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Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. disagreed this week over whether NASCAR should step in after Carson Hocevar brake-checked Austin Cindric out of Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway.
Earnhardt was the guest host on this week’s episode of Hamlin’s Actions Detrimental podcast.
Hamlin: ‘What’s the difference?’
Hamlin, who has been penalized for intentionally wrecking another driver, said he did not see the difference between wrecking someone from the front or the rear.
“They don’t like intentionally wrecking,” Hamlin said. “I know that I’ve gotten that penalty. What’s the difference in wrecking from the front versus wrecking from the rear?”
Both said the Hocevar-Cindric incident was different from the contact between Josh Berry and Ryan Blaney. “You can see his car, and he gets sideways, and you can make an argument, true or false, that, well, he’s correcting it,” Hamlin said of Berry. “I think the difference with the 77 is if you’re going in a straight line, there’s no reason for you to slam on the brakes in the middle straightaway.”
Earnhardt said Berry did brake-check Blaney, but in a way that gave him an out. “Hocevar’s was absolutely obvious,” Earnhardt said. “And he didn’t even try to hide it. Josh did it in such a way that he could explain it away.” Berry has denied brake-checking Blaney, as Pit This Time reported.
Earnhardt: ‘One day he learns’
Earnhardt said he would rather see the garage deal with Hocevar than NASCAR.
“I’m gonna put my promoter’s hat on. Is what Hocevar did to Cindric wrong? Yes. Is it pretty s*****? Yes,” Earnhardt said. “What if [NASCAR] didn’t do anything? What happens, what continues to happen? He continues to do it. And one day somebody decides to make it stop, or a couple of you. One day he learns.”
He said he has talked with Hocevar’s Spire Motorsports ownership. “I know for a fact that they don’t love everything that happens on Sunday,” Earnhardt said. “They do not love those things. And they wish that he would not do those things.”
He compared Hocevar to Ernie Irvan, who stood up in a drivers’ meeting early in his career and promised the garage he would change.
Hamlin: ‘That’s not sport’
Hamlin pushed back.
“But Dale, that’s not, that’s not sport,” Hamlin said. “I just, I believe we have to maintain the integrity of the sport. Even if it comes at the cost of entertainment. Because I’m a car owner, Dale, that spends tens of millions of dollars. And do I want my drivers’ days decided by someone out there being a clown and just wrecking everyone in sight?”
“No, you eventually have to have guardrails. And he can still be the polarizing person outside the car and still make the great moves and show off his driving ability. There’s still ways to be polarizing without being a clown.”
Hocevar’s side
Hocevar has denied that the contact was intentional. “It’s just Martinsville,” he said after the race. “I had fun.” NASCAR had not announced a penalty as of Monday night.
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