There has always been more to NASCAR than just who finishes first. The biggest names in the sport have frequently been characterized by their personalities and how to respond to their rivals. Situations can get chaotic with post-race altercations, but NASCAR isn’t going to suppresses the natural flow of emotions and outbursts.
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“But we need rivalries. We need villains, right? Any sport, you need personalities. You need a reason to care.”
That three-word verdict from Steve O’Donnell on the latest episode of the Racin’ With The Boys podcast captures something NASCAR has understood for decades.
Winning races matters. No two thoughts about it! But the sport also needs drivers who generate conversation when the engines are turned off. Carson Hocevar has increasingly become one of those drivers. But he is hardly the only modern NASCAR personality capable of creating buzz.
Denny Hamlin built a reputation for being outspoken and unafraid to criticize NASCAR. The late Kyle Busch, meanwhile, had spent years embracing the role of the driver fans either loved or loved to hate. Those personalities created storylines that went well beyond their results.
Carson Hocevar is making a splash in the scene, with his carefree attitude. He created headlines after he flipped off his rival Corey Heim at Brickyard 400. This was followed by back and forth banter on social media. And this is exactly what gets the fans talking apart from general racing topics.
And it’s not just the new generation of drivers. Hocevar has also developed on-track friction with seasoned drivers such as Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., among others. That reputation has earned him the “Hurricane Hocevar” label. And NASCAR appears to understand the value of having someone willing to play that role.
The sport’s history is filled with drivers who created similar buzz. Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon became the centerpieces of one of NASCAR’s defining rivalries. In comparison, personalities such as Kyle Busch and Hamlin have continued that tradition in the modern era.
The rivalries that they generated have sometimes become major talking points for NASCAR, despite NASCAR penalizing the drivers for their actions. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fined $75,000 for punching Kyle Busch at the 2024 All-Star race. Though, the driver was fined, NASCAR used it as a promotional material on social media.
It is hard to replicate the era of Earnhardt vs Gordon, but there’s hope with new generation of drivers. And even NASCAR isn’t going to interfere in case two drivers are having heated conversations after the race. The only time, the sanctioning body will step in if the crew members get involved.
NASCAR does not need every driver to become a villain. It needs recognizable personalities who create heroes, antagonists and genuine rivalries. Without them, even the best racing can become just another result on a leaderboard.