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Ross Chastain and Carson Hocevar | Image courtesy: Imago
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Ross Chastain and Carson Hocevar | Image courtesy: Imago
Car racing can be a deadly and gruesome sport if rules are frequently disobeyed. NASCAR’s long legacy since 1948 has been witness to several on-track tussles. The first controversy was in 1949 when the Strictly Stock (now Cup Series) race winner had tweaked his car to load extra alcohol. Presently, that kind of technical loop is rarely possible, so drivers have at each other to spice up post-race conflicts.
Many current drivers inevitably stir up some kind of trouble at races. The issue can be very simple and solvable, but it can draw more attention to the race. So, whether you love them or hate them, you will not be able to ignore these notorious drivers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared his personally curated list of troublemakers.
The bad boys of NASCAR per Dale Earnhardt Jr
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Just a spectacular performance may not define a good race. Fan reactions can characterize it to the several on-track scuffles that make the race more interesting. In a recent video on the YouTube channel Dale Jr Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr breaks down his views on some stormtroopers.
He calls this group “the sh*t stirrers”. He starts off with the leading personality in this group. “Chastain is kind of the captain of sh*t stirrers. He’s the captain of the team.” Then he underlines other names on this list. “On the team with Ross is Nemechek, Gibbs when he runs really good, Gragson if he can also have some good runs.”
Dale ends the list with another driver famous for stirring up trouble. “Probably the all-star of the sh*t stirrer team is maybe Hocevar.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on point with his analysis, as all the names he mentioned have a track record of conflicts. Some track troubles have led to permanent suspension or lenient punishment topped by a boosting of social media followers. Yet whichever path befell these drivers, they inevitably drew more attention to the races and led to an uptick in viewership.
Dale’s troublemakers have a penchant for controversies
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Starting off with the group’s captain, Ross Chastain. Chastain has been involved in scuffles since his inception in NASCAR, way back in 2015. In the Xfinity Series that year, Ryan Reed confronted him for ramming Reed into the wall. Chastain continued his habit of wrecking through the years: Kevin Harvick in 2018, Justin Allgaier in 2019, and Denny Hamlin in 2022. He even punched Noah Gragson in the face in 2023 at Kansas.
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Carson Hocevar, the all-star according to Dale, also has a habit of starting trouble. At the Truck Series race in Phoenix, last year, Hocevar had a face-off with Corey Heim. Hocevar spun Heim from the back on lap 20. Heim retaliated violently, ramming Hocevar into the wall and earning himself a hefty penalty. But the driver who started the fight, Hocevar, ended up moving up in points.
Similarly, in 2022, Ty Gibbs crashed into Ryan Seig in Las Vegas and engaged in a fistfight with Sam Mayers at Martinsville. Noah Gragson was suspended by NASCAR last year for action on an insensitive post about George Floyd.
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All these troublemakers are storming into the 2024 season and leaving fans waiting for more spicy news.
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