NASCAR has issued a fine to Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith for his actions on the cooldown lap at Phoenix Raceway.
Videos by FanBuzz
According to the penalty report, Smith violated NASCAR Rule Book Sections 4.4a & 10.5.2.5a: Penalty Options; Safety Violations by ramming into the rear of Carson Hocevar's No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet after taking the checkered flag. This incurred a $50,000 fine.
Zane Smith was not happy with Hocevar pic.twitter.com/rKfR5Zw5It
— Rubbin is Racing (@rubbinisracing) October 18, 2026
This post-race incident seemingly came in response to earlier contact between the two drivers. Ross Chastain hit Hocevar, which sent Hocevar into Smith. None of the cars wrecked, but Smith later rammed Hocevar.
His team told him over the radio that Chastain was at fault for the earlier incident. Smith responded by saying, "I don't give a (expletive)."
This is not the first incident between the two drivers. Smith seemingly tried to wreck Hocevar at Chicagoland Speedway on July 5. He later told multiple media members that he dislikes Hocevar as a human.
NASCAR held a meeting with the two drivers at Atlanta Motor Speedway the following week and told the drivers that if they can't figure it out, NASCAR would do it for them.
According to the latest episode of Hauler Talk, this fine is NASCAR's way of figuring the situation out for the two drivers.
"Won't go super deep into some of the things we reviewed, but there was video, audio, and data review that did play a part in this," NASCAR's Mike Forde explained.
"But I think P1 in the reasons, why we... number one reason we penalized here, is because we had a discussion with Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar. This happened after Chicagoland, after they had their dust up on the racetrack.
"They called both of them in Atlanta. And we don't typically like talking about what conversations, what we tell those drivers in the hauler, but in this case, I'll give you a little piece of what was said.
"And pretty much the message was this, 'If you guys can't figure it out, we will help you figure it out.' And they couldn't figure it out. So... this is us pretty much helping Zane Smith figure it out a little bit in the form of a $50,000 fine."
According to NASCAR, Smith has the option to appeal this penalty. He will have to pay the appeal fee, which covers travel for the members of the appeals panel.
It is possible that he will do so, considering that NASCAR did not penalize Michael McDowell or Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for their post-race conflict at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Although Forde pointed to the meeting at Atlanta when asked why only one incident justified a fine. McDowell and Stenhouse clashed before their trip to the NASCAR Hauler.
