Long before the NASCAR Cup field rolled into Talladega last week, Carson Hocevar had already been drawing comparisons to Dale Earnhardt. While some brushed it off as exaggerated placement, the talk took a different turn after Talladega, this time with one of Earnhardt’s friends stepping to the plate for Hocevar.
During the latest episode of their podcast, Herm & Schrader, four-time NASCAR Cup race winner Ken Schrader didn’t hesitate to explain to his co-host Kenny Wallace what he sees in Hocevar’s driving style. When asked by Wallace about past comparisons made by names like Dale Earnhardt Jr., the 70-year-old said:
“Because he reminds him [Earnhardt Jr.] of his daddy. I see Dale Sr. there.” — Ken Schrader
Wallace, however, quickly pushed back with a quip, “Because he wrecks everybody and does not apologize and continues racing.”
But Schrader clarified that what stands out about the Spire Motorsports phenom isn’t just chaos but his zealous nature to win.
“Not that he wrecks everybody,” Schrader responded. “Yes, some people have wrecked off the nose of his car. . . He is always up there, he is going for it. He is right up in there, if there’s a hole, he is going to try to get in. He’s driving like Senior did and yes there’s going to be some people getting turned around. But whatever he did a phenomenal job.”
Hocevar, though, has rubbed many peers the wrong way, but has built a reputation for aggressive driving similar to the one often accredited to the Intimidator, rather quickly.
To his credit, the No. 77 ace runs at the front, seizes openings unapologetically.
Dale Jr. has repeatedly pointed out that Hocevar, in his current “never say die” form, mirrors the early version of his father. Even “The King” Richard Petty opined the same.
During a candid conversation, Dale Inman, the veteran champion, stated, “If I go back and watch him run and stuff, he reminds me of Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt learned to get by with that stuff, and that boy in the 77, he’s just going to have to learn to get by with the things he’s doing. . . Earnhardt made no friends either.”
In a great example of this discussion as a whole, Inman disagreed with Petty about the comparison.
In the end, how Hocevar walks that fine line will define him for now. But when a seasoned veteran like Schrader sees flashes of “The Intimidator” in the 23-year-old, it means the garage is paying closer attention than ever.
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