“Watch out, Carson”.
That is the message that 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski had for fellow Michigan-native Carson Hocevar after the two collided early in Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Keselowski, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, finished 23rd after sustaining damage to the underbody of his BuildSubmarine.com-sponsored entry.
The incident in question happened at Lap 108, when Carson Hocevar drove his No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet Camaro deep into Turn 3 on the inside lane, washed up the racetrack in the middle of the corner, and made contact with the left-rear quarter-panel of Keselowski.
Hocevar, other than a couple of taps to the rear bumper of Keselowski, was able to drive away scot-free, while the RFK Racing co-owner and driver spun around at the exit of Turn 4.
Several hours later, following the conclusion of the Southern 500, Chris Gollen of Above The Yellow Line caught up with Brad Keselowski, who said: “His day’s coming and it’s coming hard. Watch out, Carson [Hocevar].”
Then, there’s Carson Hocevar, who simply said, “he [Brad Keselowsk] spun” when asked about the run-in by USA Sports post-race, and when pressed further after the race by members of the media, including Gollen, who had previously spoken with Keselowski, Hocevar said, sarcastically, “I’ll tighten my belts”.
Hocevar, by being of the 16 drivers that qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series Chase for the Championship this season (against two drivers from RFK Racing, by the way), has much, much more to lose in the grand scheme of things than Keselowski, who didn’t qualify for the post-season this year.
Needless to say, this battle, between two of the sport’s Michigan representatives, will be interesting to observe moving forward, especially when it comes to the final nine races of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, as Hocevar attempts to hunt down a championship.
