“I felt comfortable really being aggressive.” Carson Hocevar’s words during his Cup Series debut year in 2023 should have been a hint. We are just two races into the 2025 season, and Hocevar is already a villain. The 22-year-old speedster already holds an infamous reputation for wrecking his rivals, and that goes back to his Craftsman Truck Series days. Now he is holding a defiant attitude towards his Cup rivals as well.

The Ambetter’s Health 400 race made the headlines for several reasons. But while NASCAR catching heat for its inconsistent caution flags was a story, Carson Hocevar’s antics grabbed more eyeballs. The No. 77 Spire Motorsports driver wreaked havoc – and holds no regret about it.

The 2024 Rookie of the Year got on several drivers’ nerves last Sunday. Firstly, he locked horns with Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch. The two-time Cup Series champion let loose a cannon of expletives against the racer for his aggression. Then fans were left in jaw-dropped shock when with 22 laps to go, Carson Hocevar nudged against Ryan Blaney’s side. The No. 9 Ford spun out as a result. Hocevar was aggressive with even Ross Chastain, somebody he looks up to as a brother. After restarting behind Chastain, Hocevar shot to the middle and got by him.

Both Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain approached Carson Hocevar post-race. Following their brief chit-chat which thankfully involved no physical interaction, Hocevar did apologize. But the apology was forwarded to Rick Hendrick and Chevrolet, as he blocked Kyle Larson on the final lap. In a recently held interview, Hocevar stuck to his defiant stance. “There’s only so much I could do…I’m not going to apologize for having the shot to win a race. Seeing a trophy, seeing everything, and I thought it worked out really well. The apology that I did to Hendrick and Chevy was…I was apologizing more for the circumstances when the yellow came out. It just happened to work out that way, and it didn’t time out right.” 

Instead of owning up to his Atlanta antics, Carson Hocevar patted himself on the back. After all, the runner-up finish marked his career-best result so far. “I’ve enjoyed the moment of just being in second place…I think my guys have really enjoyed it…My world has been a positive. There hasn’t been really anything else that comes up…The conversations that my team had behind the scenes are many factors…They’ve been appreciative to me too, right? They’ve been seeing what I had in the plan.” 

For what it was worth, Christopher Bell was on board with Hocevar’s antics. After all, Hocevar joining the fight helped Bell secure the win. He expressed his support, saying, “He’s (Hocevar) been around enough now that you know he’s going to be the aggressor. If there’s a hole, he’s going to take it. If there’s not a hole, he’s going to make one. He ultimately gave me the shove to pass or break through to lead the side draft tandem with myself and Kyle down the back straightaway.” 

Hocevar also felt glad that he could make Spire Motorsports co-owner and CEO Jeff Dickerson. “From what we could control in Spire…it’s all a big positive for me…Jeff Dickerson looked so happy and fulfilled. I look at him as a father-figure. It’s like I just hit a T-ball for the first time and my dad’s proud of me.”

Besides, Carson Hocevar is adopting the same approach for the upcoming race in COTA.

Brace for impact

Well, Carson Hocevar has made it clear that he will not apologize for Atlanta. Evidently, the hefty $50,000 fine that he accrued for intentionally wrecking Harrison Burton last year in Nashville has had little to no effect. Yet although Hocevar was defiant about last weekend, he cleared up the hassles with drivers individually. He hailed both Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain as the best school of drivers to talk to and claimed that he apologized to both. However, that may just be him conditioning his rivals for what is coming next.

As the young speedster transitions from Atlanta’s hybrid track to the road course at Circuit of the Americas, Hocevar is focused. With his aggressive style, he aims to make his No. 77 Chevy a front-running car. He outlined his understanding: “At COTA, you’re going to, I think there was one natural yellow, if any, last year, and you get spread out. Maybe it’s a little different with them cutting the track in half, but it’s just such a different world that, you know, I’m still gonna be aggressive at times, but you can be a lot more patient, too.”

Perhaps the smart move for Hocevar would be to stay off HMS’ radar. Back in 2023, when Ross Chastain went on an aggressive streak and hit HMS cars, he was met by a scathing reply from Mr. H. His response was simple. “I don’t care if he’s driving a Chevrolet if he wrecks our cars. I don’t care. I’ve told Chevrolet that. If you wreck us, you’re going to get it back.” 

So drivers in the Cup Series garage may need to brace for impact. That is because Carson Hocevar is not willing to back down from his aggressive tendencies.