Dale Earnhardt Jr. Blames Carson Hocevar Over Wild Multi-Car Stage Two Wreck at Michigan

The NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan witnessed some wild moments, including the muti-car wreck on stage that collected the likes of Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon. While the JGR drivers escaped without any major consequences and went onto win the race, the RCR driver suffered significant damage that ruined his race.

Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar was the drivers that made the questionable move that caused the wreck. The No:77 Chevy made contact with teammate John Hunter Nemechek, spinning him out, after the drivers ahead of him in the inside lane got packed up on the stage tow restart. The young racer was quick to defend himself highlighting that point on team radio.

I kind of just was like, ‘Oh sh*t,’… I thought somebody missed a shift.

Carson Hocevar on team radio.

Denny Hamlin had a good view of that restart:

"Man, Carson, whew… he gets so f*cking excited and just can't help it."

— Eric Estepp (@EricEstepp17) June 7, 2026

Analyzing the incident on the Prime Video broadcast, Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. put the blame on the young racer for the incident. He pointed out that Carson Hocevar knew he was going to spin out that car that was ahead of him when he made contact with the car ahead of him while trying to change lanes and asserted that he doesn’t have any good excuse to defend himself.

There's a stack-up on the restart, and multiple cars are collected! pic.twitter.com/PWfgiYKVMk

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 7, 2026

He’s moving left to go three-wide, but he does know he’s about to make contact with that car in front of him. And he also knows, with the experience in these cars, that if he turns left while he makes that contact it’s absolutely going to turn the car in front of him. I don’t know that Hocevar can escape the disappointment that a lot of drivers are going to have here.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said via Amazon Prime broadcast.

Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon blames Carson Hocevar as well

JGR veteran Denny Hamlin was spun out owing to the chaos started by Carson Hocevar immediately called out the racer via his radio for the incident. He highlighted how the young racers haven’t yet learned how to control his impulses to pass cars on the track, even when there isn’t an opening for him to take.

Man, Carson, whew… He gets so f*cking excited and just can’t help it.

Denny Hamlin said on team radio.

Talking to the media after DNF-ing alongside Tyler Reddick because of the multi-car wreck, Austin Dillon was furious at Carson Hocevar. He called out the young racer, highlighting how the Chevy drivers need to learn to control himself.

Super unfortunate. I’ve seen one replay, but what I saw, I looked like the 77 (Carson Hocevar) got in the 42 (John Hunter Nemechek) and turned him. …I hope at some point he figures it out. But I’m not going to show anything to him for a long time. I’m mad because we had a fast race car. It su**s. We almost got through it.

Austin Dillon told Amazon Prime.

The comment from the veteran drivers shows they respect the pace of the young driver but has issue with him being aggressive instead of taking advantage of his skill. It would be interesting to see if Hocevar would listen to the voices of the veteran and makes changes to his driving style.

Also Read: “We love you, KB!” Denny Hamlin Honors Kyle Busch After Milestone Win at Michigan