Denny Hamlin reacts to Zane Smith crew chief confronting Carson Hocevar after Iowa NASCAR race

Following the Iowa Corn 350 there was drama in the post-race scene, with Zane Smith’s crew chief confronting Carson Hocevar. He was upset with an earlier incident on the track, where Hocevar spun out Smith.

Hocevar seemed relatively unbothered by the meeting, posting nonchalantly afterward and riffing on a journalist’s take that others should just get in line to take a number outside of his car after races. The implication? Hocevar doesn’t much care who he upsets.

But what about Ryan Bergenty, the crew chief for Smith, going after Hocevar? Denny Hamlin weighed in on that on the Actions Detrimental podcast on Monday.

“I don’t mind that. Why should we care about that?” Hamlin said. “That’s the guy responsible now having to load that f****** car up into the hauler.”

Hamlin’s co-host put him to this question: Should there be some etiquette where drivers speak first before crew chiefs get involved? As noted, Carson Hocevar might frequently have several people waiting to talk to him in that scenario.

“I think anyone that works on the car is entitled to have a voice, personally,” Hamlin said. “That’s what I think.”

Bottom line is that Carson Hocevar has been described as a little rough around the edges by Hamlin and some of his peers. He’s aggressive on the track, often to the detriment of his own race and others’.

Is that style something that’s paying off for him? Hamlin doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t think it’s leading to speed. I think he has the speed,” Hamlin said. “He has the ability to get speed out of the car. It’s just… I don’t know. I’d have to think about it. I don’t know. We’ve been talking about the same thing for years about the same guy, so you almost just want to let him do whatever he wants to do and don’t interrupt him while he’s making a mistake. Let him learn it the hard way.”

As for the actual incident with Smith on the track, Hamlin didn’t seem to think much of it. It wasn’t necessarily some of Carson Hocevar’s most egregious contact.

“It was an accident,” Hamlin said. “He got loose.”

Where the veteran driver sees Carson Hocevar coming up a little short is his reaction after such incidents. A little bit more apologetic would be the way to go.

“Just say, ‘Hey, sorry about that, I f****** up. I got loose. I went in the corner. I shook the right rear out and I got into you. I apologize,'” Hamlin said. “Instead of saying, ‘Take a number.'”