Denny Hamlin issues a blunt warning to Carson Hocevar after a brutal overtime wreck at Atlanta, calling the incident “tough to watch” from a competitor’s perspective. Hocevar, nicknamed “Hurricane Hocevar,” unleashed his aggressive driving at EchoPark Speedway, bringing the heat and pushing the pace as he chased his first NASCAR Cup Series win. While there’s no denying the boldness of his approach, Hamlin isn’t buying the notion that Hocevar’s early overtime move was merely “going for it.” He warned that in this sport, what goes around tends to come back around, and Hocevar could end up losing a checkerboard someday because of the same reckless tendencies.
Hamlin pointed out that the media often glorifies Hocevar’s aggression, arguing that reporters love the drama because it fuels abundant coverage. “If you want to see what the media thinks, just ask them and they’ll tell you, ‘Ah, we love Hocevar.’ Well, no question you do because he’s giving you some content for you to talk about,” Hamlin said on Monday’s episode of Actions Detrimental. Yet as a racer, he believes Hocevar’s style could backfire when he’s in a position to win and finds himself blocked or blocked by others who won’t back down.
The heat between Hocevar and Hamlin wasn’t limited to words. In the first overtime restart, Christopher Bell started on the outside of the front row, but his No. 20 Toyota crashed into the outside wall before turning into Turn 1. Hocevar, following Bell, attempted a daring passage between Bell and race leader Bubba Wallace, effectively squeezing through a narrow gap. The move disrupted Bell’s bid for his season’s first victory while Hocevar ultimately finished fourth.
Hocevar acknowledged after the race that he expects to issue some apologies later in the week, as tensions and apologies accumulate. Hamlin is wary of what the future holds if Hocevar continues to drive with such aggression.
“His style is his choice, and he’s free to race however he wants,” Hamlin commented. “He’s certainly entertaining for the fans; he’s not entertaining for the opponents who might get collided into. It’s looking a bit reckless at the moment, and I don’t think those are the kinds of moves that consistently win races today.
“I believe he may be missing a key element of racecraft beyond just speed. There’s more to winning than having a fast car. It’s a challenging way to race when you’re constantly on edge around competitors. If you don’t care about friction with others, that’s your call too.”
