WATCH: Carson Hocevar and Austin Cindric make contact during Charlotte road course

Carson Hocevar and Austin Cindric made contact during the final road course race of the season at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval. The incident damaged Cindric’s #2 Ford Mustang, breaking a rear toe link and forcing him to the back of the field.

The two came together on lap 33. Carson Hocevar, driving the #77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, locked up approaching turn 16, sending his car straight to the Team Penske driver, who is ahead and already making the corner alongside Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Perhaps Austin Cindric took the hardest hit from the incident—not just from the damage to his car, but also because he's on the verge of elimination from the playoffs. Entering the race 12th in the standings and 48 points below the cutline (along with Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, and Bubba Wallace), he was essentially in a must-win situation.

Here's a look at the onboards of the #2 and #77 when they made contact at Charlotte.

“Another look at the contact between the #2 and 77,” NASCAR wrote.

Austin Cindric made the playoffs after winning at Talladega Superspeedway. He took the checkered flag after battling Ryan Preece while getting a push from Kyle Larson on the bottom lane.

Carson Hocevar, meanwhile, didn't qualify for the playoffs, though he got close at Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this year. He was in a three-wide in the middle alongside Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell when the caution came out on the final lap, giving Bell the win.

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“That's on me”: Carson Hocevar on $50,000 fine at Kansas

Last week, Carson Hocevar was fined $50,000 for spinning his tires while safety personnel were attending to his car—a violation NASCAR classified as a behavioral infraction. While Hocevar understood the penalty, he explained that he was only trying to put the car into neutral to make it easier for the tow truck to pull him back to the pits.

In a pre-race interview at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the sophomore NASCAR driver said (via Bob Pockrass on X):

“Obviously, like, there is a tow truck in front of me not going anywhere. I was trying to go places earlier. You know, the tires are off the ground, and they just spin. But they judge off of actions in visibility, and not intent, right? So, like, I had tires spun black and white. Yeah, next time I might have them rock the car to throw me in neutral. That's on me.” “I was not sitting there in third gear doing a burnout... really thinking about it, but you know, the tire spinning or knowing I respond to educational for me. It's expensive too, but it's education for our guys too.”

He concluded by saying:

“The video makes perfect sense. They don't know everything [...] They can't know the plan and story of everything and judge everything by that. Sometimes, they just have to call it how they see it. I think that's fair for everybody.”

Carson Hocevar ultimately finished 29th after starting sixth. Chase Elliott, meanwhile, claimed the win at Kansas to secure his spot in the Round of 8, with Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Bubba Wallace rounding out the top five.

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Edited by Zarec Sanchez