No moment captivated Thursday’s opener of the Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals like the heat-race kerfuffle between Jason Feger and Carson Hocevar.

Who could’ve predicted that the disagreement between 2023’s MARS Series champion and 2024 NASCAR Cup driver would thrust them into the limelight? Especially when Feger, angry from sustaining a flat left-rear tire, rammed the driver's side door of Hocevar’s car during the ensuing caution period.

Feger and Hocevar couldn’t predict that. They scarcely know one another — “I’ve never spoken to him before,” Feger said — which is both the intriguing part about the indoor event and perhaps the very root of Thursday’s dramatics. It’s neat because 130-plus drivers from all walks of Dirt Late Model racing converge to form a true spectacle.

And it’s the root of Thursday’s dustup because if the drivers knew each others’ tendencies, the whole mess as the field exiting turn four heading for the green flag might've been avoided. The clash can be distilled to how a driver follows the unwritten rules (or lack thereof) of Delaware double-file restarts when a single driver leads the rest of the doubled-up field.

“When you do a Delaware double-file restart, you have to block both lanes, right?” Feger said, beginning to explain his every move. “That’s typically how everybody does it. You drive down. Typically, you start high and you go down, you know what I mean? I think a guy (inside the second-row) always thinks he can get a better start, especially out there.

“There wasn’t a lot of grip. I felt like I had a pretty good start. I felt like he was way up into my left-rear. I felt like we got hooked up for a second. I don’t know if we did or didn’t. I felt like he climbed up under me. I figured I was in trouble right away. I’ve seen that happen a lot of times, and typically it’s because the guy back there is getting antsy.

Feger handled the restart like he has most of his 21-year career, but as a division novice, Hocevar is still finding his way.

WATCH: Jason Feger retaliates against Carson Hocevar at the Gateway Dirt Nationals.

“I’m still new to this. This is only my fourth or fifth Dirt Late Model race, right? I’m still new to this Delaware double — I think that’s what it’s called, right?” Hocevar said. “I figured I could kind of poke at his left-rear. I don’t know if that’s wrong? I see a lot of guys kind of poke their left-rear. I watch Dirt Late Models a lot and have a big passion for it. I try to poke my left-rear to the bottom where it was clean, and hit the inside wall.”

One reason Hocevar ran out of room is because Mike Harrison, the eventual winner of the rough-and-tumble fifth heat, compounded the logjam by leaving Hocevar little room between his car and the inside concrete. The multiple points of contact resulted in a flat left-rear tire for Feger, who took matters into his own hands.

“It just doesn’t make sense when we were both in a transfer position one lap into an eight-lap heat race,” Feger said, expressing his displeasure with Hocevar’s zealous tactics. “I don’t race that way. I hate to retaliate, or whatever you wanna call it. But if you’re going to do that to me and if I’m not going to finish and make money, I won’t let him make money either.”

Hocevar, meanwhile, said the measures Feger took to get revenge “doesn’t make sense,” especially when he believes the Bloomington, Ill., driver “spun the tires a little bit" while leading the field out of the corner.

“The retaliation part, I wish he would — if he was that mad — full-throttle me from behind and not go for my head,” Hocevar said. "I mean, he got really high up there. In the future, that’s how you get somebody hurt. Somebody’s arm is going to be sitting out (the window). And then a race like this can’t happen because the insurance bill is too much.”

Hocevar knew what he was getting into this weekend. One of the main reasons he’s competing at The Dome is because of his connection with event promoter Cody Sommer, the operations director for Niece Motorsports, the team Hocevar once drove for on NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series.

Now Hocevar is bound for the Cup Series in 2024 with Spire Motorsports, getting to compete in similar Dome-like event this coming February — NASCAR’s Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — another crowd-pleasing attraction with close-quarters racing. Actually, Sommer himself told competitors at the drivers’ meeting he’d much rather have them settle differences on the track, in front of the fans, rather than back in the pits.

“It’s part of it, right?” Hocevar said. “There’s always something like this. Last year, it was Hudson (O’Neal) and Tyler Carpenter (feuding). Last year, I feel like, was maybe a little more deserved.”

Hocevar laughed, then thought about the likelihood of Thursday’s incident appearing in next year’s Gateway Dirt Nationals promotional or hype-building content.

“I’m going to see if I can send (Sommer) an invoice for how many times he’s going to use this video (as a promo) for next year,” Hocevar said. “It’s a lot of fun. I always like to come and support these. I want to do a lot more Dirt Late Model racing.”

Passionate about the sport, Feger wasn’t as lighthearted as Hocevar with the outcome.

“I love this event. It’s one of my favorite events of the year. But I do wish they’d do some format tweaking, you know what I’m saying?” said Feger, whose failure to finish better than seventh meant that he, along with Hocevar, wasn't able to start a consolation race. “I’ll start off by saying it should be invite-only for Late Models. I think it’d be a better show. I think we should race both nights. You could have, whatever the number is, 50 or 60 Late Models. I don’t even say (the drivers have to be) good. Just guys that aren’t constantly causing yellows and spinning out by themselves. Stuff like that, you know?”

Feger wasn't pointing his finger directly at Hocevar in suggesting the charm of Dirt Late Model racing “that anybody can show up with a car and race” is the “great thing about our sport,” Feger said, but it's not his favorite part about the popular indoor event that draws many less competitive drivers.

“Listen, I’ll be frustrated tomorrow as an advocate for our sport, as somebody that wants to see our sport do really good,” Feger said. “Like last year, I was really frustrated with the product we were putting out. That’s hard for me. I take it personally. I just want the best for the sport, ultimately. … It’s nothing against Cody or anybody putting this event on. They do a fantastic job. In my opinion, we can make our sport better.”

Hocevar, though he’s not a born and raised around Dirt Late Models, would like to grow the sport, too. On Thursday, Hocevar’s name trended briefly on X, formerly known as Twitter. It’s not the way he’d prefer, but hey, he’s learning.

“I still don’t know what your limit is, right?” Hocevar said. “I was probably a little far in there. Responsibilities are on both ends of the table. If he gave me more room, that doesn’t happen. If I wasn’t as far up, that probably doesn’t happen. I had a lot of dirt guys, or officials, that came down and said they didn’t see anything wrong. It’s just part of it, right?

“It’s nice to come in cold turkey, with little to no experience, and still be fast. I don’t know a lot of names here, but that was one name I did know. He’s good at what he does. … I didn’t grow up watching Dirt Late Models. So if I know you, you’ve definitely done something. I’m all new to this.”

In the end, Feger declared that “we are even.” Bitterness may not be an issue, but rather sourness of how the Gateway Dirt Nationals just can’t seem to line up for Feger.

“We definitely had high hopes,” Feger said. “We’ve had a great year. We had an outstanding year. We won 16 races. We put ourselves in position tonight. … Coming out of here with a sour taste our mouths makes for a long winter.”