NASCAR driver Carson Hocevar, who pilots the number 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, was fined $50,000, not by NASCAR but by his own team, Spire Motorsports. The fine is for comments made by the driver during an iRacing livestream on Twitch prior to racing their first NASCAR race in Mexico City at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The stream has since been removed, so nobody at Absolute Zero Motorsport has been able to view it, but from what we've read Hocevar referred to Mexico as a "sh##hole". Honestly, before I read exactly what he had said, knowing this was about comments made by the driver about Mexico, I suspected that it was exactly what it turned out to have been.
I expect many will argue that Hocevar has freedom of speech and that his comment was made in his own personal spare time rather than while on the clock for his team, and on one hand I do agree with that. However, simultaneously on the other hand, I also understand that Carson Hocevar is not Spire Motorsports, does not own Spire Motorsports, and is only one of many people on the team, and as a member of the team his actions affect the public perception of the team and everyone that works for the team. How do the fans feel about his behavior? How do the sponsors feel about it? How do the sponsors feel about how the fans feel about it? A negative off-hand comment could have far-reaching consequences for the team, not least of which can include a financial effect. The team personally fining their own driver sends the sponsors and fans a clear message that Hocevar's words in no way reflect the views of the rest of the team.
In addition to the fine, Spire Motorsports is also requiring Hocevar to undergo cultural sensitivity training and bias awareness training. The $50,000 fine will be donated to three Mexican charities.
There are many people that feel adults should be able to say whatever they want and to be as vulgar as they want, and if someone has a problem with it they should grow up. This assumes that being rude, vulgar, and disgusting is in fact part of adulthood. My kids could do all that before they even started school. They could out-cuss adults when they were five. Some of us don't see unhinged tantrums as maturity, but rather see courtesy and respect as adult qualities.
Carson did issue an apology on X 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." He went on to explain, "When I answered that question on a stream, I was skeptical about the trip so far and believed everything I read or heard about Mexico City from people who more than likely also had never been here. Now that I've actually left my hotel a couple times and raced here in front of some of the most passionate fans I've ever seen, my opinion has changed. I am embarrassed by my comments, by the race I ran."
So, summarizing his explanation, he made the mistake of judging a country and people he's never seen before based entirely on negative portrayal by certain demographics. He is not alone in his guilt, as such biases are universal to at least some degree, and it's certainly a major problem with a significant percentage of Americans. We at AZM have no interest in getting political and we will not do it here and now, but the undeniable fact regardless of one's political ideologies is that there are millions of Americans that embrace ethnic and cultural differences and then millions that are quite the opposite. There has been no shortage of disparaging comments and portrayals of Mexico and its people in recent years, which have been spread by people that lack their own personal experience with either.
We at Absolute Zero Motorsport are glad that Hocevar accepted personal responsibility, apologized, and has expressed positive views since having actually been to Mexico. Perhaps it's because he's had little choice but we can hope he's genuinely learned from this experience and sincerely came out the other side as a bigger and better man.
