Zilisch Calls Hocevar and Berry 'Pretty Cheap' Over Martinsville Brake-Checks

Connor Zilisch has said what a lot of the garage was thinking. The Cup Series rookie told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that Carson Hocevar and Josh Berry were “pretty cheap” to brake-check rivals at Martinsville, and that refusing to own it afterwards made it worse. The criticism lands days after NASCAR fined both drivers and Spire suspended Hocevar for the season finale, and it turns a penalties story into a standards story: not just what happened on track, but how two drivers talked about it after.

What did Zilisch actually say?

He called out the driving and the interviews in the same breath. In his weekly spot on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Zilisch said: “I feel like it’s pretty cheap to do what those guys did. And especially not owning up to it in post-race interviews. And none of it looked very good on their part.” The line travelled because it was not a rival settling a score. Zilisch is a rookie in his first full Cup season, and he framed it as a paddock problem rather than a personal one: “We all knew that it was an opportunity to ruin somebody’s day. But that and actually doing something is much different.” He added that he was surprised anyone took it that far: “It was pretty crazy to see all that stuff happen. I didn’t expect it to become a reality like it did. You don’t want to see that stuff happen.”

What happened at Martinsville?

Two incidents in the same race, both in Stage 2 of the Xfinity 500. Hocevar repeatedly brake-checked Austin Cindric on the straightaways, damaging the front of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford and ending Cindric’s race in 36th. Later, Berry hit the brakes in front of Ryan Blaney after light contact exiting Turn 4, and Blaney spun and finished 35th. Both cars ended up behind the wall. The pattern is what separated these incidents from ordinary short-track contact: repeated slowing on the straight, in front of a car that had nowhere to go, rather than a single bump in a corner. That is also why NASCAR’s investigation leaned on SMT data and radio audio before announcing the penalties, Heavy reports.

Why does the soft bumper matter?

Because the garage saw this coming and talked about it before it happened. NASCAR installed softened front-bumper structures on short tracks in June, and Zilisch said the change forced him to drive Martinsville differently: “Yeah, I mean, I definitely put more emphasis on stack-ups and making sure that I had space and was aware of when guys would get down the lane to stack, and you have to be ready to check up.” The same change created the opening. “But yeah, it also was used as a weapon,” Zilisch said. “You had to watch out and certainly do your best to keep your nose clean because you didn’t want to end your day with something silly.” EssentiallySports adds two details that fill out the picture: the revised design removed the Y-brackets and high-density foam from the front of the cars, and Zilisch traced the tactic back to his childhood in go-karts, where at 11 he saw competitors brake-check others to make them hit bumpers and draw penalties. He said he had rarely used it since switching to full-size cars. The bumper change is now part of the story in its own right, which is why NASCAR’s brake changes at Phoenix are being watched as closely as the drivers.

What did Hocevar and Berry say afterwards?

Two different defences, and Zilisch’s complaint covers both. Hocevar dismissed the Cindric clash as part of racing at Martinsville, saying “Sometimes you’re getting it. Sometimes you’re causing it,” and adding that he had fun, On3 reports. Berry denied brake-checking Blaney on purpose and said he was trying to save his car, while Blaney accused him of doing it deliberately. Cindric, who did not speak to reporters afterwards, was furious on the radio while his team dealt with the damage: “NASCAR, what are we doing? Like, we’re just weaponizing cars here.” The contrast with Hocevar’s later statement is sharp. After Spire suspended him, he called it an embarrassing day and admitted he crossed the line. At the track, in the moment, neither driver gave the paddock the admission Zilisch was waiting for.

What did NASCAR do about it?

It fined both drivers and let the team punishment stand. NASCAR fined Hocevar $100,000 and docked him 25 points, and fined Berry $50,000 with the same 25-point deduction, Heavy reports. Spire had already suspended Hocevar for the Homestead finale, with Justin Haley taking the No. 77, and also suspended a team member for the finale. The fine gap tracks the repetition: Hocevar’s braking was repeated, Berry’s was a single incident. NASCAR later granted Spire’s waiver request, so Hocevar keeps the points he earned through Martinsville despite missing the finale, as covered in the Spire suspension story. The waiver is the quiet half of the punishment. It protects his final ranking and his share of the year-end points fund, which is why the suspension still stings as a missed finale rather than a lost season.

Why does Zilisch think NASCAR was right to step in?

Because the line between hard racing and deliberate damage was crossed in the open. “I think this one was blatant enough that you have to try and police it,” Zilisch said. “I think that the sanctioning body is right to step in in this situation. And, you know, when it’s on purpose and you’re not trying to hide it, I feel like that’s beyond the limits of self-policing.” That last phrase is the interesting one. NASCAR’s garage has a long tradition of letting drivers settle things themselves, and Zilisch is saying this incident falls outside it. His other line makes the same point from the driver’s side: “You can get frustrated, and things can happen. I get it. But you’ve got to be able to control your emotions and not let stuff like that frustrate you to the point where you’re going to do that to somebody.” Frustration is part of short-track racing, he is saying. Using the car as a weapon is not.

What happens next?

Homestead, where the two halves of the story meet. Haley drives the No. 77 in Sunday’s finale, and Hocevar will be at the track without a car, facing reporters at 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday, November 6, at the media center. That appearance is his first chance to answer Zilisch’s charge directly, and the first time he has to explain the Martinsville decisions in person rather than in a social media statement. Keselowski’s release at Martinsville an hour before his own press conference made the track a headline venue twice in one week, and the finale now carries a second storyline alongside the championship: whether a rookie’s public criticism changes how a suspended driver talks about what he did.