Carson Hocevar certainly did not have many people in his corner at Bristol. Ryan Blaney came looking for him after their late-race clash, and the two ended up trading punches on pit road. Even Ryan Preece and Josh Berry appeared to join in on the post-race criticism, mocking Hocevar as the chaos unfolded. Yet while much of the garage seemed ready to pile onto the Spire driver, one of his biggest supporters was watching everything from a very different perspective. Ross Chastain may have a vested interest in Hocevar, but his latest admission about the young driver is surprisingly humble.

“I couldn’t wreck Carson if I wanted to. I couldn’t keep up with the guy this season. Again, we’re taking that next step, and when we take another one, it’s going to be a lot of fun racing with him and those other guys we used to race,” Ross Chastain told Matt Weaver when asked about Carson Hocevar.

That is quite the admission from Chastain, especially considering his connection to Hocevar. The two are linked through Motorsports Management International (MMI). However, Chastain insists his relationship with the young driver does not change how he sees him on the racetrack. If anything, his comments highlight just how much Hocevar has progressed during a season in which Spire Motorsports has taken a major step forward.

While Hocevar has emerged as one of Spire’s Chase contenders, Chastain has endured a very different 2026 campaign with Trackhouse Racing. He (along with other Trackhouse drivers) has struggled throughout the season due to inconsistent speed, poor pit road execution, faulty strategy calls, and mechanical troubles, among other things. As a result, they have consistently run mid to back of the pack, with neither driver making it to the Chase.

That contrast has also made Hocevar’s rise even more noticeable. Chastain acknowledged that the young driver has gained so much speed that the two simply have not been racing alongside each other often this season. It is not a complaint from the Trackhouse veteran, but rather an admission that Hocevar has moved beyond where he was previously.

MMI, based in Mooresville, North Carolina, is a driver management and sports marketing agency involved in business consulting, driver development and helping drivers secure racing opportunities and sponsorships. Chastain is an ownership member of the organization, which relaunched in February 2023 after a decade-long hiatus.

That connection gives Chastain a vested interest in Hocevar’s career. Still, his latest comments sound less like a manager defending his client and more like one driver acknowledging another driver’s progress.

And perhaps that is what makes the admission so striking. Chastain is not claiming Hocevar needs to slow down or change his approach. He is simply acknowledging that, right now, he cannot even keep up.

Chastain had already seen Hocevar’s aggressive side at Atlanta

The irony in Chastain’s latest comments is that he has not always been watching Hocevar’s aggression from a distance. Just a year earlier, the Trackhouse driver found himself on the receiving end of it at Atlanta, where Hocevar’s aggressive approach became one of the biggest stories of the afternoon.

Hocevar was fighting near the front during the closing stages of the February 2025 Ambetter Health 400 when he made a series of aggressive moves, frustrating several experienced drivers. Ryan Blaney was spun after contact with the No. 77, while Kyle Busch also voiced his displeasure. Chastain, meanwhile, had his own reason to speak with the young driver.

The two were battling near the front when Hocevar made his move on the final restart. Rather than simply follow Chastain’s line, Hocevar went to the middle and moved past him as the field charged toward the final lap. After the race, Chastain pulled Hocevar aside and walked with him toward the infield grass, where the two spent several minutes talking. The conversation eventually ended with a handshake.

Hocevar finished second that afternoon, securing the best Cup result of his career at the time. But the result came with plenty of criticism, forcing the then-second-year driver to acknowledge that there were parts of his approach he needed to clean up.

Interestingly, Hocevar described Chastain as a mentor and said the two could continue discussing their differences because they had each other’s phone numbers. That makes Chastain’s current assessment particularly interesting. He has experienced Hocevar’s aggressive side firsthand.

Yet he is now openly acknowledging how difficult the young driver has become to race against. The same driver who once frustrated Chastain at Atlanta may now simply be too fast for him to catch.