Since his NASCAR Cup Series debut, Ty Gibbs has battled constant nepotism chatter, with critics quick to question his place at Joe Gibbs Racing. Meanwhile, Carson Hocevar has been earning praise, even drawing attention from veterans like Kyle Petty after his Atlanta showing. But on a recent episode of the Happy Hour podcast, Kevin Harvick flipped the narrative completely! He offered a rare praise for Gibbs while calling out Hocevar’s mindset.

Ty Gibbs silencing doubters with consistency

For a driver who’s spent most of his early NASCAR Cup Series career fighting perception battles, Ty Gibbs is finally letting results do the talking. And according to Kevin Harvick, that shift is no coincidence.

“When you can consistently get top fives, you’re going to start winning races. And so you just have to keep grinding away to take advantage of the speed in your race car, and be able to put yourself in that top five on a consistent basis will eventually result in a win. Ty Gibbs has that confidence. He’s speaking to the media well.”

The 2026 season has quietly turned into a comeback story for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. After a rough start (finishing 23rd at Daytona and 37th at Atlanta), Gibbs has flipped the script with three straight top-five finishes. He finished fourth at COTA and Phoenix, followed by a fifth-place run at Las Vegas.

Statistically, the improvement is just as telling. Gibbs holds an average start of 14.2 and an average finish of 14.6, and his recent run has pushed him up to 10th in the standings, gaining five positions after Vegas. Yet, the noise around him hasn’t disappeared entirely.

As the grandson of Joe Gibbs, Gibbs has long been labeled a “nepo baby,” with critics pointing to his rapid rise within Joe Gibbs Racing. That perception was only fueled further during the ongoing legal battle involving former competition director Chris Gabehart, who claimed the No. 54 team operated under a different structure within the organization.

But right now, none of that seems to matter. With speed, confidence, and consistency finally aligning, Gibbs is starting to look less like a project and more like a problem for the rest of the field.

Kevin Harvick calls out Hocevar’s mindset

While Ty Gibbs earned praise, Kevin Harvick didn’t hold back when it came to Carson Hocevar. Reflecting on Hocevar’s weekend, Harvick pointed to something deeper than just performance – his mindset.

“Hocevar, this weekend when they interviewed him after practice, it was like, oh, this is the worst piece of shit I’ve ever driven in my life. Basically, he didn’t say it that way, but that’s basically what he insinuated. It was, I mean, everything that he said was it was terrible. And ultimately, that’s where they ran. And so just listen and pay attention to when the drivers talk and you can tell where they’re at mentally.”

Hocevar’s race weekend backed up that assessment. After voicing frustration about the car’s speed and handling in practice, he qualified 19th. The Spire Motorsports driver was already on the back foot heading into the race. Any chance of recovery took a hit late in Stage 2, when a suspected tire issue forced an unscheduled pit stop with just five laps remaining. That dropped him a lap down at a critical moment.

Things only got worse from there. On lap 160, his team was hit with a pit road speeding penalty, eliminating any realistic shot at getting back onto the lead lap. From that point on, Hocevar remained stuck a lap down, ultimately finishing 22nd.

For Kevin Harvick, the takeaway wasn’t just about execution but about Hocevar’s approach. In a sport where confidence often translates directly into performance, Hocevar’s visible frustration may have set the tone for his entire weekend.