Every NASCAR race needs a bit of drama, and the race at Michigan saw that drama caused on Lap 83, courtesy of hometown hero Carson Hocevar.

At the restart on that lap, Hocevar attempted to go to the left of John Hunter Nemechek, touching his rear, which created a wreck that almost defined the race. 

The wreck took out the likes of Championship leader Tyler Reddick, RCR’s Austin Dillon, and involved drivers like Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace. 

While many drivers and veterans called out Hocevar for causing the wreck, Dale Earnhardt Jr doesn’t want the 77 Spire driver to change a single bit. Speaking on the post-race broadcast for Prime, Junior was clear on his views of Hocevar. 

“I want him to make those mistakes. I don’t want him to really change. What he’s doing, as a fan and as a broadcaster, what he did today, made this race unique. If he cleans it up, I’m not sure I’m gonna like what I see."

Dale Jr said that Hocevar brings an element to the race that causes excitement and brings a certain spice that may go missing if he 'fixes' it. While he said that he would call out Hocevar whenever he would be involved in such race-defining wrecks, he also believes that Hocevar has a role to play. 

“I kind of like the drama that he brings. I think that all of us have a different role to play in this whole deal. He’s got a hat to wear, and he wears it well, and I wouldn’t really change… He doesn’t seem like he’s interested in changing… He’s gonna do things like that again, we’ll call him out on it, but it adds something to the race that we all like,” said Dale Jr. 

While fans enjoy what Hocevar brings, drivers on track aren’t very happy with Hocevar. 

Bubba Wallace gives Hocevar game-changing advice

Carson Hocevar is one of the naturally fastest drivers in the NASCAR garage, and several drivers have agreed on that. Bubba Wallace was spotted in an animated conversation with Hocevar after the race, and the 23XI driver passed on some crucial advice that he once got. 

According to most drivers in NASCAR, Hocevar is the wrecker-in-chief, and before Hocevar, it was Wallace who had that unofficial crown amongst his rivals.

Wallace told Hocevar, “I said, ‘I’m jealous of how fast you are, kid.’ No doubt. He’s one of the fastest in the field. That’s his natural ability. When you see that, and you recognize that, I gotta give respect to it.”

“At the same time, Kevin Harvick told me, whenever I was hitting s*** 4 or 5 years ago. He said, ‘Stop hitting s***, and your finishes will show.’ That’s what I simply tried to tell him.” Wallace added, “He’s fast. He's going for every move, every second. It’s not worth it. He’s creating a lot of enemies.”

The line Wallace ended with was telling Hocevar, “You’re fast. A lot of us are jealous of what you have and what you’re able to do. But we’re beating you because we can put a race together better than you.”

Hocevar's ‘hold no prisoners’ driver style has been all the talk after the race in his hometown. He finished 5th while the wreck he started ended the race of Championship leader Tyler Reddick, who could have been in for big points.

You can read more on the Daytona Racing Digest!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason