither of us are benefiting from it.”
Smith then took issue with what he described as Hocevar’s behavior after on-track incidents.
“I don’t know if he made a mistake, but he wrecked us and then spends the rest of the race waving at me like playing nice guy of, ‘So sorry! I’m so sorry!’ Then he goes on social media and posts like ‘Admit One’ like ‘I don’t give a [expletive].'”
Hocevar addressed the latest disagreement during a Twitch livestream Wednesday night after fans asked about Smith’s comments.
“What’s Zane’s problem? I don’t know, man, maybe his T-shirt sales were low,” Hocevar said. “I don’t know. Who cares?”
Smith wasn’t impressed by that response.
“It’s like if you’re going to be the guy hiding behind social media, I don’t know. That’s a coward in my opinion,” Smith said. “Like, act that way in person. Say that to my face. And it’s like, all right, I’m going to be the same way. But don’t be one way in person and then hide behind your phone.”
He added that the social media aspect of the rivalry has become one of the biggest sources of irritation.
“You don’t try to go down a road of like, ‘Oh my gosh, I hope he gets wrecked,’ or something like that. You’re focused on your own race. But it’s just the hiding behind the phone is what’s the most annoying part.”
Sunday’s race now carries another layer of intrigue.
The EchoPark Speedway event was already expected to feature another round of close-quarters drafting, and with NASCAR planning to speak with both drivers beforehand, all eyes will be on whether the meeting cools tensions or simply delays the next chapter in one of the Cup Series’ newest rivalries.
Continue reading...
With NASCAR confirming the two drivers will meet with series officials before Sunday’s Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at EchoPark Speedway, Smith made it abundantly clear this week that his opinion of Hocevar hasn’t changed. If anything, it has only hardened.
Appearing on the “Racin’ With The Boys” podcast, the Front Row Motorsports driver revisited the growing rivalry that spilled over during last weekend’s Cup Series race and offered one of his strongest public criticisms yet of the Spire Motorsports driver.
Zane Smith says Hocevar’s off-track approach bothers him as much as his driving
The tension between the two drivers has been building for months.
Last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, contact between the pair on Lap 32 sent both cars into the outside wall. NASCAR reviewed the incident afterward and elected not to issue penalties, but the series will hold a meeting with both drivers before Sunday’s race at EchoPark Speedway.
During his podcast appearance, Smith explained that his frustration goes well beyond aggressive racing.
“Honestly, my approach with Carson, because he’s fast, me and him had a run-in at Iowa, and we’ve raced hard and whatnot,” Smith said. “And there’s a difference [because] certain guys will race you hard, but he’ll just put us both in a bad spot to where it’s costing us lap time and neither of us are benefiting from it.”
Smith then took issue with what he described as Hocevar’s behavior after on-track incidents.
“I don’t know if he made a mistake, but he wrecked us and then spends the rest of the race waving at me like playing nice guy of, ‘So sorry! I’m so sorry!’ Then he goes on social media and posts like ‘Admit One’ like ‘I don’t give a [expletive].'”
Hocevar fired back before Smith escalated the feud again
Hocevar addressed the latest disagreement during a Twitch livestream Wednesday night after fans asked about Smith’s comments.
“What’s Zane’s problem? I don’t know, man, maybe his T-shirt sales were low,” Hocevar said. “I don’t know. Who cares?”
Smith wasn’t impressed by that response.
“It’s like if you’re going to be the guy hiding behind social media, I don’t know. That’s a coward in my opinion,” Smith said. “Like, act that way in person. Say that to my face. And it’s like, all right, I’m going to be the same way. But don’t be one way in person and then hide behind your phone.”
He added that the social media aspect of the rivalry has become one of the biggest sources of irritation.
“You don’t try to go down a road of like, ‘Oh my gosh, I hope he gets wrecked,’ or something like that. You’re focused on your own race. But it’s just the hiding behind the phone is what’s the most annoying part.”
Sunday’s race now carries another layer of intrigue.
The EchoPark Speedway event was already expected to feature another round of close-quarters drafting, and with NASCAR planning to speak with both drivers beforehand, all eyes will be on whether the meeting cools tensions or simply delays the next chapter in one of the Cup Series’ newest rivalries.
Continue reading...
