I know I’m probably late to the party on this particular topic but I still wanted to weigh on this particular topic.
I’ve been a fan of Carson Hocevar since his days – not all that long ago – in the Truck series, so I might be a bit biased (but aren’t we all?). He used to hang out with Michael Waltrip to film several segments that were shown during the pre-show and he proved himself to be quite the colourful character, never one to shy away from having fun – often at his own expense. He’s one of those guys who seems to be “living his best life” as the hip kids say.
Ever since he’s come to the Cup series, however, he’s been criticized for being too aggressive, making bad blocks, causing wrecks, etc. Last season, the NBC broadcast team of Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton spent about five minutes chastising him for his actions on the track. Admittedly, I have seen Hocevar make a few moves that perhaps warrant a few frowns but there are also times when I wonder “Are other drivers getting upset because this kid isn’t willing to just pull over and let the elder statesmen of the sport pass him?”
The treatment that Hocevar finds himself on the receiving end of reminds me of Ross Chastain. It wasn’t all that long ago that Chastain was the driver that everyone seemed to blame for any on-track issue that took place.
Like Chastain did, Hocevar has started his Cup career in mid-level equipment. No offence to Spire Motorsports (which, ironically Chastain made five starts for in 2020) but Hocevar isn’t exactly running in Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing-level equipment.
Ironically, Chastain was one of the drivers who had an issue with Hocevar after the recent race at Atlanta in which Hocevar finished second. Chastain then went out this past week at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) and turned Chase Elliott in the first turn of the first lap of the Cup race.
It does raise the question: what is acceptable aggressive driving? NASCAR has gotten tremendous mileage out of the “Rattle His Cage” footage of Dale Earnhardt turning Terry Labonte. It has overlooked incidents such as Ty Gibbs turning his own teammate Brandon Jones at Martinsville to bring out a caution and win at Martinsville in the Xfinity Series in 2022, as well as Austin Cindric turning Ty Dillon at COTA this past weekend. Is it a case where if you are part of one of the larger NASCAR teams, things get swept under the rug and forgotten about? Because each of the incidents I just mentioned seemed a lot more deliberate and risky that a mis-timed bump of Ryan Blaney or sliding up in front of Kyle Busch?
Meanwhile, I would argue that Hocevar knows that he can either hang out in the mid-pack and have a mid-level career or he can make the most of every chance he has and gain ever spot and every point he can.
I’ve never driven a race car so I can only draw on my experience playing video games. However, if NASCAR Cup can give contracts to the kids playing iRacing, and these same video game producers can put them in video games, I can use my experience playing NASCAR Heat 5 and NASCAR 21: Ignition for a blog that probably no one will read.
I’m not knocking people who spend time unwinding after a busy day hanging out and playing NASCAR Heat 5 with their friends and complete the entire 500 miles at Daytona ro Darlington or whathaveyou. I just don’t have that time, so I’m more likely to set the length to 5% which ends up being 7-10 laps. As with anyone else, in the beginning of career mode, I’m running for one of the lower-level teams. That means I can either be patient and spend the entire season finishing 30th in the Truck Series…or I can force my way as far to the front as possible from the drop of the green flag.
And that, in a nutshell, is what Hocevar is doing. He is getting everything out of the equipment that he has underneath him. He’s not intentionally wrecking anyone. He is simply doing what he feels he needs to do.
And yes, that will ruffle a few feathers (much like Chastain did) but in speaking to Jamie McMurray before the broadcast on Sunday, Hocevar said something very interesting. I’m paraphrasing but he said that the other drivers don’t want to see another car at the front.
And that is probably – almost certainly – true. The established teams and drivers want to keep everything status quo. They want to hold on to their spot at the top. All of a sudden, here’s this newcomer from a mid-level team (267 races with 1 Cup win and 6 truck wins) and a newcomer who has decided not to race for Top 20s but for the win whenever he gets a chance.
Again, this reminds me a little of Chastain, and Trackhouse Racing as a whole, who – with some help from Chip Ganassi Racing leaving NASCAR – managed to shock the world and ended up, at least for a season or two, alongside the top tier teams. And as he did so, Chastain became the target of criticism from multiple drivers and teams?
Sound familiar?
So the question becomes, is Hocevar really too aggressive or is he suddenly appearing in the rear view mirrors of those drivers accustomed to racing at the front with a usual cast of characters, much to their chagrin?
Carson Hocevar is exactly what NASCAR needs, a young, colourful, hard-charging driver who isn’t content with hanging back and letting the drivers from the big teams grab all the headlines.
Will Carson Hocevar win the championship this year? No. Will he make the playoffs? Probably not unless he wins ‘Dega in a shocker (much like – yes – Ross Chastain did for one of his early Cup wins). However, the rise of Carson Hocevar will be good for the sport as a whole if his arrival as a regular contender is, if not 2025, then perhaps 2026 or 2027.
johnmilner.ca 