Just Don't Care" -- Carson Hocevar Addresses Cup Feud After Zane Smith's $50K Post-Race Retaliation

Carson Hocevar played down the latest escalation in his dispute with Zane Smith ahead of Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. Hocevar, a Spire driver, spoke during media availability after Smith was fined $50,000 for retaliation at Phoenix Raceway, where Smith drove into Hocevar’s car after the checkered flag. NASCAR had already warned both drivers after an earlier July confrontation at Chicagoland Speedway, and Hocevar noted the hit was unexpected. At Phoenix, with 16 laps remaining in the Freeway Insurance 500, a tangle involving Ross Chastain sent Hocevar into Smith’s No. 38 Ford and Josh Berry’s No. 21 Ford. Hocevar finished 12th; Smith finished 15th.