People are still talking about the incidents that took place at Chicagoland Speedway, and NASCAR’s decision to call the four involved drivers into the Hauler has left Denny Hamlin confused. 

Addressing Bob Pockrass's question regarding NASCAR's decision not to penalize the involved drivers, Hamlin expressed confusion over NASCAR's stance and argued that if NASCAR insists on the behaviour to end, it is implicitly admitting that the drivers had a choice to wreck each other. This undermines their own labeling of those incidents.

“I don't know. It's, you know, I can see where it could be mixed messaging, but you know, I just found it interesting that if they didn't consider it an intentional wreck, why are they insisting that it stops? If it was an accident, then it would just be organic.

"So, if you're ruling that it's not intentional, but yet saying it has to stop. You're saying that they had the choice to wreck each other. So I got a little confused on that one.”

On the Hauler Talk podcast, Mike Forde had said NASCAR would have a meeting with SVG, Hill, Smith, and Hocevar, following the recent string of on-track incidents that have taken place. However, he had clarified that NASCAR had no intention of penalizing any of the four drivers. 

SVG and Hill have a longstanding rivalry that goes back to the 2024 O’Reilly race at COTA. More recently, though, the two made contact in Chicagoland at Turns 3 and 4 while battling for position in traffic, which resulted in Hill’s car going into the outside wall. 

Similarly, Smith and Hocevar also do not enjoy cordial relations. Both drivers were celebrating 100 career starts at Chicagoland, only to end in disaster as Smith slammed into Hocevar from behind, resulting in Hocevar hitting the wall, and ultimately, Smith also lost control of his car. 

This rivalry, in fact, has only gotten more fierce. 

Zane Smith: “That's a goon in my opinion”

Speaking to Frontstretch before the race at EchoPark Speedway, Smith referenced specific incidents at Chicagoland and Nashville, to reaffirm the fact that he is not fond of Hocevar. 

“It's not necessarily just me. Just like every time I'm around him, you know, it's hard racing, and that's fine. What created a lot of anger at Chicagoland was, you know, our past run-ins together, and he's pointed me by a few times and then, like Nashville, just as soon as we're around each other, just runs into me and then points me by and then talks crap to the media, and I don't know. That's a goon in my opinion.”

He also explained that despite being teammates once, they rarely spoke because he was in an awkward position, being on loan to Spire from Trackhouse Racing; hence, their rivalry is primarily rooted in their current professional interactions. 

Read more at Daytona Racing Digest 

Written by

Aaradhya Singh

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason