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Carson Hocevar Goes Full Ricky Bobby During Red Flag at Atlanta

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated Feb 23, 2026 2:24 PM ET

When it comes to "Talladega Nights" and the mythos that is Ricky Bobby, not every NASCAR driver appreciates the mid-2000s comedy equally. Carson Hocevar fully embraces it, though, to the point he was calling for a "Shake and Bake" move at the end of Sunday's Cup Series race at Atlanta.

NASCAR threw the red flag, and it looked like one more restart was all it was going to take to finish this race. Hocevar dialed up his crew on the radio and explained his thought process about the upcoming restart.

Much like the character in the movie, Hocevar is a driver known for his wild and aggressive racing style. He doesn't have a Fig Newton sticker across the windshield, but just ask other drivers why he's called the "Hurricane."

For fans of all things Ricky Bobby, you know the Shake and Bake is the move used by Bobby and his teammate and friend, Cal Naughton Jr., where they use the draft to slingshot one car around the other. Is it a real move? No, not really, but Carson Hocevar was calling for it like it is.

Carson Hocevar trails Tyler Reddick during Autotrader 400 at Atlanta. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

"It was Bubba. 'Shake and Bake.' Let him know. It'll come down to me and him if it works," Hocevar told his team. "Otherwise, I will take the front row and go to Ross and say, 'Shake and (expletive) Bake!"

Now, imagine you're the 23 team or the 1 team and you hear that Carson Hocevar is asking to work with you to pull off a "Shake and Bake." What is going through their minds during that? Particularly with Bubba Wallace, who arguably had the fastest car, working with a Chevy as a Toyota driver? That is almost out of the question.

Unfortunately, on the ensuing overtime restart, Hocevar got into Christopher Bell and caused another caution. The race went to double overtime, and Tyler Reddick was pushed to the win by Chase Briscoe. Hocevar finished P4 and Chastain, his second choice for dance partner, finished P3 just ahead of him.

While Carson Hocevar didn't win, he did steal the show with his performance. He also earned quite a comparison from Kyle Petty afterward.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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