“Got The Attitude of Earnhardt!” Kyle Petty Brands Carson Hocevar as Next NASCAR Superstar Despite Atlanta Choke

Ex-racer Kyle Petty explains the Dale Sr. and Kyle Busch characters in Carson Hocevar that will make the Spire driver the next superstar.

“Got The Attitude of Earnhardt!” Kyle Petty Brands Carson Hocevar as Next NASCAR Superstar Despite Atlanta Choke

Carson Hocevar, Kyle Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. (Via IMAGO)

Carson Hocevar had an impressive night at Atalanta as he found himself one lap away from winning his maiden Cup race. But lack of drafting partner at the end gave Tyler Reddick the advantage and the TRD drivers secured back-to-back wins in 2026. But The Chevy driver was able to score his third straight top-10 at the venue, becoming the only active driver with such a good streak at the venue.

Ex-racer Kyle Petty was really impressed with the Spire Motorsports drivers’ run and on his Inside the Race show for NASCAR gave a bold hot take. He asserted that Carson Hocevar got the attitude of seven times Cup championship winning Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, making him a guaranteed future Superstar for the sport.

This is my hot take. This is it. Carson Hocevar is going to be a superstar here…He’s got the attitude of (Dale) Earnhardt, dude. The attitude of Earnhardt. I don’t care. I don’t care. You run me in the grass, you do this, I don’t care. I’m going on. I’m going to make my own way.

Kyle Petty said via Inside the Race.

Further talking about the No:77 Chevy driver, Richard Petty’s son pointed out that brashness and swagger like Tim Richmond is another key factor that makes Hocevar stands out. Hollywood Tim was a racing legend, who was unhinged with his words and passionate about racing. Hocevar playing a similar character before the media.

He’s got the brashness of Tim Richmond. He’s got a swagger about him. He just gets out and gets it done. On the radio he said, ‘Shake and Bake,’ all this stuff. When the booth asked him about it he said, ‘I don’t even know what I’m saying, dude. I’m just saying it. It’s off a TV show. I’m just throwing it out there.’ He’s just playing a game a little bit.

Kyle Petty added.

Another key factor is the winning mentality of Kyle Busch that Hocevar has. The two times Cup champion Busch is the wingiest racer in NASCAR’s three series combined with 232 wins to his name. He dominates the sport with his never finish second mentality and Hocevar got that in him as well. So, when he eventually gets into red hot form, he will become the superstar the sport needs.

Then we get down to it and he’s got the desire to win and the passion of Kyle Busch. He doesn’t want to run second. He didn’t show up to make friends. He didn’t show up to do anything but win a race… My hot take is he’s going to get white hot. And when he gets white hot, everybody better stand back…I don’t care where he’s at, what he’s doing. He’s going to be a superstar in this sport.

Kyle Petty asserted.

Carson Hocevar chocked at Atalanta and missed out on maiden Cup win

The Spire driver might never be able to achieve all these heights, if he fails to secure his maiden Cup win and build from it. He had the perfect opportunity to do so on Sunday, but failed to do so, as in his owns words, he chocked.

Carson Hocevar
Carson Hocevar (Via @CarsonHocevar/X)

I choked. For our luck last year I was like, ‘Well, if we just race to the Busch Series length races, like Stage 2, basically, we’d be really good. Then it kind of goes to hell and a handbasket. But now, I guess we’re really, really good this year at just getting to the white flag leading…

Carson Hocevar told Jamie Little of FOX Sports.

If he had a Chevy driver behind him to push him, he might have had a shot at win over Tyler Reddick, but still the chances were slim. Hocevar wrecking Joey Logano earlier in the race and Chrostopher Bell on the first overtime restart, were also mistakes he needs to learn from and avoid in the future.

Also Read: “Unfortunate!” Bubba Wallace Sulks Over Costly Atlanta Mistake and Credit Rajah Caruth for Strong Race