"I would probably wreck him the first chance I got,” a stern Kevin Harvick had said back in February for Carson Hocevar. He felt Hocevar's aggressive driving would eventually make someone teach him a lesson.

But the Harvick of June sounds different from the Harvick of February.

“I think that my advice to Carson Hocevar from the beginning of the year to now would be much different,” Harvick explained on his Happy Hour podcast.

“I think that he's learned enough about how to manage the situations and not tear up his own car. And he's gonna continue to put people in a bad spot, but I think that's how you gotta race the Gen 7 car.”

Hocevar, the 2024 Cup Series Rookie of the Year and the 2026 Talladega winner for Spire Motorsports, has continued to develop himself into one of the sport's most aggressive young talents.

Owing to this change, Harvick made his position clear. “I would tell him to keep doing what he's doing because that's what makes him good,” he said, before adding, “But I think what makes him great is what he is. He's going to teach himself those things.”

The reason Hocevar or any driver stands out from others is because of who they are. Hocevar's aggressive and unapologetic style makes him who he is, and it is that very style that will also teach him whatever he has to learn.

“You've got to turn them loose or they're gonna be somebody who they're not, and it won't be good,” Harvick added.

After all, even Harvick was appreciating Hocevar's driving style, and it should mean a lot coming from the veteran. But what were the causes that Harvick earlier had such a strong opinion of Hocevar's style?

Carson Hocevar's reputation was built through controversy

Hocevar has found himself right at the centre of several controversies throughout the last two seasons. Most recently, the Spire driver triggered a nine-car crash in Michigan that then prompted Bubba Wallace to warn that the young driver was “creating a lot of enemies” in the garage.

Even after the incident at Nashville during the Ally 400 in 2024, where he spun Harrison Burton, he was handed a $50,000 fine and a 25-point penalty.

It doesn't end there either; an incident during the playoffs in 2025 at Kansas involving worker safety also awarded him another $50,000 fine. Apart from these, quite frequently, there are many minor incidents where Hocevar is directly or indirectly involved in wrecks.

This showcases that his driving has surely been rougher than that of others around the track. But as Harvick pointed out, that is his style. And as long as he reins it in a bit and continues performing, clearly even critics are turning into supporters.

You can read more on the Daytona Racing Digest!

Written by

Uday Jakhar

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason