Kyle Petty Launches Staunch Defense of Carson Hocevar After Dale Earnhardt Jr. Claimed “He Might’ve Messed With the Wrong Guy”

Carson Hocevar came under the spotlight once again for his antics at the Nashville Speedway on Sunday. He ended Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s race by nudging his No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet into the wall during Stage 2. Many, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., felt that the youngster might have picked a bone with the wrong guy.

After all, Stenhouse Jr. is known for his aggression on and off the track. There is also this notion that the rest of the garage will set such unruly youngsters in their place sooner or later. But former driver Kyle Petty is completely against such notions.

Petty expressed strong support for Hocevar in NASCAR’s Kiss My A**phalt segment by posing a question to the youngster’s naysayers.

Characters such as Hocevar are in the sport. There was Dale Earnhardt Sr., Darrell Waltrip, Kurt Busch, and a few others. None of these drivers relented to the pressure of the garage and changed their nature. So, why would, or rather why should, Hocevar do it, questioned Petty.

“Who he is is an emerging superstar in this sport. Somebody that we, as fans, are going to have to deal with for a long time. Some of us will cheer him. Some of us will boo him,” said Petty.

“But let me tell you something. They talk about the garage fixing this thing. The garage is not going to fix this thing. The garage is going to respect this. The garage is going to embrace this,” he added.

Petty reasoned that the acceptance will happen because Hocevar has proven that he is a driver capable of racing with the leaders every week. He isn’t making noise without the performance to back it up. As Petty reiterated, he is where “the winners live and where champions survive”.

However, not all former racers have a similar opinion on Hocevar’s actions on the track.

What did Earnhardt Jr. say about Hocevar?

Junior has always been a big fan of Hocevar and his character. He has expressed on multiple occasions that drivers like Hocevar are much-needed in the sport right now since everybody else is so hell-bent on walking inside the lines. But what the youngster did on Sunday was a bit too much for him.

“It is entertaining. I just don’t like it when he wrecks the good guy. You have got to pick and choose who your enemies are. You can’t just blanket the garage. I want him to really dial it back because it’s great as a fan to see him in controversy, we need a little color and personality, and he brings tons of it,” said Dale Jr.

“The garage will police it a little bit,” he added. “Nobody has stepped up to it just yet. But I think he might have messed with the wrong guy tonight.” 

Hocevar did not apologise for wrecking Stenhouse Jr. It remains to be seen if he will do so in the coming days.