Carson Hocevar Addresses Comparisons to NASCAR Legend
· Yahoo Sports
While there will be no mandated “Throwback Weekend” as part of the NASCAR schedule this weekend at Darlington Raceway, there will be a few drivers and teams paying homage to some legends and icons with their paint schemes. That includes Carson Hocevar, with his team Spire Motorsports paying tribute to an all-time great—Dale Earnhardt—whom the young driver has drawn frequent comparisons to.
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In an interview with NASCAR YouTuber Eric Estepp, Hocevar addressed the comparisons some others have made of him to legendary driver Dale Earnhardt.
Related: Carson Hocevar Reveals Approach to Friendships with NASCAR Drivers
“I’m gonna be honest here, I don’t like the comparison. I appreciate it, obviously, but I don’t know… I feel like we probably should have won a race now…But, just because I every now and again I run into people and now I’m running a black car here and there, I don’t really see it…Nobody’s the next Dale….I just want to be me, it’s a lot easier…I’d love to have 1 percent of the success Dale had. I don’t like any of the comparisons.”
Carson Hocevar on the comparisons to Dale Earnhardt
As Hocevar told Estepp, he grew up a diehard racing fan, and he watched the various documentaries that came out about Dale Earnhardt. He knows how much the iconic driver of the No. 3 car means to the history of NASCAR and how much he meant to millions of fans during that era. Ultimately, Hocevar feels the comparison is a disservice to Earnhardt and unfair to the legacy he wants to build on his own.
The 23-year-old recognized a bit of the irony in him saying this just days after the release of photos showing him standing by the No. 77 Chili’s-sponsored car. The blue-and-yellow paint scheme resembles the one used for the No. 2 car in 1981, a season where Earnhardt famously sported the Wrangler colors before going on to win dozens of races with the brand as his primary sponsor.. However, Hocevar admitted the marketing team was largely behind all of that.
Related: Denny Hamlin Calls Carson Hocevar a Superstar Talent
Just the guy for the ride.@CarsonHocevar | @Chilispic.twitter.com/ENPqNuW1ol
— Spire Motorsports (@SpireMotorsport) March 16, 2026
It doesn’t help that the Hocevar to Earnhardt comparisons ahve come from some all-time greats. Earlier this year on the Petty Race Recap, the legend Richard Petty said he saw some similarities between the two drivers.
“Boy, that 77 (Hocevar). …Right now, a lot of things he’s getting by with or doing is not really that wrong. If I go back and watch him run and stuff, he reminds me of Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt learned to get by with that stuff. And the boy in the 77, he’s just going to have to learn to get by with the things that he’s doing.”
Richard Petty on similarities between Carson Hocevar and Dale Earnhadt
For Hocevar, the focus is still on achieving that first Cup Series win after coming close on a handful of occasions. He’s made it clear that he’s not changing his driving style, nor is he in this to make friends with other NASCAR drivers. If winning makes him a favorite among fans and less so among his peers, he’s more than happy to take that result.
Read More: NASCAR Stage Winners, 2026, NASCAR Cup Series Stage Stats Tracker
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