TRENDING First CFP rankings NFL execs talk trades What MLB's labor proposal means Week 9 Waiver Wire NFL Power Rankings Story by Story by Carson Hocevar Needs a Waiver to Stay in the Chase, and NASCAR Expects to Grant It Andrew Ravens · MotorBiscuit Wed, November 4, 2026 at 6:45 PM UTC · 2 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carson Hocevar needs a NASCAR waiver to stay in the Chase standings after Spire Motorsports suspended him for Sunday's finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Spire suspended Hocevar for the finale on Tuesday after he repeatedly brake-checked Austin Cindric at Martinsville. NASCAR fined him $100,000 and docked him 25 points later that day.
Drivers have to attempt every race to stay eligible for the Chase standings. NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer said that rule still applies, even though Spire made the call.
"I'm sure the team will submit for a waiver, and we'll go through that process," Sawyer said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio . "We don't see any reason on our side that we wouldn't grant them a waiver."
Sawyer said the waiver would keep Hocevar in the standings with the 25-point penalty applied. Where he ends up will depend on how the drivers around him run on Sunday.
"And then, depending on the results from Sunday's race, he would fall in line. He could stay where he is today, or he could fall back depending on others' performance," Sawyer said.
Hocevar was 12th in the standings after Martinsville , 210 points behind leader Kyle Larson . The penalty drops him to 13th, 235 back, behind Bubba Wallace and ahead of Ryan Preece.
Sawyer said the waiver rule was mainly written with injured drivers in mind. NASCAR has had to look at it again under this year's new Chase format.
"It's clearly written that you have to attempt to run all the races. This is one that is a self-imposed suspension more by the race team, but we look at it the same way as if we had imposed the suspension as well," Sawyer said.
"Missing the race is a pretty big deterrent when you're racing to determine a champion by accumulating points," he added.
Under the old playoff format, a win could lock a driver into the postseason, so missing a race mattered less. The new 10-race Chase uses total points, with no eliminations.
"In our format in years past, it was more you win and you're in, so you could miss races," Sawyer said.
Justin Haley will drive Spire's No. 77 Chevrolet at Homestead. Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson said in the team's statement, "We believe in respect. Our integrity matters."
NASCAR also fined Josh Berry $50,000 and docked him 25 points over an alleged brake check on Ryan Blaney in the same race.
The 23-year-old came up through late model racing in Michigan before reaching Cup. He will watch Sunday's finale from the sidelines while Larson, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin decide the title.
Source: Sports
