Dale Earnhardt Jr. Thinks Rick Hendrick May Be Where Carson Hocevar Draws the Line Over NASCAR Aggression

Rick Hendrick has long known how to rein in young guns when deliberate wrecks and hard pushes cross the line. In 2023, after Ross Chastain repeatedly tangled with Kyle Larson, the HMS owner publicly warned that if Chastain hit any Hendrick driver again, there would be payback, and manufacturer ties to Chevrolet would not shield him. Now, Carson Hocevar finds himself in a position similar to Chastain back then, though Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes the Spire Motorsports rookie will likely set boundaries when it comes to Hendrick.

With 318 Cup Series victories, Hendrick Motorsports stands as the winningest team in NASCAR’s top tier, and Mr. Hendrick’s influence runs deep. Crossing him or his drivers rarely ends well for a newcomer, a point Dale Jr. stressed on his podcast.

He said, “I am entertained by Hocevar until it becomes my problem… That goes back to the same thing. I think it’s all fine until he does something that irks a Hendrick or somebody that’s directly above his chain of command.”

Junior continued, “I think you know if he goes out there and impeded the lap for Larson and the big man gets upset, because the big man has some influence over Spire. The big man has influence over most things Chevrolet.

“And so when you start messing with what his program’s doing or what he’s trying to accomplish, that’s when the vice gets a little tight and Carson will feel that. But until that happens… he’s not going to make the adjustments ’cause he doesn’t feel like he needs to. Not going to change.”

It’s a scenario that mirrors Chastain’s shift in tone. One warning from Hendrick at a press conference drained much of Chastain’s bravado, making him far more cautious about wrecking not only HMS drivers but anyone on the grid.

After this year’s Nashville incident, where the 22-year-old Hocevar wrecked Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in Stage 2 without provocation and followed it with unapologetic comments about refusing to change, speculation grew that a call from Mr. H might be coming if he targets an HMS driver.

For now, Hocevar’s aggressive streak is in full view, and the limelight will remain on whether he tones it down or keeps pressing the limits until he is issued a warning from a big name in the game.

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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