“I’m not sure if the race was produced by Michael Bay”: Carson Hocevar takes a cheeky dig at NASCAR after controversial Atlanta caution 

Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar took a humorous jab at NASCAR throwing the caution on the final lap of Sunday's Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta. The driver of the #77 Chevrolet finished a career-best second behind race winner Christopher Bell.

Racing insider Jeff Gluck often posts a poll to X after every Cup Series event, asking his followers whether or not they thought it was a good race. Yesterday's race at Atlanta was no exception as the insider wrote:

"Was Atlanta a good race?"

This sparked a joking response from Hocevar who said he enjoyed all but the last half-mile of Sunday's 400-mile event. The 22-year-old compared the finish to a Michael Bay movie, in reference to the race suddenly ending due to the caution. In response to Gluck, Hocevar added a humorous edited video of the Atlanta finish ending like a Michael Bay movie and wrote:

"hi jeff, i enjoyed all 399.5 miles! although i am not sure if the race was produced by Michael Bay or not, but i would prefer to not have the finish cut off so abruptly next time. hopefully the criticism is met with some adjustment in the future. see video attached. thanks"

Bell and Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson ran side-by-side down the backstretch on the final lap of Sunday's race. With a full head of steam, Hocevar shot through the middle in his #77 car as it became a three-wide battle for the win as they entered turn three. However, the caution was thrown after there was a wreck behind them, which ultimately gave the win to Bell.

It was Bell's 10th career Cup Series win and first on a drafting track. For Hocevar, it was his second career top five as he earned his first top-five effort last year at Watkins Glen.

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Carson Hocevar "thankful" to have chance to win despite coming up short to Christopher Bell

Carson Hocevar wasn't pleased by NASCAR's decision to throw the caution on the final lap of Sunday's Cup Series race at Atlanta. Despite falling short to Christopher Bell for the win, the #77 driver expressed gratitude for having the chance at a victory.

Hocevar took to Instagram after the race to acknowledge how close he was to his first Cup Series win. However, he made it a point that he was glad to be in the position that he was, writing:

"p2. so damn close. thankful to have a shot."

The 2025 Cup Series season is Hocevar's second campaign with Spire Motorsports. Last season, Hocevar recorded a best finish of third at Watkins Glen en route to winning Rookie of the Year at season's end.

Prior to Cup, Hocevar found success in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. He has four wins on the circuit with the last one coming in 2023 at Homestead.