​In addition to meeting with Shane Van Gisbergen and Austin Hill, NASCAR officials summoned Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar into the Cup Series hauler to hash out their ongoing rivalry and the events that unfolded Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway. The clash between Smith and Hocevar began with a hard-fought sequence on the track, culminating in a Lap 32 crash that left both cars heavily damaged. Since then, Smith has taken his frustration public, appearing on a national sports podcast to vent about his dislike for Hocevar.
That tension carried into Saturday, following the hauler meeting, when Smith faced the attending media at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “The meeting doesn’t change how much I dislike him and how much he dislikes me,” Smith declared. When FOX Sports asked whether the gathering had cooled the simmering tension, Smith offered a clipped, “yeah, sure,” that suggested otherwise. He went on to say that his sentiments toward Hocevar extend beyond the track and into their off-track interactions as well.
“Both,” Smith answered when asked if he dislikes Hocevar in both settings. He added that he does not anticipate any race between them to unfold without trouble. Smith also directed strong words toward Hocevar’s fans, criticizing their reactions on social media as they piled onto him in the wake of their recent spat. While some comments and memes have amused him, Smith stated that the fan response has only reinforced his stance.
Smith indicated that his current approach would continue unless Hocevar changes his racing behavior. “I am just a big believer in racing you how you race me, so until he changes how he races me, that’s just how it’s going to be,” he explained. He also insisted that he was not attempting to wreck Hocevar at Chicagoland, noting that the frustration stemmed from a broader history between the two. “It’s hard racing and that’s fine, but what created a lot of anger at Chicagoland was our past,” Smith said. “He’s pointed me by a couple of times and then at Nashville, as soon as we were around each other, he runs into me and then points me by and talks crap to the media. I don’t know.”
Hocevar, for his part, arrived at the media session with a lighthearted mood, joking that they might need “couples therapy” given the situation. He also defended his fans, saying that passionate supporters can be a positive force when they remain respectful. “I think it’s a good thing that they are passionate,” Hocevar said. “I don’t see a lot of it, but if they’re insulting someone other than what goes on on the race track, I don’t condone that. We all look and sound, and are different, but that wouldn’t be cool.”
At the heart of the exchange, Hocevar admitted he didn’t fully understand the origins of the beef and asked the media what started the rivalry in the first place. The conflict traces back to a previous relationship; Smith had once been Hocevar’s teammate at Spire, on loan from Trackhouse, and that shared history appears to be a key element in their ongoing friction. As the Cup Series season continues, teams, drivers, and fans will no doubt keep watching closely to see whether the rift between Smith and Hocevar evolves, remains static, or begins to mend—both on the track and in the broader conversations that surround them.