When you think of the biggest personalities of NASCAR, you might come to the same conclusions as many in the industry.
Denny Hamlin has become the voice of the drivers and the people in the last couple of years and has wielded his role well, using it on his highly popular podcast. Kyle Busch is another candidate, as his candid and confident personality offers us some of the best radio and media soundbites every week.
But when they retire – and sometime soon – who will be left to take the mantle?
After what he did on Saturday’s (May 10) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, you can believe it’ll probably be young NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar.
Whether you like it or not.
With one lap to go at Kansas Speedway, Hocevar was leading over series regular Layne Riggs in his second series start this year. Riggs attempted to pass the Cup racer on the bottom in turn 2 and slipped up the racetrack, collecting Hocevar. Both drivers saved it and were able to race back to the line.
But instead of the Spire Motorsports driver coming across the line, climbing out of the truck, thanking his sponsors and team members like every Cup racer would – and probably should – do, he stuck one arm out the window, and flipped Riggs off. One last thing to rub in his face.
WHAT A BATTLE. 10/10
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 11, 2025
Carson Hocevar holds off a hard-charging Layne Riggs to win the @NASCAR_Trucks race at Kansas! #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/YajijQms64
Love it. Hate it. It doesn’t matter. You’re talking about it, and NASCAR needs more of that nowadays.
As racing becomes more expensive, and longtime sponsors lose interest in the sport, teams must play it as safe as possible. However, drivers can’t be themselves and lose their on-screen personalities as a result, and less fans appear to latch on to a driver they want to root for every week.
Long gone are the days of famous Tony Stewart rants or Ward Burton confessing his wishes to shoot the sport’s most popular driver through the windshield.
What you get is this driver personality paradox, where while teams would love to have a popular driver among fans supporting their efforts, they can’t have them be popular for what they perceive to be the wrong reasons.
The result is a new class of drivers who are mostly neutral behind a microphone and in front of a camera, and while some of them certainly have the enthusiasm and energy to grow some fanbases among them, there doesn’t seem to have been that one standout driver among the rookies in the last few years.
Until Hocevar.
During his time in the Truck Series, the young racer ruffled plenty of feathers. Most notably in 2023, when driving for Niece Motorsports, he turned championship favorite Corey Heim for the lead at Phoenix Raceway during the season finale. The result was a furious Heim and a lost title for both he and Hocevar.
That aggressive reputation hasn’t gone anywhere since moving to Cup, either.
And maybe it shouldn’t.
In 2024, the Michigan native joined Spire in the No. 77 entry in his Cup Series rookie season. Spire, while a respectable team that has certainly grown in the last five years, has yet to reach that level to compete with the likes of Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. As a result, nobody expected Hocevar to dazzle many and most expected series veteran Corey LaJoie or 2022 Truck Series champion Zane Smith to become the face of the team.
Then Hocevar not only earned six top 10s – more than both of his teammates combined – and the best season-long average finish in Spire’s history with 18.3, but he defeated both his teammate Smith and Stewart-Haas Racing driver and Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s protege Josh Berry to win the year’s Rookie of the Year honors.
His racing demeanor has been the highlight of the debate for many fans. Some see him as exciting on the track, while others believe he needs to be more respectful. However, regardless of what you may think, the result is the same: you are talking about him.
But it’s not only what Hocevar has done on track that makes him stand out. It’s what he’s done off of it.
In 2025, the Spire driver has developed a personality for himself away from the car. During this year’s Daytona 500, the field was met with a classic Daytona International Speedway rain delay that red-flagged the race for a time. Every driver escaped the spotlight and went straight to their motorhomes and haulers to enjoy what little bit of relaxation they could get.
Except Hocevar.
The No. 77 driver beelined to his hauler and climbed into his racing rig. Minutes later, he was streaming on Twitch while playing iRacing, still in his firesuit.
hey, i am gonna go live on twitch on iracing if you’re bored.https://t.co/pUykuvmS80 pic.twitter.com/IGkp3iBCIi
— Carson Hocevar (@CarsonHocevar) February 16, 2025
During Homestead-Miami Speedway weekend, the NASCAR social team released a video game trailer in the style of the popular video game franchise Grand Theft Auto. Hocevar, complete with wonky video game movement and third-person perspective, was featured as the protagonist.
The promo is a masterpiece, and his acting was flawless.
But his escapades didn’t end there. At Darlington Raceway during Throwback Weekend, the 22-year-old pulled up in a throwback livery, but not for his Cup car.
Hocevar found a Dale Earnhardt livery Chevrolet Silverado on Facebook Marketplace and drove it to the track days later.
For throwback weekend, @CarsonHocevar brought this Dale Earnhardt-inspired Chevy Silverado he bought from Facebook marketplace after Phoenix.
— Dalton Hopkins (@PitLaneCPT) April 5, 2025
“I wanted something old school”#NASCAR #Goodyear400 #ThrowbackWeekend pic.twitter.com/OokIJJFxlf
And this wasn’t some fun hobby purchase that he keeps in his garage for the rest of the year, he reportedly still uses the Earnhardt truck as a daily driver.
Saturday was only the latest in the Hocevar lore. While some may think the bird-flipping was disrespectful or unprofessional, it stood out. That’s something that not many young NASCAR drivers do much of anymore.
Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loud column, co-host of the Frontstretch Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.
Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT