NASCAR goes Hollywood.
On Monday night, the Met Gala took place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The evening celebrated the opening of the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, “Costume Art,” which explores depicts of the dressed body across 5,000 years of art history.
I’m sure you’ve seen photos of some of the wild looks the celebrities brought to the very exclusive event, where a single ticket costs $100,000, and a full table starts at $350,000 and can go much higher. Most of the time, the celebrities are hosted by the most high-end fashion houses out there, though even if you get an invite, is has to be approved by former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. The proceeds go to charity, and the event is definitely not what it used to be, though I have to admit… I do enjoy looking at the red carpet coverage and seeing all the looks.
Every now and then, a celebrity will come with an iconic outfit, but usually they’re just downright awful and ridiculous…
Most of the time, you’ll see the usual A-list celebrities there, but this year, one of NASCAR‘s hottest young stars, Carson Hocevar, showed up to the surprise of many fans. Following his electric win at Talladega Superspeedway, his first career Cup Series race win, a couple weekends ago, he graced the red carpet at the Met Gala wearing a custom grey tuxedo designed by Christian Dior.
He told E! News that it was certainly different than what he’s used to in terms of his life as a race car driver, but he’s “enjoying every experience”:
“So normally it works because I’m confident, you know, racing and putting a race suit on. When I put this suit on, it’s harder for me to get that confidence. This is just so new to me, but I’m enjoying every experience.”
Suiting up for the Met Gala is a little different than suiting up for a NASCAR race. 👀 #LiveFromE #MetGala #Glambot pic.twitter.com/NVd7yH2RXL
— E! Entertainment (@eentertainment) May 4, 2026
The last time an active NASCAR driver attended the event was Jeff Gordon in 2010 (he is married to a model), and I actually thought it was really cool to see Hocevar there, partially because it was so unexpected. And I figured Dale Earnhardt Jr. would have something to say about it, because he was truly a 2000s pop culture icon and became an international celebrity because he was the face of the sport, and in all sorts of places you might not expect, similar to Hocevar at the Met.
I think people forget how famous Jr. was in the heyday of his career, and I totally agree that having drivers in these kinds of “unusual spaces” is actually a net positive for the sport:
“Listen, I think that was fantastic. And the reason why, I would have never expected a driver to be invited to that. I don’t even know what it is. I think it’s a little bit of a celebration of fashion and art. Doesn’t matter.
We need drivers, not all of them, we don’t need them all going to this thing, we need one. We need one over here, one over there and one doing this thing and one doing that thing. We need our drivers in these unusual spaces, connecting with people that aren’t connected to our sport.”
He added:
“Let the guy do what he wants to do and let him go promote and be where he wants to be. He had a lot of fun. I watched his interview. He did a great job, represented himself well, spoke well, knew what the hell he was wearing.
You throw these guys into those scenarios where they’re totally a fish out of water and sometimes it doesn’t go that well. But I think he did a good job. So that was good.”
I totally agree, and Jr. knows exactly what he’s talking about, because he was a pop culture icon of the 2000s and a bona fide celebrity in Hollywood, too. Jr. presented an award at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, has appeared in countless, major music videos, was on an episode of MTV Cribs, the list goes on and on.
He really was the guy in NASCAR, one of the few that crossed over in Hollywood and was a true celebrity of his time, and it really did give the sport a cool look because of him, though obviously I also agree with him that you don’t want to get too many of the drivers too intertwined with all of that stuff.
It puts the sports in an interesting place within pop culture, at the least, and maybe even exposes an entirely new demographic of people to NASCAR, where it’s looked at in a different light than some hillbilly sport for a very specific group of people. At the end of the day, it will always have roots there, and I’m proud of that, but it honestly was cool when drivers like Jr., Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were truly household names.
I’m sure plenty of fans will disagree, but the early-to-mid-2000s popularity was an awesome time for the sport.
