It was only a few weeks ago that Kevin Harvick was incredibly vocal about the type of treatment Carson Hocevar needs from his fellow drivers. After inciting others to wreck Hovecar in order to teach him a lesson, “The way I would approach it is, you know, I would probably wreck him the first chance I got.” This response came after Hocevar wrecked Christopher Bell at Atlanta.

It was clear that Harvick did not like the Spire Motorsports driver’s racing style. So what happened suddenly that Kevin Harvick ended up changing his attitude towards Hocevar?

While discussing Hocevar’s recent encounter with John Hunter Nemechek at Michigan, Harvick immediately defended him over the same.

“My advice to Carson Hocevar from the beginning of the year to now would be much different,” Harvick said on his Happy Hour podcast. “I think that he’s learned enough about how to manage the situations and not tear up his own car,” he further claimed.

“You know, he is going to continue to put people in a bad spot. But I think that’s how you got to race the Gen 7 car. I would tell him to keep doing what he is doing, because that’s what makes him good.”

Coming back to Michigan, Harvick does believe that Hocevar is to blame for the wreck that took out Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick. On lap 38, Hocevar tried to switch lanes on a restart and made contact with the No. 42 car, sparking a big one that collected a total of nine cars. Race leader Tyler Reddick got the worst of it, and so did Austin Dillon. Even Bubba Wallace missed out on being taken out by the Spire driver later in the race.

While the criticism and mistakes are genuine, Harvick feels that is the learning curve Hocevar needs to go through, and he should not be restrained. He brought up Ross Chastain’s comparison, who was on a similar trajectory, but toned down his aggression after the warning by Rick Hendrick.

“I think he is very similar to Ross Chastain, but when that conversation with Ross Chastain and whatever happened with Rick Hendrick occurred, that guy has not been the same since that point. You can’t take a guy that drives like that and try to make him do something different.

“They have to learn on their own in trying to put themselves in the right spot and manage those little situations. But you’re going to turn them loose, or they’re going to be somebody who they’re not, and it won’t be good.”

Back in 2023, Chastain was involved in a back-to-back incident wrecking up Kyle Larson, and the Darlington crash was the tipping point. Rick Hendrick came out and warned Chastain. “If you wreck us you’re going to get it back.” And since then, the Melon Man hasn’t been himself. This is something that can repeat again with Hocevar.

While Kevin Harvick is rooting for Carson Hocevar and his 2026 season, there are others who think that he might end up getting punched in the face pretty soon…

Hocevar may face consequences for his on-track aggression soon

Carson Hocevar has effectively inherited the mantle that Ross Chastain once held in the Cup Series. Hocevar regularly tries to shake the entire grid during a race, often leading to some spectacular wrecks while doing the same. At Michigan, Hocevar found himself at the center of it all when he seemingly led to a big one after the race restart.

Even though it wasn’t entirely his fault and the drivers running up front had a lot to do with the situation he was in, the grid generally has a distaste for the type of driving he usually does.

All in all, Hocevar’s aggressive driving style is already painting a glowing target on his back, and many believe that he is going to rile up another driver pretty soon. Noah Gragson and Chase Briscoe, in particular, seem to already know who is going to be the first driver to take a swing at him. While they do not have any issues with Hocevar personally, they do think that Bubba Wallace will stop his advances for good.

“I don’t know. Bubba was pretty mad last week. Yeah, Bubba. I can see Bubba maybe throwing hands,” Briscoe mused while talking on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast.

At first, it may sound like a sound proposition, considering how Wallace was angry with Carson Hocevar in Michigan. But Wallace was also the only driver to actively try and bond with Hocevar post-race. He tried to advise him about committing mistakes while trying to make a move on race restarts and, in general, was positive about Hocevar’s talents.

Keeping that in mind, it is counterintuitive for him to forget all that and instead go for some physical treatment for Hocevar’s aggressive fever.