Jamie McMurray feels Carson Hocevar does not have his priorities in order

Former NASCAR Cup driver Jamie McMurray has reacted to Carson Hocevar’s actions after the Darlington Raceway race last Sunday.

Hocevar started the Southern 500 from 34th in Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chevrolet and finished 11th after clashing with Brad Keselowski during the opening stage. The 23-year-old was not concerned when asked about the incident post-race and denied intentionally spinning Keselowski. He also added a 6% discount to his merchandise store for six hours, as a reference to Keselowski’s No. 6 car after the incident.

During an appearance on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, McMurray raised concerns about Hocevar’s misplaced priorities.

“I feel like with Carson, it’s almost like he has bought into this ‘How do I sell t-shirts?’ And that’s become more important versus the respect of the people that are around you,” he said (49:00 onwards).

“I think it’s a terrible path to go down. But that’s the path he has chosen to go down. And it’s hard to watch.”

McMurray also reacted to Hocevar saying he does things “for the clicks” and said:

“I don’t buy that at all. I think that’s a gimmick as well. He might be selling a lot of t-shirts and I don’t doubt that. And if he did, good for him. But I think that’s just fueling the fire.”

Meanwhile, Sports Business Journal reported that Hocevar’s online store approached $200,000 in sales during the 24 hours after the Southern 500.

“The whole ‘I don’t know’ that has to stop” – Jamie McMurray on Carson Hocevar’s catchphrase

Jamie McMurray also called out Carson Hocevar for using ‘I don’t know’ repeatedly in interviews. He recalled a pre-race show with Hocevar on Turner Sports and said:

“The whole ‘I don’t know’ that has to stop… We all ask him two or three questions and he literally answered every question with ‘I don’t know.’ Like he would lead with that and then kind of laugh.” (52:51)

“Maybe that’s a nervous tic. Maybe that’s like his I’m not sure what to say and so ‘I don’t know.’ But that sticks with every interview. He doesn’t really ever give an answer or a reason.”

Hocevar is sitting 12th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, 89 points behind Denny Hamlin ahead of the World Wide Technology Raceway race this weekend.