Tommy Baldwin furiously shuts down Carson Hocevar, Dale Earnhardt comparisons

There is no doubt that the last month has been defined by the actions, both good and bad, of Carson Hocevar in the NASCAR Cup Series. His speed on the track, words off the track, and the constant run-ins with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have made Hocevar a frequent topic of discussion lately.

This year, Carson Hocevar has earned a few comparisons. He has been compared to a young Dale Earnhardt with his raw speed and lack of compassion for running over his fellow drivers on the track.

Well, Tommy Baldwin is sick of it. The racer and current Competition Director of Rick Ware Racing, had a few things to say about Hocevar this week on Door Bumper Clear.

“It’s not processing for him [Hocevar],” Baldwin said. “Something’s not processing – Carson, hello, something’s not processing with you.”

After a short back-and-forth with co-host Freddie Kraft, Baldwin went further. He shut down the Carson Hocevar-Dale Earnhardt comparisons.

“I’m going to go on record, look, Freddie, people comparing him to Dale Earnhardt, stop,” Baldwin said. “There will never, ever, ever be another Dale Earnhardt. I don’t want to hear that, especially at Carson Hocevar. Never, ever, is he going to be a Dale Earnhardt, okay? So, that pi--es me off, number one. Number two is, you can get behind people without wrecking them and get by them with just nudging them a little bit. Come on.”

It wasn’t all bashing from Baldwin. He gave Hocevar credit, but clearly wants to see more from the Spire Motorsports driver.

“The guy’s got the world ahead of him,” Baldwin said of Carson Hocevar. “He does. I mean, everyone agrees he’s got so much talent, right? That’s not the problem.”

Now, I understand Baldwin’s frustrations. He is an old-school racer. But those comparisons aren’t just coming from random people on the internet or the media. Those comparisons have been made by Dale Earnhardt Jr. himself.

In the modern Cup Series, drivers are too often overly nice. It’s all about texting or calling after an on-track run-in or any other drama. We never see these contentious moments actually play out like they used to.

Part of that is NASCAR’s fault. Fines and points penalties keep drivers mostly in check now. However, I don’t mind Carson Hocevar pi--ing people off. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. can do what he feels is appropriate in response, but Hocevar isn’t here to make friends. He wants to race, win races, and bring checks and trophies back to Spire.