Carson Hocevar’s social media presence is unfiltered, and far too often, drivers around him have said that he does things just for clicks. From announcing discounts on his merchandise based on which driver he is beefing with on track to replying to anybody who says something about him on a podcast or to the press. And that has always bothered others in the garage. 

Kyle Larson called Hocevar a child for the way he behaves on his Twitch stream. And Hocevar immediately hit back. But his social media success is something that nobody has made a genuine attempt to capture. Hocevar understands content, while others who have tried have failed. 

“There’s drivers that have done YouTube videos, but they’re racing videos, and NASCAR’s already a niche,” Hocevar told Jeff Gluck on the Gluckcast podcast. “So then, now you’re making a niche of a niche. A lot of their videos are just driver interviews. Like, they could see that personality if they just watched the race. They’re not really seeing a lot new. I think the biggest thing is, if it doesn’t make money right away, 99 percent of the drivers just go, ‘Ah, it’s not worth it.’”

Hocevar was speaking to Gluck, discussing why he is so popular amongst those on social media. Compared to other drivers, Hocevar has a massive YouTube subscriber count of 86.4K. On Twitch, where he streams himself playing games like Fortnite, his following is 50.4k. On X, he has 89.4K followers, 390K on Instagram, and 233K on Facebook. 

What Hocevar does well is put his content up across platforms, something that is key for most successful content creators. If he puts up a video on YouTube, he immediately shares it on X. And not just his content; he uses social media as a tool to sell merchandise. 

For instance, when he was beefing with Brad Keselowski, Hocevar announced a six percent discount on his merchandise. When it was Ryan Blaney, it was 12 percent. For his fans, that is the kind of engagement they want to see. For drivers in the sport, it comes off as disrespect. 

As Hocevar said, several NASCAR drivers have tried their hands at YouTube, but it hasn’t worked out for any of them the way it has for him.

Chase Elliott, eight-time winner of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver award, isn’t as popular on YouTube. He has only 22K subscribers. His last video was posted two months ago, and the content he posts is mostly behind-the-scenes or racing-related content. Elliott’s teammate has a slightly better following. 

Kyle Larson’s page is more active than Elliott’s. Larson’s 33.7K subscribers don’t come anywhere near Hocevar, whom he called a kid. While his last video was posted a month ago, all of his content is related to either his or his son’s races. Larson’s YouTube bio, though, clearly hasn’t been updated. It still says he is the 2021 Cup champion without mentioning his 2025 title that he is currently defending. 

Another driver who is known to get into it with Hocevar, Bubba Wallace has 20.8K subscribers, and all of his content is racing-related. The last video that the 23XI Racing star posted was a throwback to his 2025 Brickyard 400 victory, which he posted two months ago. 

Team Penske’s No. 12 Ford driver Ryan Blaney, who was on the receiving end of Hocevar’s right hooks, might have the most diverse content based on the aforementioned drivers. Blaney has videos with NASCAR in which he interviews personalities while taking laps around an oval track in his Cup car. The show is called On the Gas with Ryan Blaney. The No. 12 driver had 12K subscribers.

Four current Cup stars, but none show a side of their personality that Hocevar does. And Hocevar’s content is connecting him to a market that no one has been able to tap. 

What sets his content apart is the kind of things he does. A fortnight ago, Hocevar bought a tank from YouTuber WhistlinDiesel. He made a video detailing the expenses it took to get the tanks, and he used it to run over one of his old cars, amongst other things. 

But he isn’t in it for the money. He doesn’t care about the monetization aspect of his YouTube content. For him, there is a different reason to keep doing it. 

“This is just fun for me. This is my hobby,” Hocevar said. “I’m going to do these things whether I have a camera or not. I can maybe have more fun, and do a lot more hobbies and not have to be like, dang, I got to win three races to be able to do this idea I have with my buddies. It’s like, oh shoot, I just need to sell some t-shirts, and we could do it tomorrow.”

And no one in NASCAR sells t-shirts like Hocevar. At the end of August, NASCAR reported that Hocevar was No.1 in shirt sales. That rise also shows Hocevar’s meteoric increase in popularity. And all we can do is imagine what happens if he actually starts winning more on the track.