Carson Hocevar has revealed some advice he received from a NASCAR legend before last Sunday's race at Darlington.
The young Spire Motorsports star has been criticized for his aggressive style thus far in his career, but the 2026 season appears to have marked a turning point in his public perception.
NASCAR legends like Kyle Petty and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have started to go to bat for the 23-year-old, with outspoken former racer Mark Martin now getting involved – and offering some advice from his own long career.
'Hurricane' Hocevar raced from the back of the field to a strong fourth place at Darlington on Sunday, and revealed on a Twitch stream in the following week that he'd been given one pithy tip from the Cup Series great.
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NASCAR legend hails 'spectacular' drive
The advice, as Hocevar relayed it, was simple: “He told me drive like Mark Martin until 25 to go, at 25 to go drive like the Hurricane.”
Martin, who had served as honorary pace car driver for the race, quoted a post on Twitter about the advice and added: “He did exactly that too. Spectacular @CarsonHocevar.”
Martin wasn't the only one lauding Hocevar's drive after the race, with Petty saying on NASCAR's Inside the Race show: “Hocevar is going to have to be contended with at some point in time. I said it when everyone was whining about him a few weeks ago. Whine all you want to.
"He’s going to come in here and he’s going to take your seconds, he’s going to take your thirds, he’s going to take your fourths and fifths, and he’s going to win some races. He did it in this Earnhardt-esque car, which was just flipping fantastic."
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