“I don’t care if I wreck the whole f—— field…I’m going to wreck his a–.” Kyle Busch said this after getting repeatedly slid across the track during the Cup Series race at Atlanta this year. The perpetrator who dared to mess with the Rowdy? None other than Carson Hocevar, driver of the Spire Motorsport No. 71 car. From wrecking Corey Heim during the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series championship to getting on Kyle Busch’s nerves in Atlanta, there is no end to Hocevar’s antics.

But what makes Kyle Busch more furious is an old story. The Richard Childress Racing driver has been known for his own aggression during his heyday. However, he believes that one huge point of disparity exists between him and Carson Hocevar.

Kyle Busch saw it coming a long time ago

Well, Rowdy himself had a reputation for setting off tempers on the track. In a 2011 Truck Series playoff race, Kyle Busch pushed Ron Hornaday into the wall on the 14th lap, ruining the latter’s last chance to win, and Busch was his with a suspension for the move. During the 2007 All-Star race, his aggressive driving style even caught up with his brother Kurt Busch.

However, Kyle Busch refined his racing antics over two decades because of the presence of valuable mentors. When he emerged in NASCAR as an aggressive icon, veterans like Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch tempered his feisty racing style. However, Carson Hocevar may not have received that level of guidance yet – which is why Busch has a problem.

In a recent ‘Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour’ episode, Kyle Busch recalled the incident that started this feud, “So, the Hocevar problem, the biggest problem I have with him is when he was 13, 14 years old whatever it was, I was racing at one of his home tracks in Michigan with a super late model while I was a Cup guy. It was Kalamazoo. Lap 8, Lap 11 somewhere early in the race, like, I wasn’t that great but I was going to bide my time and I was just riding, right? Like, you ride. He comes right up alongside of me, sideswipes me, puts me into the front stretch fence, and goes on. And I’m like, ‘What the hell just happened?'”

During the opening stage of the Ambetter Health 400, Hocevar put Busch in the fence. Busch naturally expected an apology from Hocevar, especially considering their history. Did he get them? Well, here’s what Busch had to say, “Never nothing after the fact, never a sorry, ‘Hey, my bad.’ Like, same thing right now. He hasn’t learned not one thing because he hasn’t been under someone’s wing this entire time.” 

Hocevar is a young stud, and despite Ross Chastain being his mentor, he doesn’t have someone in his corner like Dale Earnhardt Jr. was for Josh Berry or like Kyle Busch was for Christopher Bell during his Truck Series days. Busch feels Hocevar needs a seasoned veteran to show him the ropes, and without an apology, that’s not a role Busch is willing to take up.

Top Comment by Linda

I grew up in Speedway IN, first time trials 1948. Have had many favorite drivers since then. Liked Carson the...more

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Debate

Hocevar’s aggression is nothing new. After his 2nd place finish at Atlanta marked his best Cup Series outing, instead of being greeted by the media first, Hocevar had a line of drivers waiting to give him an earful. Hocevar bumped Ryan Blaney during a turn which caused the latter to spin out as he vented his frustration on the radio, saying, “He’s just a m—-“. Hocevar also managed to upset his mentor Chastain, who stood in line, waiting to give him some advice.

Kyle Busch is part of a bevy of Cup Series drivers fuming at Carson Hocevar. However, another NASCAR veteran pointed out something – all this is just a repeat of history.

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All this fury has transpired before

Carson Hocevar ticked off more than one driver at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Although Kyle Busch’s reaction over the radio was the most colorful, Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain also took Hocevar to task. Yet what the 22-year-old driver is currently doing is like a rite of passage in NASCAR. Busch regularly feuded with veterans 20 years older than him during his prime. Chastain was the youthful scourge of NASCAR two years ago when he clashed with Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., and others. Even Ryan Blaney got into the bad books of Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson.

Former Xfinity Series veteran Landon Cassill put it perfectly. What Kyle Busch is feeling towards Carson Hocevar is nothing new – it is just a new generation. Cassill talked about Hocevar’s moves in Atlanta: “It’s so funny to see a bunch of veteran drivers pissed at a young and aggressive rookie going for his first win. A tale as old as time. I love it.”

As a part-time Cup Series driver 15 years ago, Brad Keselowski ruffled the feathers of many veterans himself. In 2009, he justified his aggression: “In this sport when others are angry at you, generally you’ve done something right. Because when you’re in a competitive environment, the only time a competitor is going to like you is when they’re beating you. They’re mad at me because I’ve been racing too hard, not because I’m causing wrecks. That’s pretty damn awesome! It’s pretty awesome that Tony Stewart’s mad at me because I’m outracing him. So I don’t walk away from that angry or upset.”

Hocevar also played into this aggressive mindset after the Atlanta race, when he said, “We’re here to win races. Not be a boy band who love each other and play in a playground together.” The sophomore driver is clearly putting his foot down this season. After his Rookie of the Year honors in 2024, he is ready to take the step to the next level, and being a villain on the grid doesn’t phase him at all.

Evidently, there are two perspectives to take in the Carson Hocevar dilemma. However, nothing may appease Kyle Busch as Hocevar really got on Rowdy’s nerves. What do you think? Is Busch’s anger justified? Or is he just another ‘old head’ upset at the next generation? Let us know in the comments!