Kevin Harvick gets to the root of Ross Chastain anger with Carson Hocevar

Carson Hocevar drew plenty of attention on the racetrack at Atlanta this weekend, irking a few different drivers, including some, like Ross Chastain, who confronted him after the race.

He’s the young driver. He’s the aggressive driver. And he makes few apologies.

All that is a concoction that adds up to one of the most controversial drivers in the sport right now. And it could very well affect the outcomes of races down the line.

Some of it is that Carson Hocevar is often unconventional.

“I think, and I don’t know this for sure, but I think the frustration I’m sure that Ross had is he kind of hung him out there one time and they didn’t try to make even an effort to defend against the Fords and the other groups when they had position with multiple Chevrolets,” Kevin Harvick said on the Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour podcast. “Sometimes it’s better to figure that out as you get towards the end.”

Carson Hocevar never seemed to make that attempt.

It was very much a solo approach geared toward going for the win. To his credit, Hocevar very nearly pulled it off, too, finishing P2 in the Ambetter Health 400.

But eventually, Harvick fears, Carson Hocevar’s driving style could put him without needed allies.

“I think once they all got frustrated with Carson, I think they just said, ‘Screw it, I’m not going to sit here at all. I’m going to pass him the first time that I get the opportunity because that’s what he did to me,'” Harvick said. “It’s unfortunate that the Chevrolet pushed the Toyota to the win, but that was the first car in front of him. And he put himself in position to be in the middle three-wide to have a chance to win the race if they raced all the way back to the start/finish line.

“So it’s unfortunate that he feels like he pushed the Toyota to the win, but it’s also very fortunate that he felt like I feel like he put himself in a position to win the race if you race back to the start/finish line.”

Harvick weighed in on what the Carson Hocevar developments could mean for his young career.

“Like I say, as long as he has big enough shoulders to take all the heat that goes along with standing on the gas and ruffling some feathers along the way, he’s going to learn very quickly how to do what he needs to do,” Harvick said. “Because he just, he’s very talented.”

That’s not to say the fallout from Carson Hocevar’s driving style isn’t going to be real. He will 100% face some adversity on the track as a result of his make-no-friends approach.

Harvick broke down what that looks like.

“So here’s what happens. What happens when you get in these scenarios and you start making people mad, they make it hard on you,” the veteran former driver said. “They’ll shove you out of the way. They’ll spin you out every once in a while. But that’s OK. You’ll get past that. You will get past that. I’ve been there. I have run into people, I have spun people out, I’ve made people mad. And it becomes hard when you’re in your pit stall and that guy’s having a bad day and the next thing you know you can’t get around him. Or you’re in a position where you need a push and that guy sticks you three-wide. Those are the types of things that start happening. But that’s OK.

“You’re still going to learn more by taking your lumps that way when you get the opportunities like he had this week to be able to showcase your talent, put yourself in a position to learn. He’s going to learn from what he did with (Ryan) Blaney. He’s going to go back and watch that film. He’s going to figure out why Kyle Busch was being so mad. Might not agree with that one. He might agree to disagree, but he’s going to listen.”

Then, execute if you’re Carson Hocevar.

“The best thing you can do is just take the advice of the veterans, listen, and then make your own decisions quietly in the racecar on your own,” Harvick concluded. “But do not let off the gas.”