Sometimes we spend the post-race talking about Carson Hocevar’s erratic driving. Other times, it’s sheer brilliance. A mix of the two has made him such a draw among NASCAR fans. But in Atlanta this past weekend, we saw only the latter, as he battled at the front of the field for most of the Quaker State 400 and finished third. It was such a smooth drive that insider Tommy Baldwin, who lambasted him over the Fourth of July weekend, was forced to eat his own words.

What changed about Hocevar?

Hocevar loves the Dale Earnhardt comparisons and his willingness to do whatever it takes to win. But that borders on recklessness at times, as we’ve seen in races like Michigan, where his aggressive restart triggered a multi-car wreck, and Chicago, where an early clash with Zane Smith drew heavy criticism from insiders, including Baldwin, who called him a “lunatic”. But things changed in Atlanta.

Baldiwn, on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, stated he would give the No. 77 driver an “A+” for the Quaker State 400. His co-host, Karsyn Elledge, who accused him of trying to play both sides, demanded a justification, and Baldiwn explained in detail.

“He goes to the back, and I’m watching him. I don’t have SMT up top, and I’m like, ‘He’s just letting off, down the straightaway. Is he going to do?’ Cause the last race, he did it 3-4 times. He went to the back, went to the front. I went over and asked his spotter, ‘What are you guys doing? You know?’ ‘We gave ourselves a lap,’ and we are going to call a number of a race car driver, and we’ve been battling. Whether I say Richard Petty or Jimmie Johnson, it’s time to go. They’re like, ‘No, let’s do Jimmie Johnson.’ So with 48 laps to go, he said Jimmie Johnson and Hocevar just carved through the field,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin noted that the No. 77 Spire Motorsports team came up with a clever strategy. According to him, once Hocevar found himself stuck in the middle of the pack, the team had a code word they would use over the radio. With 48 laps to go, they gave the call, and Hocevar immediately went on the charge, catching others off guard and slicing his way through the field. Coincidentally, the code was “48,” a nod to the number Jimmie Johnson made famous during his seven Cup Series championships.

So on days when Hocevar doesn’t find himself at the center of controversy, he has plenty of fans in the garage. In Atlanta, the 22-year-old looked like a race winner for most of the afternoon. He spent most of the Quaker State 400 battling at the front and even took the white flag as the race leader. But a huge run from behind on the final lap dropped him behind Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, and Christopher Bell, with Hocevar eventually being classified third, after a penalty to Wallace for dropping below the double yellow on the last lap. It was one of his cleanest drives of the season and a reminder of just how talented he is.

Yes, he’s already developed some feisty rivalries in his young Cup Series career, with Zane Smith, in particular, admitting this weekend that he’ll never have a good relationship with the Spire Motorsports driver. “I just don’t like him as a human,” he said. For Baldwin, though, it’s different. The talent has never been in doubt, and there are those in the garage who see it.

The Dale Earnhardt comparisons for Hocevar

Hocevar made his Cup Series debut in 2023, and three years later, he can finally say he’s become one of the bigger stars of the National Series. Hocevar isn’t quite involved in championship discussions yet, but has made huge strides in terms of performance, results, and the way he’s viewed.

The biggest praise Hocevar has received is being compared to Earnhardt, with the Intimidator’s son, Dale Jr., also admitting that there’s an “uncanny resemblance” in the way he approaches races. At the same time, some see it as hollow praise, considering Hocevar has not achieved nearly as much as Earnhardt did to be in the same conversation as the Hall of Famer. But Hocevar, however much he appreciates the comparisons, does not take the criticism too seriously.

With a mixture of humility and confidence, he said in an interview earlier this year, “I mean, everybody’s open to their own interpretation. I feel like you’re always just going to be compared to somebody, whether they’re good or bad. You know, if I were really, really slow, there’s probably comparisons to guys who were really, really slow back in the day, too.

“I just go out and race, and I enjoy it. I take it as a massive compliment, you know, from Richard Petty, Kyle Petty, Dale Jr., all of them making comparisons. I’m appreciative of that. I would like to just have half the success any of those guys did.”

Hocevar is certainly on his way. He’s not driving a car capable of challenging for wins week in and week out just yet, but he did reach Victory Lane in the Cup Series for the first time this year at Talladega. Currently, he’s eighth in the standings, more than 100 points clear of the cut-off line in 17th, and looks poised to make the playoffs for the first time in his career. From there, Hocevar will look to take the season one race at a time.