The Cup Series went south of the U.S. border last weekend, visiting Mexico City for its inaugural international points race. Most drivers stayed diplomatic on the matter. But Carson Hocevar? Not so much. Hocevar, who drives the No. 77 NASCAR Chevy for Spire Motorsports, let loose on Mexico during a livestream – and received a hefty fine for mouthing off, courtesy of his own team.
Hocevar often streams on Twitch during his virtual racing endeavors. He’s a fixture of the iRacing community and is quite candid while on the mic during his sessions, and that’s exactly what landed him in the hot seat with his NASCAR Chevy team. Hocevar called Mexico City a “s**thole” while livestreaming on Twitch, raising some eyebrows.
“If the travel was better, if getting here was easier, if you felt safer getting to and from everywhere, if it wasn’t such a sh**hole… or feel so locked down like you can’t leave anywhere, it’d be a great experience,” Hocevar said of Mexico City.
Spire Motorsports didn’t much care for its driver’s comments. On June 17th, 2025 the team cracked down on Hocevar, issuing a $50,000 fine. But the team isn’t keeping that money. It’ll be evenly distributed to three Mexican nonprofits: Cruz Roja Mexicana, the Mexican Red Cross; Un Kilo de Ayuda, a nonprofit dedicated to providing food and support to children in rural communities; and Fondo Unido México (United Way Mexico), which funds local organizations that improve education, health, and housing across Mexico.
On top of the fine, Hocevar will be required to attend mandatory cultural sensitivity and bias-awareness training. To his credit, he already penned an apology for his comments, saying, “Maybe a kid that had never been out of the country until Thursday should ever give an opinion about what any place is like other than Portage, Michigan.”
Maybe a kid that had never been out of the country until Thursday should ever give an opinion about what any place is like other than Portage, Michigan.
When I answered that question on a stream, I was skeptical about the trip so far and believed everything I read or heard…
— Carson Hocevar (@CarsonHocevar) June 16, 2025
It’s pretty rare that a team will fine its own driver, but Hocevar should consider himself lucky – Kyle Larson was cut loose from his team in the middle of the 2020 season for making a racist comment on an iRacing livestream.
Comments
$50,000 for stating facts? Welcome to the madhouse.
Having been to Mexico City several times for work, I think Carson really is a sheltered kid. Yeah it’s not like walking out of your hotel in Grand Rapids or Brainerd, but you’re also in a completely different country with a different economy and standard of living. I prefer Mexico City to places like Chihuahua or Juarez, especially from a safety and health standard.
Are the private resorts better? Of course, but that’s not where the races take place. F1 guys come here and travel around the world and don’t say such ignorant statements, why can’t NASCAR guys do the same? Maybe they’re just sheltered little southern boys? Get some culture for f#cks sake.
“You can’t handle the truth!”
I’ll second every one of his sentiments. Facts are facts.
There are not armed military in Grand Rapids
I’ve been to Mexico City multiple times, and there are attractive areas like the Zona Rosa, some beautiful city parks, historical museums, and classy high-end hotels. But there are also millions of people there who live in abject poverty. It is, after all, one of the largest cities in the world, and the difference between the “haves” and “have-nots” is even more pronounced than in cities like New York and Los Angeles. (Not to mention the ongoing presence of the armed “Federales” – Federal/National police force)
Little kid with a big mouth. Has he joined a militia yet?
Cute. Do you watch anything but CCN?
My friend has spent several 6 month stretches at Ramos Aripe- he said the avg was 50$ a week bribe a cop-for starters lol sometimes 100, usually 20 depending maybe the cops pay week:)