Noah Gragson sends warning to Carson Hocevar after Atlanta

Carson Hocevar has been in the news all week due to his aggressive driving during this past weekend’s race at Atlanta, and Noah Gragson had some choice words for him.

The Front Row Motorsports wheelman has been around the block a few times in the NASCAR Cup Series, and he tried to give some points to the 22-year-old during an appearance on Door Bumper Clear this week, letting him know that there’s a certain level of respect Hocevar needs to learn to race with.

“Ultimately, your respect level on the racetrack, that determines how people race you and put you in different positions,” Gragson explained. “So, I have obviously had my fair share of mishaps throughout my career, and on the racetrack, but I feel like I have a lot more respect and understanding now that I’m older and being more patient, putting myself in better positions, and not ruining other people’s day.

“You’ve gotta race against these guys 38 weeks in a row, in multiple years. He’s really, really fast, and he’s up there. I mean, he drives the wheels off that thing. But eventually there becomes a point where it’s a detriment each and every weekend, because guys race you super, super hard each and every week, instead of letting you by if you’re faster, or letting you go.

“They’re just going to race the shit out of you every single time you’re out there, and it ultimately hurts you in the long run.”

While it might not bite Hocevar in the butt immediately, Gragson thinks the time will come when it’s most inopportune for the Spire Motorsports wheelman, unless he changes his ways on the track. Thankfully, he’s young enough where there’s still plenty of time for that to happen.

“Nobody’s perfect, and we all mess up and misjudge stuff on the racetrack. But, you know, it’s just — it’s not fun,” the 26-year-old stated. “You gotta know, in my point of view, you gotta — I try to always know who I’m around. There’s certain guys that, you know, you can race side-by-side and three-wide with, and there’s other guys where you’re like, ‘Man, this guy, he’s a dart with one feather.’

“He’s still gonna get there and he’s gonna get there fast, but you don’t know where he’s gonna be or where he’s gonna go, and that inconsistency doesn’t scare you, but it just — it puts you on guard of, ‘Man, I don’t wanna be around this guy.’ As he progresses and gets better to race with, I think it’ll be OK. But he’s just got to pick a lane. A fork in the road, if he wants to go right or left.

“I’m going to continue to race this way and I might have good results and thumbs up. He’s doing his job, and he’s getting the results. At the end of the day, that’s what this is about, his results. But he’s going to piss a lot of people off on the way. We keep tabs on everyone. You know, when there’s a big moment, transferring in the next round of the playoffs or something, two years down the road, [you remember] this guy raced you like shit one time.”

Perhaps Carson Hocevar would be smart to take Noah Gragson’s advice, and learn from his mistakes moving forward. Regardless, his aggressive nature has obviously rubbed some of his competitors the wrong way, and it’ll be interesting to see how he races moving forward.