Spire Motorsports announced Tuesday that it suspended Carson Hocevar for Sunday’s 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Justin Haley will drive the No. 77 Chevrolet this weekend, the team stated.
Hocevar’s suspension came after an on-track incident with Austin Cindric last Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. SMT data showed the No. 77 Chevrolet driver brake-checking in front of Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford multiple times during Sunday’s Chase race presented by Mobil 1.
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As a result of Hocevar brake-checking Cindric, the nose of Cindric’s car was crushed in, resulting in a DNF and 36th-place result for the No. 2 driver.
Spire Motorsports sent out the following in a statement:
“A decision like this has a lot of variables and a cascading effect across an organization like ours,” said Jeff Dickerson, co-owner of Spire Motorsports. “The easy thing would have been to leave this in NASCAR’s hands and let them decide what any penalty should be. To us, however, this isn’t about money or points. We believe in respect. Our integrity matters. This is the right decision for Spire Motorsports.
“Everyone here loves working with Carson, and we’ve enjoyed watching him thrive alongside our team. Sometimes the right decision for someone you care about hurts in the short term. The way Carson conducted himself at Martinsville doesn’t meet the standard we set for our drivers, team members or employees, and there are consequences for that. That doesn’t mean we don’t love him and support him.
“Racing at the Cup level is a privilege, and it comes with an expected level of professionalism from everyone who represents Spire Motorsports. We’ll go to Homestead united and compete as an organization. After that, we can get ready for Daytona in February with the right mindset to contend for a championship.”
Hocevar shared the following statement on his Instagram story:
https://t.co/EaKymv5yq3
– Carson Hocevar (@CarsonHocevar) November 3, 2026
This story will be updated.