Carson Hocevar’s rumored relationship is once again making headlines. After veteran driver Denny Hamlin recently poked fun at the young driver’s high-profile romance, influencer Tabitha Swatosh found herself right back in the NASCAR spotlight.
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Swatosh recently posted a carousel of pictures on Instagram that showed a very different side of NASCAR fandom. The influencer posed in several glamorous outfits, with one image featuring the words “wear those heels” written in lipstick. Another picture highlighted several pairs of heels, making the message behind the post impossible to miss. It was a celebration of style and femininity, but the timing gives the post another layer entirely.
Swatosh’s Instagram post came shortly after a female NASCAR creator, with the username m_kirkbride05, shared a controversial message about what women entering the sport should look like.
“American racing isn’t a fashion show of who can wear the cutest heel, put the most pink on the car and or racing in make up terms. Girls coming into NASCAR need to assimilate to the style and culture that is redneck and dirty, and hell yeah brother,” the creator had claimed.
The comments quickly became relevant to Swatosh because of her growing association with Hocevar and NASCAR itself. Hocevar recently piloted a full pink No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the “Fast & Flirty” scheme. Swatosh, who has been romantically linked to the Spire Motorsports driver, helped design the eye-catching paint scheme.
Several prominent NASCAR personalities have begun referencing Swatosh while discussing Hocevar and his controversial behavior. Denny Hamlin, for instance, largely avoided addressing the 22-year-old’s on-track contact with Connor Zilisch or his comments following the New Hampshire race. Instead, Hamlin took an indirect shot at Swatosh, bringing her into the conversation.
“The best thing that’s come out of that camp in a month has been his girl’s tutorial on makeup and racing,” Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast, talking about Swatosh’s viral TikTok where she explained NASCAR while applying makeup.
Former Cup Series champ Kevin Harvick also mentioned Swatosh indirectly while discussing Carson Hocevar’s recent struggles and the amount of attention surrounding the young driver.
“A lot of times when you see a young driver that gets a lot of attention, had some success, wins a race, everybody’s like, ‘Hey, you should do this. Hey, you should do that. Get a TikTok girlfriend,’” Harvick said.
While those comments might sound petty, the numbers back them. Recently, Hocevar’s on-track performances have crashed. During the final three weeks of the regular season in August, Hocevar had a 37th-place DNF at Richmond, finished 19th at New Hampshire, and a 38th-place DNF crash at Daytona.
All this added attention makes Swatosh’s latest post particularly fitting. In her post, she makes it clear that being passionate about NASCAR doesn’t mean women have to give up their identity or personal style. She also spoke about how her love for NASCAR came from her father and how he has supported her throughout her journey.
“The same dad who showed up to every one of my pageants, taught me how to change my own oil, encouraged me to dress how I wanted, to speak up for what I believe in, and to be an example for the young women who look up to me,” Swatosh said in her post.
The ‘appropriate appearance’ issue has affected not only rumored WAGs of NASCAR drivers. Instead, even female drivers themselves have faced unnecessary criticism over their appearance outside the race car. For example, Toni Breidinger has regularly faced online criticism from sections of the NASCAR fanbase because of her modeling career. Yet, she has made it clear that racing has always been at the center of her identity.
Similarly, Danica Patrick experienced a similar reaction when she wore a one-shoulder red dress during pre-race coverage of the Indianapolis 500. Critics questioned the outfit, but Patrick did not back down. She highlighted the dress on her Instagram Story and made her position clear: she liked it, regardless of what others thought.
Swatosh’s message fits into that same conversation. She feels that NASCAR can be a sport built around tradition. But its female audience does not need to fit one mold to belong in it.