TIME recently released its inaugural TIME100 Sports list, and NASCAR claimed three spots. Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin represented the sport, but it was the third name that stopped the scroll and had fans asking questions. Carson Hocevar, who is only twenty-three, became the surprise inclusion, placed in the “Leaders” category with figures like F1’s Kimi Antonelli.

TIME’s Michael Errigo wrote: “Carson Hocevar could very well be the next face of NASCAR. The 23-year-old from Michigan, who claimed his first Cup Series victory in April, possesses a combination of talent and confidence that attracts a fervent following.”

Errigo also pointed specifically to Hocevar’s Talladega victory celebration (which absolutely validated the ‘Hurricane Hocevar’ nickname), where the driver steered down the frontstretch sitting outside of the driver’s window. Naturally, Hocevar posted the TIME announcement on his Instagram Story and paired it with Chief Keef’s “Laughin’ to the Bank.” The song has lyrics like “I’m laughin’ at these lames like, ‘ha, ha, ha,'” which must have ruffled more than a few feathers.

Almost everyone would agree that Jordan and Hamlin’s place on the list is harder to dispute, especially since TIME’s Sean Gregory placed them jointly under “Innovators”, framing their impact specifically around the 2024 antitrust lawsuit 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed against NASCAR, and the subsequent move to evergreen charters as part of a settlement.

It was a structural shift that gave smaller teams greater financial stability and made it easier to attract sponsors and drivers – hence prompting Gregory to write: “Michael Jordan is pretty well-known for transforming basketball. But few would have predicted that Jordan, in tandem with three-time Daytona 500-winning driver Denny Hamlin, would initiate monumental change in NASCAR, too.”

But Hocevar? – that is the simple question fans have.

Fans Are Not Happy With the TIME100 List Featuring Hocevar

The first reaction to cut through said: “In the realm of marketing and understanding how to build a brand through streaming and social media, Hocevar is ahead of the game, there’s no question. As a driver on the track and garage presence among real people, not so much.”

Hocevar’s digital footprint is one to envy, surely, thanks to the IShowSpeed collaboration at Daytona, the Met Gala appearance in May, sponsors like Chili’s and Spectrum, and 300k+ Instagram followers. But the “Leaders” label, specifically, is what fans took issue with. A driver whose season includes a Michigan wreck that eliminated points leader Tyler Reddick and drew a “chill pill” from Denny Hamlin doesn’t seem to fit that term.

The question, hence, arises naturally – when did we begin to mistake influence for leadership?

“He’s definitely leading the sport in the most hated category. I don’t hate the guy, but I certainly don’t understand how they could choose him,” said another user.

The garage seems to have lost patience with Hocevar’s tactics, which became increasingly evident after the Michigan wreck he initiated, which collected nine cars.

Austin Dillon was clear in how he saw things: “I hope at some point he (Hocevar) figures it out, but I know I’m not going to show anything to him for a long time. I’m mad because we had a fast race car. That truly sucks!”

Denny Hamlin, too, offered a heated piece of advice, which further strengthens the fans’ arguments.

“I truly believe if he would just take a chill pill, he would be way better off than what he is right now,” Hamlin said on his podcast Actions Detrimental. “The racecraft bar is really low. It’s really, really low. And what I’m seeing is that, while it seems probably like in the moment for him that he’s making the right moves, he’s just killing his own momentum.”

Bubba Wallace subsequently warned him that he’s “creating a lot of enemies.”

“Can’t argue MJ and Denny, but ‘leader’ and Hocevar? Come on now we’re reaching,” argued another user.

That argument can be supported by looking at what others in the Leaders list have accomplished. There is Kimi Antonelli, who has five consecutive wins, and then Amna Al Qubaisi, who became the “first woman to race in the Pro class of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia.” Hocevar hasn’t managed to add such feats to his resume, and that is not to say that he won’t, but his career is still shaping up.

Finally, one fan said what was on everyone’s mind: “Yeah I can’t take this nonsense seriously when Max Verstappen isn’t anywhere on it.”

F1 isn’t missing from the list, but Verstappen is. And that perhaps is far more telling than anything else.