The Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2025 is turning into a playoff nail-biter, but for Austin Cindric, it turned into a nightmare that crushed his title dreams. On Lap 33, as the field barreled toward the frontstretch chicane, Carson Hocevar locked up his brakes and plowed into Cindric’s No. 2 Ford Mustang.
The hit sent Cindric spinning, mangling his car and forcing a garage trip. Over the radio, Cindric’s voice was all business: “Toe link is fine, we’ve got two bent control arms. Gotta go to the garage.” It was a devastating blow, ending his day early and slamming the door on his championship run.
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Hocevar’s aggressive style has been a season-long headache, and this was no exception. Earlier at Kansas Speedway’s Hollywood Casino 400, he earned a $50,000 fine for revving his engine and spinning tires while safety crews worked on his car, a move that endangered everyone around.
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It’s the kind of antics that have got the garage grumbling, and at the Roval, Hocevar’s brake lock-up turned a routine battle into a championship killer for Cindric. The track’s hybrid layout, twisty road sections feeding into oval banking, has always been a powder keg, with slick conditions and tire fall-off turning it into an “ice rink,” as drivers called it.