Harvick Brands Hocevar's Martinsville Brake-Checks the 'Dirtiest of Dirty Tricks'

The fallout from Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway intensified on Tuesday, with former champion Kevin Harvick delivering a blunt verdict on Carson Hocevar's driving. Harvick called Hocevar's repeated brake-checks on Austin Cindric the "dirtiest of dirty tricks" on his podcast, after the sustained contact damaged Cindric's No. 2 Ford and forced him out of the race just over 200 laps into the 500-lap event. Video from the live feed appeared to show Hocevar repeatedly braking while Cindric followed closely behind, and reports later cited telemetry showing brake pressure spikes exceeding 1,000 pounds. Cindric finished 36th, while Hocevar crossed the line in 21st. NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Burton and Dale Jarrett also questioned Hocevar's explanation during NBC's race coverage, and as of Tuesday NASCAR had not announced a formal penalty. Hocevar himself denied any intent, telling reporters after the race that the short-track bumping was simply Martinsville. "I got fully throttled here in the spring, and I just think that's just Martinsville," he said, adding that he and Cindric had raced each other well. The incident comes after NASCAR adjusted its short-track package earlier in the season by softening front bumpers to reduce the impact of repeated contact. With the season finale at Homestead-Miami approaching, race control's access to both cars' data means an official verdict, if one comes, will carry the final word on a controversy that has dominated the week.