Carson Hocevar’s been a firecracker since his racing roots took hold. At seven, he was tearing up quarter midget tracks, stacking 79 feature wins and 15 national championships, a preview of the fearless talent that’d carry him forward. By 12, he owned Berlin Raceway’s Outlaw Late Model title in his Michigan backyard, and after a brief age-restriction break, he stormed back in 2017 to claim the Super Late Model crown.
Hocevar’s no stranger to getting dirty either. His 2019 Truck Series debut at Eldora’s Dirt Derby and a 2023 Gateway Dirt Nationals scuffle with Jason Feger showed his grit. In ARCA Menards from 2018-2019, he racked up nine top-10s and two poles in 11 starts, earning a spot in NASCAR’s Driver’s Edge Development Program.
Wednesday night, Hocevar was back at Berlin Raceway, his home turf, for a stacked Super Late Model showdown. With heavyweights like Ty Majeski, Bubba Pollard, and Erik Jones in the field, it was a short-track slugfest for the ages. But Hocevar, never one to shy from the spotlight, turned heads with a fiery moment that’s got everyone buzzing.
Hocevar Flips Bird at Home
The Berlin Raceway crowd was electric Wednesday night as Carson Hocevar battled a murderer’s row of Super Late Model stars. Early on, he went toe-to-toe with Ty Majeski for the lead, setting a blistering pace on the .438-mile Michigan oval that’s been his playground since he was a kid.
The 22-year-old NASCAR Cup Series sophomore showed the same aggressive edge that powered his 79 quarter midget wins, trading paint with some of the best short-trackers in the game. But the night’s defining moment came when Hocevar tangled with Bubba Pollard while scrapping for third. Pollard’s No. 26 got loose in Turn 3, nearly spinning Hocevar, who pulled off a save that’d make any Berlin regular proud, channeling the same tenacity he showed in his 2019 Eldora debut.
Not content to let it slide, Hocevar drifted out of Turn 4, held third, and flipped Pollard the bird in a moment that’s now gone viral across social media. It was a classic Hocevar move, unfiltered, in-your-face passion that echoes his 2023 Gateway Dirt Nationals dust-up with Feger.
WHAT A SAVE! Contact with @BubbaPollard26 sends @CarsonHocevar for a slide halfway in the #BattleAtBerlin!@BerlinRaceway pic.twitter.com/quhebr7A3D
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) August 14, 2025
The race itself saw Austin Hull, a Berlin mainstay, take the win, with Majeski grabbing fourth, Pollard settling for sixth, Hocevar finishing 16th, and Erik Jones limping home in 30th. That bird-flip wasn’t just a jab; it was a nod to the door-to-door intensity that’s defined Hocevar’s career from quarter midgets to ARCA’s nine top-10s.
Post-race, Hocevar didn’t back down when pressed about the incident while speaking with Short Track Scene. “We were as good as we were on starting the race. We were a little too free then we just contact and knocked the left rear in. Contact with Bubba, he just kinda got a little loose whatever”, he said, shrugging off the chaos with the same cool he showed in his ARCA days. When the reporter pushed, “And you threw something at the window too?” Hocevar grinned, “We threw a lot at the kitchen sink but it was alright”.
The quip captured his scrappy, no-regrets attitude, rooted in years of battling on tracks like Berlin, where he won titles at 12 and 17. It’s the kind of fire that’s made him a standout, from his Driver’s Edge recognition to his Cup Series hustle.
Teammate Tangle Adds to Hocevar’s Fire
Hocevar’s intensity carried over to Watkins Glen’s Cup race, where he clashed with Spire teammate Michael McDowell. Late in the Go Bowling at The Glen, McDowell’s Turn 1 misstep spun Hocevar’s No. 77, but Hocevar battled back, edging McDowell for 18th on the final lap.
Post-race, he swiped at his teammate, snapping over the radio, I don’t want to talk to him, look at him, do not let him near me. By Wednesday, he’d cooled off, saying, It didn’t seem like that big of a deal… Either he made a mistake, or he misjudged. Hocevar defended his hard racing, citing Richmond’s qualifying draw: That one spot matters a lot for qualifying.
With a sit-down planned before Saturday’s Cook Out 400, Hocevar’s Berlin bird-flip and Watkins Glen scrap show he races with heart, but he’s ready to talk it out, keeping the team tight.
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