Bubba Wallace was seen as the only driver who went up to Carson Hocevar, and not to chew him out. Wallace approached the situation calmly and gave Hocevar some advice after the nine-car pileup in Michigan. 

During his appearance on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, Wallace was asked about the difference between the two Spire Motorsports drivers: Carson Hocevar in the 77 Chevrolet and Daniel Suarez in the 7 Chevrolet. 

“Hocevar is a hard racer. I told him this: he’s fast, he races hard, but he races stupid. What Suarez is doing. He’s not being stupid. He’s making it really hard for you to get by him. Which is the name of the job,” he said.

Wallace himself was involved in the wreck that was triggered by Hocevar tapping John Hunter Nemechek’s rear on lap 83. But rather than vent his frustrations, Wallace chaneled it differently and asked Hocevar to race wisely. 

Wallace then praised what Suarez does, delving into the racer's tactics for getting ahead. It made the difference between the two Chevrolet drivers' strategies even more glaring.

“Suarez races really hard. Like really hard. Suarez is gonna run you really hard and force you into a bad spot as to where Carson is just gonna put it into a hole that’s not there,” Wallace added.

Wallace gave Hocevar a pep talk rather than talking down in the aftermath of the Lap 83 incident. However, he wasn’t happy with how the broadcaster for the race, Dale Jr., praised Hocevar post-race.

Wallace Gets Real on Hocevar Driving Style and Lap 83 Incident

Carson Hocevar and John Hunter Nemechek’s contact triggered a pile-up at the Michigan International Speedway on June 7. The wreck involved several drivers, including Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, and Austin Dillon.

Wallace expressed his frustration while discussing the race during the Door Bumper Clear podcast.

He said, “The whole restart thing, you watch his onboard, and he attacks the 42 and then turns left. You can’t do that. I don't care whoever stacked up. Time to run to where it’s better to where you can pull out before you hit him.”

Wallace was also left disappointed when Dale Jr was heard saying he doesn’t want Hocevar to change. He pointed out that “people on TV are talking about like it’s great. And I’m like, yeah, because you’re not out here racing. He’s not costing you.”

Wallace called out Hocevar’s rash driving style, suggesting that it was unnecessary. According to him, it just showed the driver's inability to understand his car and manage a race properly. 

“Carson is just like, I don’t care. I’m gonna go run through the grass and pull up in front of you. No one does this. But then, when you say that, people are like, ‘yeah, no one does it because they're too scared. I like that he does it.’ It’s like, no, there’s a reason no one does it,” Wallace added, airing his frustration.

Wallace’s post-race advice to Hocevar were interesting. He told the Spire driver that while Hocevar was definitely fast, he was losing because other racers managed races better than him. 

It will be interesting to see if Hocevar’s approach toward races changes after Wallace’s words of wisdom.

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Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit