NASCAR fined Zane Smith $50,000 for ramming Carson Hocevar’s car after the Phoenix checkered flag at Sunday’s Freeway Insurance 500, Heavy.com‘s NASCAR correspondent John Breeden reported Tuesday. But that wasn’t the end of the story, as the punishment drew sharp and sometimes puzzled responses across the NASCAR world.
“Following the checkered flag of Sunday’s race, Smith rammed into the back of Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet, expressing displeasure for previous on-track contact during the race,” Breeden reported.
A week earlier, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. traded bumps on a Charlotte cool-down lap that ended with a spin, and the fact that neither McDowell or Stenhouse drew any discipline for the incident was noted by NASCAR fans and commentators alike. The contrast came down to the fact that Smith had previously been warned about his on-track actions by NASCAR officials, but committed the offense on Sunday anyway.
“Pretty much the message was this: if you guys can’t figure it out, we will help you figure it out, and they couldn’t figure it out. So, this is us pretty much helping Zane Smith figure it out in the form of a $50,000 fine,” NASCAR’s Mike Forde said on the “Hauler Talk” podcast, as quoted by NASCAR.com.
But McDowell, who was involved in the earlier incident without receiving a fine, was even more blunt in his comments, which he posted Tuesday to his social media channels.
“How about we use our brains here and realize that rubbing doors in first gear at 40 mph is different than smashing someone at 130 mph. The fact that this has to be explained is mind-blowing to me,” McDowell wrote Tuesday.
Front Row Motorsports Driver Zane Smith’s $50,000 Fine
McDowell’s No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet took the first hit from Stenhouse on the Oct. 11 Charlotte Motor Speedway cool-down lap, and McDowell’s retaliating bumps sent Stenhouse spinning, according to NASCAR.com.
The incident stood in contrast to Sunday’s more violent Smith-Hocevar ramming.
Smith accelerated into the rear bumper of Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet after the Freeway Insurance 500 finish and followed him toward pit road. He had been caught up in Lap 296 contact, when Ross Chastain tagged Hocevar and sent him into Smith’s No. 38 Ford.
The two drivers share a history. Smith appeared to intentionally wreck Hocevar at Chicagoland Speedway on July 5, and NASCAR summoned both to the hauler at EchoPark Speedway a week later, according to RACER reporter Kelly Crandall.
“Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar have had previous run-ins, and NASCAR told them earlier this year to figure it out or they would get involved. Tuesday, NASCAR did just that with a fine for Smith, who ran into Hocevar after Sunday’s race,” RACER‘s Crandall wrote on Tuesday.
“I think that the hauler chats, the hauler talks that they get called to, are sort of the modern-day equivalent of the probation. So, essentially, I think NASCAR is viewing it as, ‘Hey, we warned them. Zane Smith did something else, and that crossed the line,'” The Athletic‘s Jeff Gluck added in an online video commentary.
Gluck, who said he spoke with NASCAR about the decision, added that Smith caught up to Hocevar and rammed him, with Denny Hamlin saying on the Actions Detrimental podcast that data showed Smith may have hit 120 mph.
Zane Smith’s Career And Disciplinary Record
Smith, 27, drives the No. 38 Ford for Front Row Motorsports and won the 2022 Truck Series championship with the team, according to NASCAR.com. He owns nine Truck wins and finished second in ARCA points in 2018, but has no Cup victories and sits 26th in the standings.
He was relegated to last after a second-place Truck finish at Las Vegas in 2022 for a lug nut violation, according to NASCAR.com‘s appeals panel report. NASCAR ejected his car chief at Phoenix in March, according to NASCAR.com‘s March report. In 2018, he rammed ARCA rival Michael Self after a Salem Speedway clash, according to Frontstretch.
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