Contact involving Carson Hocevar and Denny Hamlin last Sunday at Sonoma has the NASCAR community talking. Debate has swirled social media in the aftermath if the contact was Hocevar’s fault or if it was out of his control.
The bottom line is that Hamlin, who spun out off the bumper of Hocevar, missed out on the top-10 run he was having. Here, we will break down the incident that sent the driver of the No. 11 spinning.
Hamlin, Hocevar contact in the final stage.
On the ninth lap of the final stage of Sunday’s Cup Series race at Sonoma, Hamlin clung to the seventh position as the field dove into the fourth corner.
Upon entry, Hocevar’s No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet made slight contact into the back bumper of Hamlin’s No. 11. The bump sent the Joe Gibbs Racing star spinning and outside of the top 30.
Hamlin would rally to finish 26th, enough to take over the Cup Series points lead by one point over Tyler Reddick. However, the incident prevented the 45-year-old from gaining more of an advantage on the points lead.
Hocevar was asked about the incident after the race by motorsports insider Jeff Gluck. The writer for The Athletic suggested that contact with Brad Keselowski was what actually sent Hocevar into Hamlin, making the spin-out unavoidable on Hocevar’s part.
While he had not seen a replay of the incident, one thing that was sure in Hocevar’s mind was that he was hit before the contact with Hamlin.
“I just know I got hit. I was gonna be left and I looked in my mirror and they’re all lining up and I was like, ‘(Expletive), if I don’t get right, I’m probably gonna get spun. … I haven’t seen it but I just remember getting hit and was full lock right. Then, I was even further right when I was trying to avoid when he obviously spun,” Hocevar said.
Hamlin, who also spoke to Gluck post-race, opted not to comment on the incident as he, too, had not seen what unfolded.
“I haven’t seen it. … I know you want a reaction, but I haven’t seen it. When I see it, I’ll react to it,” Hamlin said.
Keselowski onboard footage shows contact with Hocevar
While some were quick to jump to the conclusion that Hocevar was to blame for the Hamlin spin-out, footage of Keselowski’s onboard camera has been shown as an argument for the contrary.
Brought to light on X by motorsports reporter Steven Taranto, it looked as though the initial contact between Keselowski and Hocevar sent the latter into Hamlin, causing the spin.
“Looked like the biggest factor was contact from Brad Keselowski (who may also have gotten a shot from Alex Bowman) that shoved Hocevar forward into Hamlin. There’s a bit of daylight between the 77 and 11 on the entry to Turn 6 before you can tell the 77 gets pushed forward into the right rear of the 11,” Taranto wrote.
Whether Hamlin’s spin was Hocevar’s fault or not, the incident has sparked a ton of debate by fans and media personalities this week ahead of Chicagoland.
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