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NASCAR Fans Left Livid as Carson Hocevar Reveals Fox’s Refusal to Roll back on “Cartoon” Headshots

Published 02/09/2024, 4:41 AM EST

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Now that the 2024 season is right around the corner, NASCAR broadcasters are gearing up to give fans another year of thrilling content. But while we’re all fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kevin Harvick and the other veterans who will appear in the broadcasters’ analyst booths, the route that Fox has once again taken for its driver headshots isn’t really sitting well with the community. But it did create some hysterical moments on X as Carson Hocevar shared a glimpse of his avatar.

Unsurprisingly or surprisingly, depending on your opinion, Fox has chosen to continue using the cartoon renditions of the drivers for their broadcasts. And while it may have been a unique approach a few seasons ago, the novelty has certainly worn off.

To Carson Hocevar’s utter dismay, Fox is back at it again with the infamous cartoon headshots!

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It’s no secret that Fox has been a butt if jokes lately. After all, it wasn’t only the fans who had made fun of the headshot designs used by the media house. Even NBC had taken a dig at the cartoon character designs that Fox used all through last year.

So with the new season upon us, keen viewers were expecting major changes to the broadcasting design layout that Fox would use for 2024. Unfortunately, it seems like that’s not happening anytime soon, as the cartoon characters are once again back to greet, or haunt, us all. And unfortunately, amongst the first victims was Spire Motorsports backed Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar.

 

Speechless, Hocevar just shared a close-up of the headshot that Fox was using for him. And while the cartoon element certainly seemed interesting, cartoon Hocevar wasn’t looking too pleased! The cartoon representation seemed to hardly resemble the driver. After all, why use a cartoon version of a driver’s image when their photo would do just fine?

The NASCAR community was certainly sent into waves of laughter and hysterics, as many called out Fox on the cartoon characters, while others felt it was just funny to look at.

“Fox gotta be stopped” – The NASCAR community pulls no punches as Fox continues with the notorious headshots

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Since Fox’s cartoon rendition of Carson Hocevar this year failed to hit the mark with the driver himself who didn’t even care to comment, a few fans tried to comfort Hocevar. A user stated, “You paying them? I’ve seen a lot worse lol” while others weren’t so sympathetic in their pity, “What did FOX do to to you???😭” a user stated while another added, “Fox gotta be stopped”.

On the other hand, some users couldn’t help but resort to sarcasm as one tweeted, “What a profound piece of artwork” while another stated, “Close enough.” And if that wasn’t enough, a few memes were also thrown into the mix. This user sub-tweeted, “Hey ChatGPT, show me a picture of NASCAR Cup Series driver, Carson Hocevar” as some fans also pitched for the cartoon headshot to be Hocevar’s Discord profile picture. “Use this as your discord pfp instead of the other one,” read one comment.

But a majority of the older fans were just fed up with seeing Fox use such cartoonish headshots instead of proper photographs. A user inquired, “Why? Whose idea was it to start using cartoons?? I was hoping this year they would pull their head out.” Others were also strongly voicing their statement as one user said, “Man I strongly dislike the cartoon characters”

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WATCH THIS STORY: Kyle Petty’s Take On Denny Hamlin’s Infamous Tagline 

So with Fox’s broadcasting choices being targeted before the season even kicks off, will the production team finally take the hint and switch to real-life photographs?

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Written by:

Kabir Bajaj Ahmed

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Kabir Bajaj Ahmed is an F1 & NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. Known for his storytelling and extensive research skills, he has covered multiple stories on Dale Earnhard Jr and his legendary dad, allowing readers to relive the thunderous days of 'The Intimidator'. Being a racer himself, Kabir can resonate with the motorsport world better than most.
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Edited by:

Ariva Debnath