A pair of NASCAR Cup Series competitors have been fined and docked points as part of NASCAR’s penalty report from this past weekend’s triple-header weekend festivities at Martinsville Speedway.
Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry, has been fined $100,000 and penalized 25 points in the driver’s standings. Hocevar’s fine and docked points are due to the Portage, Michigan, native violating Sections 4.4a of the NASCAR Rule Book (Actions detrimental to stock car racing) and NASCAR’s Code of Conduct policy on multiple occasions.
During this past Sunday’s Cup event at Martinsville, Hocevar was seen brake-checking Austin Cindric on multiple occasions on the track, with the SMT data by NASCAR providing visual proof of Hocevar’s actions. The incidents damaged the front nose of Austin Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry and prevented him for further competition as he ended up in 36th place of the 37-car field while Hocevar, who spun earlier, finished in 21st place.
Hours prior to NASCAR’s penalty report from Martinsville, Spire Motorsports took action by suspending Hocevar from competing in this upcoming weekend’s Cup finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway as Justin Haley will drive the No. 77 Chevrolet entry. Hocevar’s 25-point penalty drops him from 12th to 13th in the 2026 Chase standings and concludes his 2026 Cup Series season a race early prior to the overall season’s conclusion.
Like Hocevar, Josh Berry, the latter of whom drives the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry, has been docked 25 driver’s points for violating Sections 4.4a from the NASCAR Rule Book, though his fine was $50,000. Berry was penalized for brake-checking Ryan Blaney on Lap 252 that resulted with Blaney sustaining front nose damage, spinning through the first two turns, nursing his damaged entry behind the wall and settling in 35th place while Berry proceeded to finish in fourth place.
Prior to the Martinsville penalty, Berry was ranked in 21st place in the 2026 standings. After the penalty, he dropped a spot to 22nd place. The Hendersonville, Tennessee, native is scored 37 points behind the top-20 mark and he enters this upcoming weekend’s Cup Series finale at Homestead set to make his final start with Wood Brothers Racing before he transitions to Legacy Motor Club for the 2027 season.
As part of the penalty report, James Price and Samuel Wright, pit crew/team members of the No. 60 Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse team piloted by Ryan Preece, have been suspended from the next two Cup Series events due to violating Sections 8.8.10.4 A&D from the NASCAR Rule Book that highlights Tires and Wheels Safety Violations (Loss/separation of an improperly installed tire/wheel from the vehicle during the event). Preece was racing in fourth place on Lap 224 when his entry spun and had the right-rear wheel detached through the first two turns, thus resulting with the Berlin, Connecticut, native ending up in 23rd place. Price and Wright’s two-race suspensions includes the 2027 Clash at Daytona International Speedway in early February.
No additional penalties were levied towards the remaining Cup Series teams nor towards any Craftsman Truck and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series division teams.
The 2026 season for the NASCAR Truck, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series divisions cap off this upcoming weekend between November 6-8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, where champions between each series will be crowned at their respective conclusion of finales.
