Kevin Harvick Urges Carson Hocevar to Not Buckle Under Pressure, Points to Ross Chastain Situation to Make Case

Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar was on the front pages following Sunday’s Cup Series at Atlanta. The 22-year-old finished in second place after an aggressive display of speed and skill. Many drivers have since been mad at him for being unnecessarily hostile in his driving style. However, the iconic Kevin Harvick wants him to keep the character intact.

Speaking on Harvick Happy Hour, he stressed that racing hard against the best drivers in the sport was the best way for a young driver to learn the craft.

His only hope is that Hocevar doesn’t buckle under the pressure that everyone puts on him and tones down the aggression. Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain was used as an example.

“There’s going to be some times where he has got four or five guys mad at him after the race,” he noted. “There is no better way to learn. Why would you not want to learn by being in the front, racing against the guys that are winning the races, and running up front?” That said, there needs to be a balance by which he is not making enemies all around him.

Harvick continued, “If he has got shoulders big enough to not back up… Like they’ve done with Chastain when they got on him for being too aggressive. So, you have to be able to balance all that and still be able to have that aggressive nature and make those aggressive moves.” His final advice for the youngster is to block all the noise out and keep the pedal down.

Chastain used to carry a reputation as an extremely aggressive driver. That image has waned in recent times due to the interventions of people like Rick Hendrick.

Being in the center of a chaotic storm all the time did not do Chastain much good in front of the press, and he decided to ease off on his style. Parallelly, that has caused his results to suffer.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s thoughts about Carson Hocevar

Speaking on his podcast, Dale Jr. expressed empathy for Kyle Busch. The two-time champion was one of the drivers whom Hocevar had angered in Atlanta. However, from a fan’s perspective, the popular icon sees nothing wrong with the way Hocevar drove. “I just see a guy trying to do everything he can to win,” he stated.

The young man is going to be around for a while considering that he is talented enough to win races. But his style means he will be causing some serious damage to the chances of everyone else around him. Junior had a solution for this problem. He said, “The veterans need to get him in a headlock in the garage,” he began.

“And say, ‘Look, man. You’re great. You got talent. You need to clean this **** up.’ He does want his peers to respect him. We all want that.” Another showing like the one in Atlanta and that headlock will come. But it is up to Hocevar to decide how he returns the favor.