Layne Riggs took advantage of a late-race penalty to Carson Hocevar and won Friday’s MillerTech Battery 200 at Pocono Raceway. Riggs, driving the No. 34 truck for Front Row Motorsports, led the final 20 laps to earn his first win of the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.
The victory came after a controversial restart involving Hocevar, who was penalized for jumping the lead position.
Layne Riggs Takes His First Truck Series Win of the Season Amid Late Restart Controversy
The 200-mile race changed with 19 laps to go when Corey Heim, who was leading, had a flat tire and pulled off the track. That made Riggs the new control truck for the restart. But Hocevar, a full-time Cup Series driver running part-time in Trucks, moved his No. 7 Spire Motorsports entry ahead of Riggs just as the green flag waved.
NASCAR quickly put the restart under review and later penalized Hocevar with a ‘stop-and-go’ penalty for taking the lead when he wasn’t supposed to. That handed the top spot back to Riggs, who never looked back.
He pulled away from the field and finished 3.64 seconds ahead of second-place Tanner Gray. The win was Riggs’ third career victory in the series and first of the 2025 season, and capped a strong weekend that also saw him score his first career Truck Series pole. Dustin Long of NBC Sports posted the race results on X.
#NASCAR … Results of Pocono Truck race pic.twitter.com/fvCfDjEkHD
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) June 21, 2025
Hocevar was furious over the ruling. On the team radio, he called the penalty “a joke” and made sarcastic comments about Truck Series Managing Director Seth Kramlich.
.@CarsonHocevar was not happy with the @NASCAR_Trucks Series on Friday at @PoconoRaceway after being called for a restart violation. pic.twitter.com/7vkerPUyId
— Kyle Dalton (@kdsportswriter) June 21, 2025
His spotter echoed his frustration, saying, “Yes, sir, series is becoming a joke.” After serving his penalty, Hocevar eventually crossed the finish line in 13th. Well, it all looks like the aftermath of the recent controversy.
Carson Hocevar Fined $50,000 for Expletive Remark About Mexico City
Just days before his penalty in the Truck Series race at Pocono, Hocevar was fined $50,000 by his own Cup Series team, Spire Motorsports, over offensive comments about Mexico City during a live stream.
The fine was announced on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, after Hocevar criticized the city while streaming on Twitch during NASCAR’s race weekend at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. The June 15 race marked NASCAR’s first points-paying Cup Series event outside the United States since 1958. Last time, it was the 1958 Jim Mideon 500 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Hocevar’s remarks caused backlash. During the stream, he described Mexico City as a “s***hole” and complained about travel, safety, and the race environment. His comments were widely condemned as disrespectful and inappropriate.
Spire Motorsports responded by issuing the $50,000 fine. The team said the money would be donated to three Mexican charities: Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexican Red Cross), Un Kilo de Ayuda, and Fondo Unido México (United Way Mexico). The team also said Hocevar must complete cultural-sensitivity and bias-awareness training.
Hocevar later apologized in a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying his opinion had changed after visiting the city. He admitted that what he said was wrong and expressed regret.
Whoa everybody, the truth is the truth. I said something that not only was wrong, I said it without even laying my own two eyes on CDMX or turning one lap in an actual race at an amazing facility that welcomed me with open arms and I go and say that? Thank you for the support… https://t.co/yYUITkEoOV
— Carson Hocevar (@CarsonHocevar) June 18, 2025
The 22-year-old driver currently sits 20th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings with 313 points. He will be back on track for Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway.
