Carson Hocevar Responds to Dale Earnhardt Comparisons and ‘New Intimidator’ Talk originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Carson Hocevar is 22 years old. He hasn’t won a single NASCAR Cup Series race — yet.
While the Spire Motorsports driver hasn’t made a trip to Victory Lane, most experts believe it’s not far away.
He’s come close. Just last week at Nashville, he finished second behind Ryan Blaney – the 2023 Cup champion. And the No. 77 pilot wasn’t there by accident or some strategy call. It was by his speed. He’s that fast.
With that speed, however, comes aggression. Unsurprisingly, that aggressive on-track behavior has resulted in him stepping over the line multiple times through the years and ruffling a few feathers along the way. All of it combined has started to draw comparisons to someone else known for his aggressive driving style and agitating his competition — Dale Earnhardt.
On Saturday at Michigan, Hocevar visited with the media and talked about his phone conversation with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. following his latest incident last Sunday at Nashville. A reporter then asked if he was the “new Intimidator” and what he thought of that characterization.
“If I win seven championships, I would potentially call, want to — whatever,” Hocevar said. “But, it's obviously — if you're gonna get compared to one guy, that's the guy and endorsements from Dale Jr. Everybody.
What does @CarsonHocevar think of the Dale Earnhardt comparisons and being called the "New Intimidator"? He answered that question at Michigan. pic.twitter.com/ZEaWJTWn2k
— Kyle Dalton (@kdsportswriter) June 7, 2025
“But, I don't think I'm new anything. I think I'm new me. I think that's everything about me is real. Like, I'm not trying to play a part or try to fit a role or trying to pretend to be anybody, you know? That's for everybody else to decide what they get and perceive of me. But I know who I am and, ultimately, I want to be known as me and sometimes that leads to comparisons.”
Hocevar and the Cup Series race on Sunday at the two-mile track in Michigan. Race coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET on Prime.
Related: Carson Hocevar Rumored to Be Intimidating Other Drivers, According to NBC Analyst
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
