NASCAR has made the decision to penalize Zane Smith, fining the Front Row Motorsports driver $50,000 for slamming into Carson Hocevar after last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway.
Smith was frustrated after a run-in with Hocevar cost him a potential top ten in the final 15 laps of the race. Hocevar, after getting a bump from Ross Chastain, skated up the track into Turn 3 and collided with both Smith and Josh Berry.
Chastain went on to finish ninth, Hocevar 12th, and Smith slid back to 15th in the final running order. He was furious and throttled up after the checkered flag, chasing down Hocevar and slamming into the back of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet with speeds approaching 140mph. Hocevar was going roughly 30mph slower at the moment of impact.
NASCAR cited Sections 4.4a & 10.5.2.5a of the Rule Book, classifying it as a safety violation. There was no points penalty, only a monetary fine.
The No. 38 team came over the radio to Smith, letting him know that Chastain instigated the earlier incident, but he did not care. Smith and Hocevar have a well-documented history of run-ins and bitterness, with Smith intentionally wrecking Hocevar (and himself) at Chicagoland this year.
NASCAR actually brought Smith and Hocevar to the hauler for a chat after their Chicagoland clash in July, which likely played a factor in NASCAR’s decision to drop the hammer here as well.
Of note, there was a post-race run-in one week ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with Michael McDowell actually spinning Ricky Stenhouse Jr. around after the two slammed doors. NASCAR did not choose to issue any penalties for that incident, but that was at much lower speeds.
Similar cool-down lap incidents that have resulted in penalties include a 2024 situation where Bubba Wallace was penalized after running into Alex Bowman at the Chicago Street Course, and Daniel Suarez after COTA 2023 for running into Chastain and Bowman as they entered the pits.
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