Carson Hocevar has had a decent start to his NASCAR Cup Series career, but there are a lot of people who are not a fan of how he races. The 21-year-old made the headlines after the Truck Series finale race last year where he wrecked Corey Heim and ruined his championship hopes, receiving a lot of criticism from his peers and insiders. Those feelings have yet to subside for some people, including the co-hosts of the Door Bumper Clear podcast.
The Spire Motorsports star has finished in the top 20 in 2 of his 3 Cup Series starts this year with his best result of P15 coming at Las Vegas on Sunday. There is no doubt that he is trying his best to hang with the best in the Cup and there has been no lack of effort from his side. However, what people are ticked off about is how aggressive a racer he is and how often he gets into wrecks.
Spotters address Carson Hocevar’s old racing problem, give credit where it’s due
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The former Truck Series driver knows that it is a negative aspect of his game and has said in the past that he was working on it. But his runs in the Cup Series races so far have suggested anything but, as per spotter TJ Majors. Speaking about respecting one’s competitors on the track, Carson Hocevar’s name came up, and the conversation digressed toward his aggressive driving style for a while. Speaking about the 21-year-old, Majors said that some of the Cup racers were not going to put up with his style for long.
“I saw yesterday he was still super aggressive,” Majors said. “Yeah and some guys, this just…some of these guys aren’t going to be raced like that. Like that’s not how you race them. I’m not saying it’s a wrong move but it’s just not…somebody’s gonna get tired of it sooner or later.”
However, the spotter did agree that the Spire Motorsports star was one of the most fearless and versatile drivers in the competition today, as he gave credit where credit was due. “He was fast yesterday, he does a good job of moving. That’s one thing…he’s very versatile, like he’s not scared to put it against the fence when other guys are like okay, there’s a 70 mph wind here, probably not gonna do it yet,” he added.
Bubba Wallace‘s spotter, Freddie Kraft, was a lot less lenient with his criticism of the 21-year-old’s racing style. “Hocevar has got a reputation of being a bit of a wild card and until you give the respect back, people are going to make your life miserable,” he said.
The only man on the panel who only had words of praise for Carson Hocevar on the day was the man who recently made history in NASCAR and the Spire Motorsports star’s Truck Series rival, Rajah Caruth.
Truck Series history-maker gives “shoutout” to Carson Hocevar
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The 21-year-old became only the third Black driver to win a race in a major NASCAR series after Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace. His jubilation knew no bounds after he got the job done at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday and the whole NASCAR community congratulated the youngster, including Carson Hocevar. Taking to X, the driver of the #77 wrote, “3/3 wins for team spire!!! LFG RAJAH!!”
3/3 wins for team spire!!! LFG RAJAH!!
— Carson Hocevar (@CarsonHocevar) March 2, 2024
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The two drivers might have been rivals on the track, but there is a lot of respect among them.
Caruth revealed on the recent episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast that Carson Hocevar had helped him out a lot before the new season began. Both racers drive for Spire Motorsports in different competitions so it’s not surprising that they interact with one another. “Shoutout to Carson though, he’s helped me a lot this winter,” Caruth said as everyone around him was criticizing his one-time Truck Series rival.
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Everyone believes that Hocevar has what it takes to become stock car racing’s biggest star in some years’ time. However, some aspects of his racecraft need to change. His overly aggressive and fearless nature of driving is one of them, and it will be interesting to see how the young gun does in his rookie year in the NASCAR Cup Series.