Carson Hocevar didn’t win many friends in Atlanta on his way to a second-place finish at the Ambetter Health 400. The likes of Kyke Busch, Ryan Blaney, and Ross Chastain have publicly bashed the Spire Motorsports driver for his reckless stunts at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Now, NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick has put out a short, but strong piece of advice for the under-fire Hocevar.
Kevin Harvick Advises Carson Hocevar
Harvick addressed Hocevar’s Atlanta performance on the “Harvick Happy Hour” podcast.
“Keep standing on the gas,” Harvick told him. The icon’s advice highlighted how Hocevar should handle the backlash.
"Keep standing on the gas." @KevinHarvick's advice for @CarsonHocevar after Atlanta. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/PeAYYjf5UR
— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) February 25, 2025
Harvick encouraged Hocevar to continue his aggressive driving style as long as he can cope with the criticism that comes along. He emphasized that racing at the front was the best learning experience, even if it led to occasional mistakes. Harvick admitted that Hocevar had ruffled a few feathers but insisted that taking risks was crucial for success.
“Keep standing on the gas, Carson. Keep standing on the gas,” Harvick said. “As long as you have shoulders big enough to take all the criticism and everything that comes with it, if you learn by standing on the gas and being up front, you’re gonna learn more anyway.
“You got to be willing to just take those chances and do the things that you have to do to try to win races. He was in position to try to win his first Cup race. Now, he made a big mistake with Blaney and got off center and spun him out. I didn’t see what exactly made Kyle Busch mad, but he was making aggressive moves all day and that’s what you have to do.”
Harvick also says that Hocevar needs to refine his aggression and smoothen out some rough areas to become a more successful driver.
“He’s gonna take a lot of heat and he screwed a lot of things up, but he got out of the car and said, ‘Hey, I made some mistakes, and I messed some things up.’ If he can have big enough shoulders to not back up like they’ve done with Chastain here and there when they got on him for being aggressive.
“…You have to be able to balance all that and still be able to have that aggressive nature and make those aggressive moves, but you go to clean some of the mistakes up,” Harvick said. “You can’t keep making the same mistakes.
“I don’t think he’s going to do that, personally. I think he’s very talented, but I would advise you just block out the noise and keep that pedal down.”
