NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar has been fined $50,000 and enrolled into sensitivity training.

That development comes after the American racer made vulgar comments about Mexico City – the capital city of Mexico – calling it a “sh*thole” as part of his comments for which he has since apologised.

Carson Hocevar says ‘I’m sorry Mexico City’

The NASCAR Cup Series descended on the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez – home of Formula 1’s Mexico City Grand Prix – with the 15 June event marking the first time that a points paying Cup Series race had been held outside the United States since 1958.

However, Hocevar sparked uproar with his comments on Mexico City during a Twitch stream.

He said: “This whole experience, if the travel was better, if getting here was easier, if you felt safer getting to and from everywhere, if it wasn’t such a sh*thole, if the track limits were a little better enforced, if it was going to be a little bit better of a race, and it [didn’t] feel so locked down like you can’t leave anywhere, it would be a great experience.”

Hocevar’s Spire Motorsports team took a very dim view of the 22-year-old’s comments and fined him $50,000, with the money split across three Mexican charities: Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexican Red Cross), Un Kilo de Ayuda, and Fondo Unido México (United Way Mexico).

In addition, Spire Motorsports confirmed that Hocevar would be mandated to complete cultural-sensitivity and bias-awareness training.

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Hocevar later issued a statement on X apologising for his comments, and said “my opinion has changed” after his experience in Mexico City.

He posted: “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 [sic].

“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.

“Count this as another lesson for me in a season I’ve learned so much. Don’t believe everything you hear without seeing it yourself. If anyone should give anyone or any place the benefit of the doubt it’s me. I’m sorry Mexico City. Consider me an ally going forward and an example of getting off Twitch and seeing things with my own two eyes.”

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