CONCORD, N.C. — Carson Hocevar has been the talk of the week following his runner-up finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which was met with criticism from several veteran drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Aggression played a considerable role in the outcome of Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 as Christopher Bell crossed the start/finish line for the victory with checkered and yellow flags waving following a multicar crash on the backstretch.
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At the forefront of the post-race conversations was premier series sophomore Hocevar, who received visits from Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney, two drivers who deemed Hocevar went too far. The Michigan native took the talks in stride, hoping to one day emulate the success of his peers.
“There’s no better school of guys to talk to, right?” Hocevar told reporters during a media availability at the NASCAR Production Facility in Concord, North Carolina. “You know, they’ve had the same progression as me. Ross especially, right? Of, you know, kind of had the same progression in trucks, even, right? So we’ve, you know, had a really good relationship from that point, and that’s why our economy, conversation was a lot longer than I think Ryan’s because we have that deep relationship.
“So, you know for sure, I apologize to (Blaney) for hitting him. There was no excuse for spinning anybody, intentional or not, and I wish I, you know, just made a different move and lifted just a little bit more and just didn’t see it panning out that way, obviously. But you know, there’s no better school to hear from them and want to have the same progression as them as they had when they were my age or at this point in their career.”
Hocevar largely attributes the success from the weekend to his aggressive tendencies, and the 22-year-old hasn’t let these hard conversations deter what was a solid performance for the No. 77 Spire Motorsports team.
WATCH: Get in the middle of the action with Carson Hocevar
“I had to be aggressive and make some drivers uncomfortable,” Hocevar said. “But at the same time, besides (Blaney), I’m not sure who we 100% hit, other than just, you know, just filling really tight holes and pinch and aero-block and play offense and defense, right? And this car rewards being aggressive. I mean, obviously, we had a shot to win the race, and I was, I think, the most aggressive. So the end result means, you know, if you play aggressively and you have a really fast car, you can take advantage of being aggressive.”
As the young driver transitions from Atlanta to the Circuit of The Americas on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Hocevar is focused on staying confident and maintaining his aggressive style as he aims to make the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet a frontrunning car in 2025.
“I’ve never been intimidated or scared, right?” Hocevar said. “And I always felt like I belonged. And if I had speed, it would show, and it would come across, and everything takes time.”
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With a tale of two tracks on deck at the course in Austin, Texas, Hocevar imagines it will be difficult to ruffle any feathers on a 3-mile circuit.
“It’s just such a different world,” Hocevar continued. “I mean, we passed, I think it was, I think there were 10,500 passes (at Atlanta), green flag, right? You’ve seen everybody 10 different times in one stage. So at COTA, you’re going to, I think there was one natural yellow, if any, last year, and you get spread out. Maybe it’s a little different with them cutting the track in half, but it’s just such a different world that, you know, I’m still gonna be aggressive at times, but you can be a lot more patient, too.
“You might see you might even see one guy under a green flag cycle. Because, you know, obviously, tracks now smaller, but what it used to be, the 3-mile track you would barely see anybody during a great flight? I ran 20 or 30 laps almost on my own island. It’s hard to piss anybody off if I’m on my own island.”