NASCAR star Ryan Preece says Carson Hocevar 'earning respect back' despite recent controversies

Ryan Preece has opened up on his feelings about NASCAR Cup Series rival Carson Hocevar, who has been in the headlines again lately.

The Spire Motorsports star is one of the most talked about drivers in the sport, with a number of big names – including, notably, Denny Hamlin – weighing in once again over the last week or so.

Hamlin revealed on his Actions Detrimental podcast that multiple drivers said at Atlanta that they have become so fed up with his racing style and antics, they would rather give literally any other driver in the field a push than the fiery young star.

Zane Smith has been particularly outspoken, having a few choice words for the Michigan native on a recent podcast before reiterating at Atlanta on Saturday: "I just don’t like him."

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Preece: Hocevar will figure it out with time

Preece was asked for his thoughts on the driver of the No. 77 on a media call this week and revealed that Hocevar is actually beginning to earn his respect back in their one-on-one battles – although he admitted that what he sees in other battles on track make that harder to maintain.

“Here’s what I’m gonna say, Carson and I have certainly had our run-ins," he said. "There definitely have been times where we won’t have a run-in and I think to myself when I watch I’m like, ‘OK, maybe he’s figuring it out'.

"Carson hasn’t done anything wrong to me since Texas last year, and I feel like him and I have an understanding right now, so I’m not gonna come in here and slam him at all because I feel like he’s earning my respect back.

"But, what I will say is when I see him do things to others, it’s harder to keep gaining that respect and to be treated like you want to be raced a certain way one day, you’ve got to earn it.

"As much as he’s entertaining for the fans, I would agree with Denny that you’re not racing the fans, you’re racing us and we’re all very, very capable of doing some of the things that he does and I’m sure with time, maturity, age, he’ll figure it out, but how much time? That’s the question.”