UPDATE: Hocevar issued a statement about the punishment, saying (among other things), “I appreciate the opportunity to learn and I knew before this weekend what respect means to this organization and I didn’t meet the standard so I got what I deserved. I hate learning these lessons in the public eye and bringing any negative attention to Spire or me.”
Spire Motorsports announced on Tuesday that it would penalize NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar for comments made about Mexico City.
On a livestream, Hocevar was critical of the track in Mexico City as well as the city in general, calling it a “sh*thole.”
“If the travel was better, if getting here was easier, if you felt safer getting to and from everywhere, if it wasn’t such a sh*thole, if the track limits were a little better enforced, if it was going to be a little bit better of a race, and it wasn’t so easy to, or feel so locked down like you can’t leave anywhere, it’d be a great experience,” he said, H/T Mike Pryson, Autoweek.com.
In response, Spire Motorsports announced two punishments from Hocevar.
- He’ll be fined $50,000, with money being equally distributed to Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexican Red Cross), Un Kilo de Ayuda (a nonprofit combating childhood malnutrition and supporting early-childhood development in rural communities) and Fondo Unido México (United Way Mexico).
- Hocevar will also have to complete “cultural-sensitivity” and “bias-awareness” training.
Spire Motorsports also issued a statement on the matter.
“These actions are consistent with Spire Motorsports’ core value of RESPECT, which is something we proudly display on every race car, team uniform, trackside hauler, and digital channel. Respect is not a slogan. It is a daily expectation that we ‘walk the walk’ in how we speak, compete, and serve the communities that welcome our sport.
“Carson Hocevar’s recent comments made during the livestream fell short of that standard. They did not represent the views of Spire Motorsports, our partners, or NASCAR. He has acknowledged his mistake publicly, and his prompt, sincere apology demonstrated personal accountability. We now take this additional step to underscore that words carry weight, and respect must be lived out loud.”
Hocevar also issued an apology on X (formerly Twitter), explaining that his feelings on Mexico City came from things he’d heard from other people, who also likely don’t have first-hand experience there.
“Maybe a kid that had never been out of the country until Thursday should ever give an opinion about what any place is like other than Portage, Michigan,” Hocevar said. “When I answered that question on a stream, I was skeptical about the trip so far and believed everything I read or heard about Mexico City from people who more than likely also had never been here. Now that I’ve actually left my hotel a couple times and raced here in front of some of the most passionate fans I’ve ever seen, my opinion has changed. I am embarrassed by my comments, by the race I ran, and I may have to move here to hide out from Ricky anyway.”
Indeed, it was an eventful weekend in Mexico for Hocevar. In addition to the comments he made, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also yelled at Hocevar and said (per Jordan Bianchi, The Athletic) that he would “beat his ass once we got back in the States.”