He might not have won a race yet, but Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar is already being compared to NASCAR’s all-time greats. Many are even comparing the sophomore to ‘The Intimidator’ himself, drawing parallels between his and Dale Earnhardt’s aggressive driving styles and win-at-all-costs attitude. However, the 22-year-old isn’t making many friends in the garage this season, especially after having several run-ins and ruffling a few feathers, particularly at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway.

However, 2004 Cup Series champ Kurt Busch appears to be a fan of the No. 77 driver. Impressed by his ambition, the newly elected NASCAR Hall of Famer is eager to see the Michigan-native’s development as a racer after a topsy-turvy 2025 campaign so far.

Kurt Busch gives credit where it’s due

Expectations were high for Carson Hocevar at Michigan International Speedway. After all, the youngster was competing at his home track after an impressive runner-up finish in Nashville. The 22-year-old started the race in 14th place, but quickly gained track positions as the laps ticked on, finishing 10th at the end of Stage 1 and third in Stage 2. However, just when it looked like his first triumph might be on the cards, the No. 77 Chevy suffered a flat tire while in the lead with 18 laps to go, forcing him to finish 29th.

Nonetheless, Kurt Busch couldn’t help but be impressed by Carson Hocevar’s performances. The veteran racer candidly said on the PRN Live show, “I like his tenacity. I like his driving. Again, yes, he’s 22. Where was he 3 or 4 years ago? Berlin, running late models? He doesn’t have the laps. The quantity of laps. The time with other racers or the bumps, and this and that, and he’s doing it with that Spire equipment. Now Spire’s not an A-Level team, but they’re putting in a pretty good effort.”

Hocevar made his full-time debut last year, finishing the season in 21st place after securing just one top-five performance (third place finish at Watkins Glen). This was enough to win him Rookie of the Year honors over Josh Berry, and this time around, he has already finished runner-up twice in the opening 15 races. His aggressive driving style has a polarized fanbase and upset the garage.

However, outside of his finishes, Hocevar’s performance on Saturdays has considerably improved. The Michigan native got the first Cup Series pole of his career at Texas Motor Speedway, the same track where he won his first Truck race. To this, Kurt Busch went on to say, “Their qualifying has really improved this year, and here he is, driving the car above its limits and getting away with it. That’s what you want to see out of a 22-year-old kid, charging hard, trying to make a name for himself.” It’s not a sentiment his younger brother Kyle Busch will share, though.

In the second race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, ‘Rowdy’ showed his famous hot temper on the team radio, going on to say, “I don’t care if I wreck the whole f— field, I’m over him. He’s a f— d— bag. I’m going to wreck his a-s.” Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney were not too happy with Hocevar’s aggressive driving style either, and both drivers had a private word with the sophomore afterwards, who later admitted, “There’s some stuff I got to learn and clean up a little bit.” But now, the 22-year-old can take solace in the fact that Kurt Busch has his back, even if the rest of the world seems against him at the moment.

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Is Carson Hocevar’s ‘feud’ with Stenhouse Jr. over?

In some ways, Carson Hocevar can be his own worst enemy. Even though he finished second at Nashville Superspeedway, his majestic run was overshadowed by a run-in with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The pair made contact at the Cracker Barrel 400, resulting in the veteran spinning out and slamming into the outside wall, retiring early. Afterwards, the Hyak Motorsports racer issued a warning, saying, “Bummed our day ended like that, definitely will have something to do about it at one point.”

But now, it looks like the tension has simmered down between the two drivers. Hocevar made it clear that he doesn’t expect further escalation from Stenhouse Jr., going on to say, “Yeah, I mean it was productive,” referring to talks between the two. “You know, me and him both have the reputation, I guess, of being aggressive at times and everything. So at that one point, we both reminded each other that even with those reputations, we’ve raced each other very well together, right? It clashes together. So, yeah, I mean we’ve had no issues before, as he had said, and I feel like we’ve had a decent relationship leading up to this.”

It’s not the first time Carson Hocevar has found himself in hot water. The Michigan native built somewhat of a reputation for intentionally wrecking his rivals in the lower series. And who can forget his run-in with Harrison Burton in the Cup Series last year? While Kurt Busch might laud his driving style, there is a distinction between ‘aggressive’ and reckless, and at this point, it looks like he’s leaning towards the latter.

Do you think Carson Hocevar can clean up his act and win a race? Or is aggressive driving the way to go? Let us know in the comments!