Carson Hocevar shares his thoughts on how NASCAR should market the sport

While NASCAR has been spending a lot of time and money to attract fans old and new, Carson Hocevar has an idea that could help. The incoming 2024 Cup Series rookie and current Truck Series Playoffs driver had a new idea that isn’t so new when you think about it.

Marketing is all anyone can think about when it comes to improving NASCAR. You put fans in the stands, get viewers at home, and the money will come in. It attracts sponsors and more sponsors is a good thing to keep the sport happy and healthy.

NASCAR has tried a lot of different approaches. Highlight the big wrecks and intense moments. Maybe a throwback clip for a certain track in a TV commercial. Frankly, the marketing aspect is a little…lackluster.

Carson, while replying to the question, “What do you think teams should do to better connect fans?” from The Daily Downforce on Twitter, gave his take on the matter.

“Not on the team [per se], but personally I think NASCAR instead of just promoting the race with the same ad of crashes and races, pick a driver and their sponsor and give them ad space with commercials like the 2000s that are funny and directly tie into the sponsor, personality [of the driver].

“Would also give more value to the company spending money on the track, that NASCAR gives them a kickback to help push/promote and all while promoting the driver and the race. Dollar and cents probably say that doesn’t make sense, but it’s [an] interesting concept I guess.”

Now, Carson Hocevar might just be 20 years old, but this is an idea that is wise beyond his years. Let’s listen to these young drivers. Hocevar has been a NASCAR fan his entire life. Hocevar was earning top-5 finishes in the ARCA Menards Series at 15 and was running Truck Series races at 16. The kid has some good ideas.

Carson Hocevar wants NASCAR to go back

In the end, what Hocevar wants is more freedom for drivers to have fun. It sounds like he wants sponsors to be involved in that process, which just makes sense. But if we had to put a real identifier to it, it’s obvious. Carson wants to go back to the days of those Michael Waltrip NAPA commercials. The ESPN on NASCAR ads that were funny, not overwhelmingly macho and intense.

Personally, I’d like to see commercials with fewer wreck mashups and less baritone narrator voice and more, fun. NASCAR is fun. Horsepower and the smell of burning rubber and the emotions – all of it is fun. You have to convey that to the fans, though.

If you go on social media, teams do a great job of advertising their drivers, sponsors, and more. The Trackhouse Racing organization has taken its sponsor videos to another level, in my opinion. Hocevar with LEGACY M.C. has been great as well. That team, which won’t even be with Chevy next year, has put a lot into making Carson a real personality.

NASCAR is looking for answers to many questions, as Carson Hocevar pointed out. How do we improve short track and road course racing? How do we get people to tune in on Sunday? What is the best way to show off the personalities of drivers?

When I think of the “driver personality” question, it makes me think of other pro sports. The most beloved NBA and NFL stars are the ones who speak out. Even when these athletes say something silly or outright dumb, sponsors stick by them. NASCAR cannot let sponsors hold the sport back. No one ever told Tony Stewart to chill out and he wouldn’t have listened if they did, so why now?