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Jeff Gluck of The Athletic runs a weekly 12 Questions piece, in which he asks the same 12 questions to a different NASCAR driver throughout the course of the season. This week, it was with Brad Keselowski, and one of the wildcard questions was about Carson Hocevar.
Being that both are from Michigan and both at that age were aggressive, outspoken, and fast, there’s room for comparison. Gluck asked Keselowski if he sees pieces of himself at that age in Carson Hocever.
Spire and Penske also have some parallels
Keselowski started with the teams. He pointed to Spire being in the phase that Penske was when he was breaking into the Cup Series.
“Carson generates a lot of attention,” said Keselowski. “I haven’t quite put my finger on why, but I can make a few guesses. There are the on-track incidents, for sure. His team is very interesting. Spire itself is this up-and-coming team trying to prove itself in the same fashion he’s trying to prove himself.
“So I see some parallels there from the time I went to Penske, when they really weren’t respected in NASCAR. Spire is in that same category, where they haven’t been respected for a long time and are trying to be respected, and they’re with a driver who is pushing them to the limit.
“So yeah, I can see some similarities.”
The boundary of controversy
Keselowski has long said that you don’t get in fights over 15th. In his view, the biggest difference between him and Hocevar is that Carson doesn’t limit his aggression to racing for the win.
As Keselowski eloquently put it, Hocevar’s ‘boundary of controversy is much wider.’
“When I see Carson, the biggest difference between him and me is that he is willing to cause a ruckus or a problem further back in the field. That’s an important differentiator. You’ve heard me say several times in different media sessions that we don’t get in fights for 15th. If you’re going to cause an incident or have a moment of serious controversy, for the most part, it probably should be for wins and top-twos or -threes.
“What I see with Carson is his boundary of controversy is much wider and deeper through the field. Carson isn’t afraid to wreck somebody for 20th, then get out and tell him, ‘Sorry, that’s racing.’ You’re like, ‘Yeah. Yes, it is. Totally.’ But knowing when and how to use that currency is a big part of motorsports.
‘Carson has loads of talent’
Even the people that detest Carson Hocevar, ahem, Zane Smith, one thing is on repeat from each: He’s fast/talented. That echoes true again from Keselowski.
“Carson has loads of talent. He’s with a team that is giving him great race cars. The alliance Spire has with Hendrick is very good and strong for them.
“Their whole organization is going through that on-the-rise moment, and he’s riding that wave and having fun with it.”
If you haven’t read the full piece from Jeff Gluck, or any of his other 12 Questions articles, I’d encourage anyone to do so. They’re fun and insightful. You can read this week’s piece with Brad Keselowski by clicking HERE.
