NASCAR sensation Carson Hocevar reveals the truth about his fans and it is great news for the sport

Carson Hocevar is suddenly NASCAR’s biggest hope for greater relevance in 2026 and he has now explained exactly why.

For years the prophets of doom have been talking about how the sport is losing its hardcore fans AND failing to attract new ones at the same time. Not a good mix.

Just this week NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell admitted that NASCAR has ‘deserted its fanbase’ in recent times in its bid to attract new fans.

It’s a problem for any sport - how do you bring in a new audience without alienating your current one? Well in Hocevar, NASCAR may have unwittingly found the answer.

The 23-year-old from Portage, Michigan has been a sensation since bursting onto the Cup Series scene. Not only does he have terrific raw potential, he also causes beef on track AND has a wonderful IDGAF attitude off it.

The last two weeks alone have brought a gallant effort in the Daytona 500 when he led on the final lap, before that controversial overtime wreck in Atlanta.

Throw in the way he engages with fans and loves to buy iconic vehicles on Facebook Marketplace, and you have the perfect recipe for a cult hero.

Hocevar is not just a media darling either, he’s loved by a growing army of fans. And he has revealed a key fact about that fanbase which will be music to the ears of the NASCAR brass down in Charlotte.

Hocevar is attracting young fans to NASCAR

Speaking on Jeff Gluck’s excellent Gluckcast on YouTube (watch the full version at the foot of this article), he explained: “I remember we went to Atlanta in July or wherever it is last year - the second race. We did a meet and greet and there was like 200 or 300 people there. And somebody mentioned something - it didn’t click in my head - ‘man that was like crazy’.

“I was like, there was 200 people, I’m very thankful, it’s cool, but what’s so crazy about it? They were like ‘They’re all like young, they’re all like your age, or they’re all super young’. Normally you get the meet and greets and they’re ‘Aw, I hadn’t watched since this’ and everything. I feel like that’s very common.

“But they were shocked and really taken back from it and I started to pay attention to it. I feel like the fanbase I have is like, there’s the super-young audience or the young audience and then there’s a gap and then the really older generation - like watched it in the 80s and watched it five years ago. So I thought that was really interesting.

“But yeah, I was on Twitch last night and there was 1200 or 1300 people on live for a few hours on average. My Instagram grows a lot, and my socials.”

So why the frenzy around Hocevar?

So why is Hocevar’s popularity growing at such a rapid rate? He has a pretty good handle on what is happening right now.

“I think it’s multiple things - I think we’re running good, I have a lot of YouTube friends, that I’m on their stuff. Cleetus McFarland, he has like 5m subscribers. WhistlinDiesel - I’m filming with him on Friday for a cheap truck challenge in COTA because I have nothing to do.

“I was like ‘hey, instead of this place in the world you guys wanna do it, why don’t you just do it in Austin and I can hang out with you guys all day’. So we’re gonna do that Friday, and he has like 11m subscribers.

“That’s what I just enjoy doing, I enjoy making funny videos with cars. There’s so many times where I’m at a merch trailer and they’re like ‘I saw you in this video’ or ‘I saw you in this guy’s video’.”

NASCAR marketing is finally getting it right

While NASCAR is doubtless overjoyed with the spotlight and excitement around Hocevar right now, the feeling is mutual with ‘Hurricane’ feeling that the marketing department in Charlotte has finally hit top gear.

“I think the sport is on a really good trajectory on the marketing side. I think NASCAR is proving I think what everybody said for the last 10 years. NASCAR didn’t have a racing problem, it has a marketing problem.

“I think they’re doing a really good job with the promos and ads and everything.”