Carson Hocevar posts 18-minute apology video: “I’m the bad guy”

Before speaking to the media in an official press conference on Friday, Carson Hocevar has taken to YouTube to address his fans directly, posting an 18-minute apology video.

Hocevar was suspended by Spire Motorsports earlier this week, and later penalized by NASCAR with a $100,000 fine and the loss of 25 driver championship points. This comes after an incident at Martinsville, where he intentionally brake-checked Austin Cindric three to four times, delivering race-ending damage to the nose of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford.

Watch: In-car cameras capture heated Hocevar-Cindric clash at Martinsville

“The main reason I’m making this video is — number one, I show a lot of my life,” said Hocevar, explaining why he was posting the video. “You know, you can’t just show the good. And I think that’s really important, but also like our sport has a lot of hiding when things go bad, or you just don’t post anything, or any negative publicity is bad. And this isn’t good. None of it’s good. So don’t get that misconstrued. But I think ultimately, right, I could put statements out or a management team could put statements out, but you really don’t know if it’s coming from me or not. And especially in today’s world, I don’t like disingenuous — and I don’t think anybody watching this video does too. There’s no script, there’s nothing here. I’m literally alone in this office with a tripod and a camera, just because I wanted to kind of explain everything and go through this.”

Hocevar went on to say he forced Spire and team owner Jeff Dickerson to make this decision, saying “they have to basically be able to sleep at night.” He described Dickerson as a ‘father figure,’ comparing this situation to a dad taking the car away from a son who missed curfew.

While he never intends to apologize for racing aggressively, he made it clear that what happened at Martinsville wasn’t racing, and it wasn’t ‘cool’ for him to do that.

He also believes his aggressive style is beneficial for the growth of the sport, but he still wants to have the respect of his competitors in the garage, and what happened last weekend was a step in the wrong direction.

“There’s no denying that that wasn’t racing … it’s not racing to hit the brake on a straight line.  And it’s not racing if the 2 car [Cindric] was not behind me, I’m never touching the brake, you’re just going slower. I brake-checked the No. 2 car — Austin Cindric, I think it was three or four times. There’s no explanation, I can sit here and explain, I was frustrated, or I wasn’t frustrated, or there was a master plan, whatever. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. I don’t think it matters. Ultimately, the result is that I did. And I’m apologetic about it.”

He later added: “It’s not something they’re going to put into a commercial. It’s not something I’m going to put into a highlight reel … It’s not cool to wreck somebody from behind … It’s embarrassing, and just disrespectful. I have to own it.”

Direct message for the fans defending him

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

Hocevar also spoke directly to the fans who are defending him by attacking Spire or saying they won’t be watching this weekend, asking them not to react that way.

“So to my fans, or anybody out there that’s saying that I should leave Spire or Spire’s the bad guy in the situation. I’m the bad guy. I made the mistake, I forced their decision. It sucks. It sucks for me, and it sucks for them. Like, they don’t want to put anybody else in the car. My sponsors don’t want to see anybody else in the car.

“But ultimately, I’m always dishing it. And eventually, there’s going to be a time that you take things too far, and you have to own it. And so this is me owning it. I 100% agree with their penalty or suspension.”

As for fans who say they won’t be watching Homestead because of Hocevar’s suspension, he pleaded with them to reconsider while also thanking them for their support. “My fan base gets a lot of flack, they ride or die. And I love that. And I’m appreciative of it. But nothing happened with the 2 car, it’s not his fault. I’m pleading with my fans that 99% of the time, we can laugh at it, as in me, like, if I make mistakes, we can laugh at it. This is not what this is. This is the 1% time where just hold me accountable. Say, ‘I’m hopeful that they are going to go ‘dang, I didn’t like that. But he’s still my guy, and my guy has a little bit of learning to do, but he’s still my guy’.”

Hocevar will be at the track this weekend, and plans to be there for both his team and fans while Justin Haley pilots the No. 77 Chevrolet.

“I’m still gonna be there this weekend at Homestead. I’m still gonna do all the sponsor meet and greets. I’m still gonna go to the merch trailer. I’m still gonna be there. I’m still gonna be there pre-race, post-race, I’m gonna be there with the team. I just get to do everything but drive the car. I think, ultimately, I want to show that, number one, my team, I’m there for them. But also, two, I’m not just hiding or I don’t care. Because I do care. And I obviously want to be racing.”

He went on to say that he thinks antics like Martinsville will drive people away from the sport, which is the opposite of what he wants to do. “I don’t think it’s fun. I just feel bad for all the NASCAR fans, all the people watching the race that go, ‘what am I watching? This isn’t interesting. I’m going to turn this off’ … I want the sport to grow. I want the sport to succeed. And moves like that are not going to do that. So I, if anything, I was a hypocrite in those three minutes of what I hope to grow the sport.

“And so I’m sorry to pretty much everybody watching. So it’s unfortunate, but I can’t take it back. I can’t defend it. I don’t plan on not facing it head on. I don’t plan on hiding from it. So I think all that’s just really important for me to say.”

He also wants to cut down on incidents from around 40 per year to around 5-10.

However, one of the big criticisms of Hocevar has been the fact that his words have held little meaning with what has followed on the race track. He addressed that, saying “my apology means nothing if there’s no actions.”

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images

He fully accepts that there will be unintentional racing incidents, but he never wants to brake-check anybody like that again.

“There’s still going to be incidents, but they’re going to be racing incidents. They’re not going to be malicious. They’re not going to be intentional. They’re not going to be match fixing, almost. You know, it’s just going to be racing. And I think that’s important.”

Hocevar also doesn’t mind how divisive he is to the fanbase, saying: “I love people that hate me. And I love people that love me, because I think that’s sports. I think that’s perfect for sports.”

He ended the video with the following message: “I’m just going to just say sorry.  And, on track, I’ll see everybody next year. If you’re there in person, I’ll see you there, hopefully in person. All right, thanks guys.”

You can watch the entire video below:

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– The Motorsport.com Team