Kevin Harvick reacts to Carson Hocevar comments on Mexico, punishment from Spire

Kevin Harvick is a believer of Carson Hocevar’s talent behind the wheel. However, his off-track drama has him wondering what the future holds for the young wheelman.

From his beef with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to the unflattering comments he made about Mexico City that resulted in a major fine from Spire Motorsports, Hocevar has been going through a bit of a rough patch when he’s not behind the wheel. That’s something Harvick wants to see straightened out, or it could hamper his Cup Series career.

“That was one of the biggest things that I had to convince Rodney Childers of, that I wasn’t going to have all these outside distractions. When you’re having to answer questions, then your team owner, general manager, crew chief and crew guys start to chatter. You get this reputation that goes along with being a pain in the ass. You can’t get this guy hired. The problem comes into effect is when you have an opening, or you need to make a change (on your crew). People want to be a part of what Hocevar is doing, if he can drive like that. But when you have the distractions every single week? … It’s just one thing after another, week after week after week,” Harvick explained, via Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour.

“At some point it’s like, ‘Well, I don’t want to deal with it anymore. I don’t want the distractions,’ whether it’s the crew guys or the shop guys. Definitely something that he has to get under control, or he’ll never get to take that potential as a driver and use that to be a champion, because of all the other distractions. He has the ability to be a champion — pure ability. But in Cup racing? Pure ability is not all that goes with it. There are politics, sponsors — all these things that go into what I call the circle of life. If you don’t have your circle of life in balance, you’re not winning Cup races. There’s just too many things that go with it.

“Xfinity, Trucks, you can get away with saying whatever you want, because the magnitude of criticism that you’re going to get is just not that great compared to what it is in Cup. In Cup, they’re going to expose it until it breaks you or you stop.”

Based on his pure ability, Harvick believes in Hoceaver’s chances at becoming a star. It’s all the other stuff that he needs to put together. The former Cup Series champion continued to lay it all on the line while speaking on the matter.

“Do you want to be a superstar? Everybody, all of them want to talk about how they’re not as big of stars as they used to be. Well, guess what, boys and girls — if you’re going to be a superstar, you’re going to have to build your brand,” Harvick added. “Sometimes you’re going to have to do things that you might not like. Now, you know, with the comments about Mexico City, why would anybody in Mexico City, or anyone that has anything to do with Mexico City, want to support a guy that talked trash about everything about it. You’re making it difficult for the marketing department.

“Oh, let’s not forget, you’ve never been to Victory Lane in a Cup car. There’s a lot of layers, but the kid has all the talent that you need, if he can just get the rest of it straightened out.”

Alas, it’s evident Carson Hocevar should take Kevin Harvick’s advice, and listen to a veteran who’s been in his shoes. His future is bright, but if he can’t stop making mistakes off the track, the wheelman may never get to see it through.