Once again, Carson Hocevar found his name after his outing in Atlanta, where he put a stop to Christopher Bell’s day in the first restart of overtime. Restarting on the second row at EchoPark Speedway, Hocevar attempted to put himself in a gap between the leaders, Bell and Bubba Wallace, moving to three in a shrinking gap.
That decision backfired when Hocevar clipped the left rear of Bell’s No. 20 Toyota, sending him spinning into the SAFER barrier and ending his day. Bell chose to stay silent after the race, but teammate Denny Hamlin didn’t bite his tongue.
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On his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin sent a message between the lines, hinting that a return on investment could be expected if Hocevar continues to sting drivers, as he is often known to do. Even Dale Earnhardt Jr., who once supported Hocevar, drawing comparisons to his father, weighed in, pointing out that the Spire driver could accumulate enemies on the field.
Hocevar, however, seems cut from a completely different cloth. In a clip shared by Dirty Mo Media, he dispelled heat over his style, saying he keeps an eye on gaps and lap times, not microphones and timelines. “I watch all the shows and I listen…I’m just running. I’m out there. I see opportunities. And that’s all I think about. That’s all I do.”
He doubled down, drawing a line between media chatter and on-track results. “The rest is just noise, and I laugh at it sometimes, or I see it, but I don’t watch a podcast or anything for a moment. I just watch it, and it’s just entertainment. The rest is just competition, and I separate it out,” he followingmaking it clear that he’s letting his performance do the talking, at least that’s what he hopes.
In another excerpt in the same episode, Hocevar admitted to joking with friends that he might not be at the top of every fan poll, but he might be the favorite for their favorite pilot. The 23-year-old runner allayed fears of revenge, saying he’s “just running,” likening the contact to a shooter missing skeet targets and taking it in stride.
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He believes that on the track he can shake things up and race aggressively because the Next Gen era rewards that advantage, especially with the rugged nature of the current package and the way one has to make contact with the other cars. If someone wants to settle scores, Hocevar considers that an intention.
However, one thing is certain: Hocevar’s take-it-or-leave-it stance has attracted a wave of younger fans and brought attention to the sport, while debates over his style continue to bubble over.
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