Not doing anything to quiet the comparisons.
Carson Hocevar scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series win yesterday in the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Speedway.
The driver of the #77 car for Spire Motorsports has been knocking on the door of his first win for a while now. He finished a then-career best 2nd at Nashville last year, and has consistently been at the front of the field over the past couple seasons. But like any young driver, Hocevar has made some mistakes (and more than a few enemies) that have cost him opportunities to finally get his first win.
His aggressiveness on the track has drawn frequent comparisons to NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, especially after his sponsor Chili’s debuted a black paint scheme that reminded fans of the Intimidator.
And earlier this month, Hocevar ran a throwback paint scheme paying tribute to yet another iconic Earnhardt paint scheme:
All this comes after even the legendary Richard Petty compared the third-year Cup Series driver to Earnhardt:
“That boy in that 77, he has himself a time. Right now a lot of the things he’s getting by with or doing, it’s 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 that boy in the 77, he’s just going to have to learn to get by with the things he’s doing.”
Hocevar, meanwhile, has sought to distance himself from the comparisons: There’s no doubt that being dubbed “the next Dale Earnhardt” is a lot of pressure, but I’m sure it also overshadows what he’s trying to build with his own legacy.
In speaking on the Earnhardt talk, Hocevar has said that doesn’t love what it’s turned into:
“I mean, I think I’ve hit enough people already. I dunno, I’m just driving how I wanna drive. I don’t really love the comparisons and what they’ve turned into.
It started by just kinda not apologizing after running into people basically, and just being really, really aggressive, to turning into kind of the, ‘Oh, I’m as good as him,’ and I was like, I don’t know where THAT came from.
So I just plan on driving. I’m just hoping I’m fast enough or we’re good enough that we can actually be up front and be relevant, especially with that scheme.
But yeah, I’m just me. I’ve been saying it for a long time, I like just being me. It’s a lot easier that way for my sake. I don’t like to have to be anybody I’m not.”
Well Hocevar got to show the entire NASCAR world (and beyond) his personality yesterday when he scored his first Cup Series win and decided to break out one of the most epic celebrations we’ve ever seen.
After taking the checkered flag, Hocevar hopped out the window and sat on the door while driving his car all the way down the front stretch at Talladega to celebrate with fans:
But in coining his own unique celebration, Hocevar may have accidentally given more fuel to the Earnhardt comparisons…
During the victory lap, the NASCAR on FOX booth pointed out that the move was reminiscent of Earnhardt hanging out his window to clean his windshield during a 1986 race at Richmond. And immediately after the race, the network posted a side-by-side video of the two moments:
Fans weren’t really happy with the comparison being brought up yet again, with many criticizing the network for continuing to focus on comparing Hocevar to Earnhardt instead of recognizing him as his own driver:
“Let’s just enjoy this first W and let future history do it’s writing!”
“Please stop this. He’s his own man. Treat him as such”
“I think Carson made it clear, he doesn’t like the Earnhardt comparisons…”
“Please stop comparing everyone to Dale. Carson is nothing like Dale but we all love him. Carson is making his own name”
Gotta think Carson would agree at this point. But with all this excitement surrounding the young driver, I guess there are worse things people could be saying about you.
