Carson Hocevar, Riley Herbst get into war of words on radio after incident at Darlington

Things are not going well for Carson Hocevar today at Darlington Raceway. Riley Herbst isn’t happy with the Spire Motorsports driver. Both NASCAR drivers were trying to hold off leader William Byron from lapping them and the leader got fed up.

William Byron got absolutely boxed in by lapped cars. Joe Gibbs teammates Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe were working very well together to keep themselves on the lead lap.

Carson Hocevar was also in that group as well as Riley Herbst. Hocevar was trying to avoid going two laps down after an early spin in the race put him behind. Byron dove down on the apron to make a two-for-one pass and he just didn’t have enough room with Hocevar there.

The 77 and 35 paid the price. That’s for sure.

How's your heart rate, Byron fans? That was close for the leader.

Here's another look at the trouble for Hocevar and Herbst: pic.twitter.com/E7CIQWcN8t

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 6, 2025

Jeff Gluck of The Athletic listened to the radio for Riley Herbst and Carson Hocevar. A little bit of confusion all the way around. It was a tough place to be and when the leader decides they are tired of being boxed in, that’s what happens.

“Dude, I don’t know what happened,” Herbst said. “I didn’t do anything wrong there, did I? I was just running the top.”

Herbst spotter after Hocevar comes up: "Oh God dammit, he's a moron!"

Herbst: "Dude, I don't know what happened. … I didn't do anything wrong there, did I? I was just running the top." https://t.co/JnkDHO3ggZ

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) April 6, 2025

These are two young drivers trying to take on one of the toughest race tracks in NASCAR. It is unfortunate that they were involved in the incident together. That whole situation was getting tense with Byron tired of waiting around.

So, today is only going to be more difficult for Carson Hocevar. Not a great time at Darlington for the 2024 Rookie of the Year.

Carson Hocevar struggling at Darlington

While he is one of the most talented 22-year-olds in racing, Carson Hocevar is still learning. That raw speed is great. But it also gets you in trouble. We saw Hocevar and another aggressive racer, Kyle Larson, lose control early in this race.

Darlington is a track where you test limits, but you can’t overstep. I don’t think it is a coincidence to see aggressive drivers like Larson and Hocevar go over that line.

Unfortunately, Hocevar’s aggression is likely why he was in that Herbst incident. He didn’t want to lose another lap to Byron, so he forced the issue a bit. Byron tried to make a big pass and the two got into each other. That happens. But Hocevar’s unapologetic attitude won’t do him any favors among teams like Herbst’s.