A NASCAR Driver Bought An Actual Tank. Now The HOA Isn't Happy
A decommissioned tank turns a broken $800 Chevy Cobalt into scrap metal, cutting short a cheap-car challenge with neighbors watching.
Carson Hocevar showed up with an $800 Chevy Cobalt. His buddy Vernon Hale brought a Cutlass Supreme for the same price, and the plan was a cheap-car challenge, the kind where two guys with $800 each see who built the better beater. Hocevar, a professional NASCAR Cup Series driver, had the more fragile ride.
That plan lasted about as long as the Cobalt's alternator belt. Between a rattle-can paint job, a dead power-steering pump and a tow home behind the Oldsmobile, the Cobalt never made it to a real contest. The hosts found another use for it instead: a decommissioned military tank, delivered the same day.
The $800 Car Challenge Started With A Cobalt And A Cutlass
Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and Chevrolet Cobalt
The budget was simple: $800 cash, one car each, no other rules. Vernon picked a Cutlass Supreme he insisted needed zero work. Carson's Cobalt needed a cosmetic fix, so he grabbed several cans of spray paint and started covering the body by hand, panel by panel, with Vernon narrating every uneven line.
The paint job took most of a day. Carson sprayed in sweeping passes while Vernon held the car's windows up to avoid overspray. That detail mattered less than the finish itself, which both men agreed looked better suited to a demolition derby than a driveway.
Fuel came next, and that's where the Cobalt's day really went sideways. Carson filled the tank with Unleaded 88 instead of the gas the engine actually needed, a mix-up Vernon called out on camera before the car even left the station lot.
Pulling out of the pump, the Cobalt threw a dashboard warning for the power steering. The pair traced it to a blown belt. The engine started backfiring soon after and died entirely, forcing Vernon to push it home behind the Cutlass while Carson steered.
A Tank Crushed The Cobalt In Front Of The Neighbors
Carson Hocevar's tank
With the Cobalt no longer running, the hosts decided it was not worth saving. A trailer dropped off a surplus tank, disguised under a cover that made bystanders mistake it for a Chevy Caprice, right as the group was figuring out what to do with the dead car.
Getting the tank off the trailer took care, since its metal road pads can tear up pavement if the driver turns while still on asphalt. One neighbor who stopped to watch said truckers had been pulling over the whole way, and that a weigh station once flagged the rig thinking it needed special oversize permits.
The crushing itself happened fast. The tank rolled forward over the Cobalt's hood and roof, flattening the car in one pass while Vernon and Carson reacted from a few feet away. The wreck was dragged off to clear the yard afterward.
Not everyone nearby was thrilled. A homeowners' association (HOA) member on site objected to the tank's presence outright, and the hosts needled each other about the property's septic system, freshly installed, sitting a few careless turns away from several tons of armored steel.
More Crashes And Wrecks:
Source: Carson Hocevar
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