NASCAR insiders praise Carson Hocevar’s personality after Truck Series theatrics at Kansas: ‘Good for the sport’

On Saturday, Carson Hocevar made headlines with his great victory at Kansas in the Truck Series and his hand gesture while doing it. After last-lap contact racing for the lead with Layne Riggs, the NASCAR Cup Series driver had to remind him who he was racing against.

Carson Hocevar spent the entire exit of Turn 4 and to the finish line with his middle finger out of his window. Frankly, it was hilarious. But it caused a little bit of an uproar online.

Talking about the race weekend on Sunday night, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic talked about Hocevar’s antics. Is it good for NASCAR?

“Whether you like it or not, you might look at that and be like, ‘I hate this guy.’ But you have the personality that everybody’s asking for,” Gluck said on The Teardown. “So, he ruffles all the veterans’ feathers. I don’t know, at least his personality, I’ll take that over bland, you know?”

Gluck’s co-host agreed. Carson Hocevar is the driver that people have been asking for.

“It’s what you need. You can’t sit here and say NASCAR doesn’t have personalities and it doesn’t have young drivers who are willing to do these things, and then you have a young driver who’s doing all of the things that you’re wanting, and then you turn around and say, ‘Oh well, not that. No, no, no, no.’ It’s like, he is what you want,” Bianchi said.

“Now, you have to continue to back it up on the race track, and you have to be willing to accept some of the backlash you’re going to inevitably get. But yeah, he is good for the sport. If he can start to string together consistent results and maybe get into Victory Lane on the Cup side, that is going to be a good thing for the sport.”

Carson Hocevar is the young, talented star this sport has been looking for. He isn’t alone, either. There is a ton of talent and personality in NASCAR among drivers 18 to 25. Hocevar might be the first among them to really make a cultural impact, though.

On top of his antics and talent, I hope Hocevar finds a true rival in the Cup Series. Corey Heim is still in the Truck Series, but perhaps not for long. He could be a good counterbalance to Hocevar. There is Ty Gibbs, too. Only 22 years old himself, Gibbs has the talent, despite recent struggles, to become a star.

As Carson Hocevar continues to improve, he will garner more fans. The more he is mixing it up and making noise, the better. NASCAR has a responsibility to promote these drivers and rivalries, too.