Following the Ambetter Health 400, Carson Hocevar has been a hot topic of discussion, mainly owing to his aggressive approach to racing. The No. 77 driver drew a lot of flak from his peers for his driving despite a career-best outing in Atlanta.
Among the ones who criticized Hocevar’s antics was Denny Hamlin, who emphasized that many aspects of racing come with experience. But if Hamlin still needed to give the young driver any advice, he would ask him to draw inspiration from one of the sport’s greatest-ever drivers.
Denny Hamlin Urges Carson Hocevar To Not Be a Modern-Day Racer and Be More Like Jimmie Johnson
Speaking on the latest episode of the “Actions Detrimental” podcast, Hamlin touched upon one of NASCAR’s latest and most heated discussions. The likes of Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch have been extremely vocal of their criticism of the 22-year-old’s outing, and Hamlin isn’t too far behind.
Having witnessed the era of Tony Stewart and Mark Martin, Hamlin knows what it’s like to be an aggressive driver. Per the Joe Gibbs Racing driver, that was the “gold standard of racing” for him.
But with changing norms, drivers crash into each other much more often, and that’s the only kind of racing Hocevar is familiar with, feels Hamlin. Given the JGR driver sees potential in the rookie, he had some advice to impart.
“I would say that one of the best our sports have ever seen, Jimmie Johnson. You just never saw him run into anybody, but yet, he was just a fierce person on the racetrack,” said Hamlin. He added, “You feared him, but it was because of how good he was, and how fast his car was, and his skill set. Not because, ‘Oh, this guy’s going to run into me.'”
Denny Hamlin’s got advice—will Carson Hocevar take it?🤔 pic.twitter.com/qbAtrb1eFn
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) February 25, 2025
While Hamlin did have some advice for the rookie, he still expects more common sense from the No. 77 driver. Following Blaney’s comments, Hamlin feels that while Hocevar still has a lot more experience to gain, it should be common knowledge not to wreck anyone between the turns.
Following the race in Atlanta, Hamlin and Hocevar will now line up for their third race of the season with the COTA race weekend.
