We are just five races into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season and we’ve seen a lot of surprises already. Christopher Bell went on to complete a three-peat, the first in the Next Gen era, and then we had Josh Berry from Wood Brothers Racing shock everyone with a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The usual suspects like Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin have yet to open their accounts but Berry flipped the script.

This was Berry’s first NASCAR Cup Series win, although he started late compared to other talents in the series, he’s made a statement that he’s right where he belongs. Last year we saw Harrison Burton do the same in the No. 21 car at Daytona, so it’s not the case that drivers searching for their first wins are out of favor. Given the amount of drivers eyeing for their first win at the Cup level, the win by Berry just might not be the only surprise we have this year.

And it looks like the NASCAR Insiders have already identified a few favorite picks.

Is Carson Hocevar a legitimate race contender?

Well, let’s just say the Spire Motorsports driver isn’t making a lot of friends in the Cup Series garage, thanks to his carefree attitude on the racetrack. For the most part, Kyle Busch was able to control his emotions despite his winless streak and troubles at RCR. But, he certainly didn’t like the way he was roughed up by Hocevar at Atlanta, “Go tell that 77 he’s done that same f——- move ten times. I don’t care if I wreck the whole f—— field, I’m over him. He’s a f—— d—–bag, I’m going to wreck his a–.”

Even his mentor Ross Chastain seemed to have a chat with him after he registered a career-best, P2 finish. Well, the young driver isn’t going to change his style even and this was evident from his post on X after the race. “We’re here to win races, not be a boy band and love each other and play in the playground together.” This brash and bold person is what has made him Jordan Bianchi’s next pick for a driver to win their first Cup race, alongside Ty Gibbs.

“The two obvious names to me that jump out are Ty Gibbs and Carson Hocevar. Gibbs just because he’s with Joe Gibbs Racing. I know he’s in a slump but when you’re with Joe Gibbs Racing, you can turn around a dime.” Bianchi said this on the MRN podcast. Although Hocervar’s fire burned at the banks of Atlanta, since then he’s been running hot and cold. His last two races have ended with P30 or worse. However, Ty Gibbs isn’t in a better spot himself. 

Gibbs ended the 2024 campaign on a slump, in the last five playoff races he finished 30th or worse. And things aren’t looking bright for him as he’s yet to secure a top 10 finish. Bianchi didn’t stop there, he went on to highlight another driver with the potential to pull off a big upset. “I mean I can throw Noah Grgason’s name on there, Noah’s done really well this year, doesn’t have the finishes, ran well at Vegas and had the late tire failure and hit the wall.”

Bianchi might have placed his bet on Hocevar and Ty Gibbs, but it looks like Rowdy Busch hasn’t made peace with the firey driver. During his interview with Kevin Harvick, he explained his issues with the Spire Motorsports driver.

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Kyle Busch reveals the root cause of Hocevar problem

Ironically, Busch had a similar style of racing when he entered NASCAR. But now that he’s on the receiving end of the stick, things are a little different. Although rough racing he can handle, there seems to be a lack of respect for the 2-time champ. Harvick asked if Hocevar had reached out to him after the tempers flared at Atlanta? In reply, the RCR driver said, “Not a word.” Interestingly, the two drivers have been at odds well before the start of this year, which was further explained by Busch.

“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 frontstretch fence, and goes on. And I’m like, ‘What the hell just happened?’ 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.” Busch said.

Interestingly, the RCR driver has kept the young drivers in check in the Next Gen era. Remember a year ago, Rowdy confronted Christopher Bell ran through him at COTA and he was warned about consequences in upcoming races? Well, the two drivers were in the same situation again this year, but we saw how clean Bell was in passing the No. 8 car for the win. But, as far as Hocevar and Busch’s rivalry is concerned, we can tell that this matter is far from resolved.