“Stenhouse is gonna wipe his a** out”: Kevin Harvick warns Carson Hocevar for lacking ‘common sense’ a day after on-track Mexico antics

Kevin Harvick didn't hold back on his Happy Hour podcast after Carson Hocevar's latest run-in with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the Viva Mexico 250. The 2014 NASCAR champion warned the young driver that continued reckless moves, especially the ones as unnecessary as in Mexico, would catch up with Hocevar sooner or later.

The warning came a day after a heated post-race clash in Mexico City, where Hocevar turned Stenhouse in the final stage of the race. It was the second such incident between the pair in three weeks. The contact also sparked a pit-road confrontation, leaving the racing world divided on whether Hocevar's aggression had gone too far.

Harvick bluntly addressed the escalating feud on the Kevin Harvick Happy Hour podcast and said:

"I think Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) finally had enough. (Carson) Hocevar was a lap down and that's really the part that Carson has to get better at. He has to have some common sense about the scenarios that he's dealing with because it's going to be a day when he's leading the race and he's coming to lap Stenhouse and Stenhouse is going to wipe his a** out. And that’s how these things work, especially when you get to the point of having two or three of them." (16:36 onwards)

The Mexico City incident unfolded on Lap 90 as Carson Hocevar was heading into the stadium section of Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The No. 77 driver, already a lap down, clipped Stenhouse Jr. from behind, spinning him into the sidetracks on Turn 13.

It was deja vu for Stenhouse Jr., who had warned Hocevar after a similar crash at Nashville Superspeedway just two weeks earlier. True to his word, the No. 47 driver stormed to Hocevar's parked car after the race and leaned into his window, shouting:

"I'm gonna beat your a**. You are a lap down, you've got nothing to do. Why'd you run right into me for the second time... I'll beat your a**. I'll when we get back in the States."

Carson Hocevar's Nashville contact had already tested Stenhouse's patience, and after Mexico, the veteran felt justified in escalating the issue. Though talented, he has already developed a reputation for rash moves in the Cup garage.

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Carson Hocevar's messy Mexico weekend ends in a bruised ego and body

Bubba Wallace (L) and Carson Hocevar during the NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 pre-race ceremonies. Source: Getty

Carson Hocevar's Mexico weekend started with a stumble. The Spire Motorsports driver slipped and injured his ankle before the race, and was seen limping out of his car post-race. Despite qualifying 23rd, the 2024 NASCAR Rookie of the Year showed a decent pace early on.

He ran inside the top 15 and scored valuable stage points, 7th in Stage 1 and 9th in Stage 2. But a long green-flag run and fading tires saw him drop into the 30s by the final segment. He had already spun out in the stadium section once, and that's when the Lap 90 incident took place.

"I didn't really hear him, but, I know he was very mad and I was very apologetic... obviously number one, not somebody I would never want to hit again. But number two, I wasn't racing anything... I just hit a curb wrong and got in the marbles and slid all the way through the corner. So, I tried to turn left and avoid him, but just really, really sloppy day by me," Hocevar explained post-race.

Stenhouse, meanwhile, started 33rd and struggled with grip and track position throughout the race, unable to crack the midfield. He ultimately finished 27th as Hocevar limped home a lap down in 34th.

While the weekend had already been rough for Hocevar, the Mexico race arguably made him one of its biggest losers, not just on paper, but in reputation. Now, with tensions reaching a boiling point and a potential reckoning looming at Pocono, Carson Hocevar's season risks being defined more by incidents than racing.

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Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar