Denny Hamlin Exposes How Attitude is Costing Carson Hocevar Race Wins

Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar has yet again found himself in the headlines for the wrong reason and making enemies on the track seems to be hurting him more than ever. He found himself racing upfront in the last lap of the Atalanta race on Sunday, only to get left behind as the driver behind to refused to give him the push, giving Ryan Blaney the race win.

Joe Gibbs Racing veteran Denny Hamlin shared his thoughts on the situation in the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, highlighting how the young racer needs to earn the respect of his competitors. His bold statements before the races ended up hurting him, as the competitor refused to help him when he wanted the support the most.

But I mean, as a competitor, I agree a lot with how Burton and Jamie kind of broke it down. You don’t race the fans, you race your competitors and there’s more of them than there are of you. And the competitors definitely play a big role in how you finish on a week-to-week basis. So, I certainly think that while it may sound good in an interview, when it comes down to the end of a race, those words sometimes can hurt your finishing position.

Denny Hamlin said on his podcast.

Further talking about the point, the three times Daytona 500 champion pointed out that Carson Hocevar can’t expect that support from his rivals after asking them to bring the war to him. Denny Hamlin feels this enmity might be the reason behind Christopher Bell deciding to push Ryan Blaney instead of the No:77 Chevy driver.

You can’t tell the drivers ‘if you want a war, bring it’ and then expect them to help you out on the racetrack. And then also, I don’t know if Bell was thinking this, but pushing Blaney is the better decision for him in the standings versus pushing Hocevar too when you look at where Bell sits.

Denny Hamlin added via Actions Detrimental.

Later in the same conversation, Hamlin also pointed out that Bell might also have had a valid reason to push the No:12 Ford Mustang. As an experienced racer, the No:20 Toyota racer knows who has the most momentum and who he should push to get himself upfront, potentially having a go at the race win in the end.

Bell is always going to make whatever decision he thinks is going to give him the best finishing position. I think there are some drivers, who in a split second off Turn 4, where you have a choice, and can read which car has the momentum that is going to allow me to get by whoever he is racing.

Denny Hamlin added.

Denny Hamlin reveals how JGR driver never planned to push Carson Hocevar

Hamlin also revealed that there are multiple drivers in the garage that the knowns would never push Hocevar in the same situation. He explained that during the JGR&23XI driver meeting some declared that they would never push the No:77 Chevy driver.

But there also are drivers and there were drivers in our (Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI) meeting today that says no matter what, they will not push Carson Hocevar to a victory. Absolutely not. They’ll push anyone else. You can’t disrespect them on and off the track.

Denny Hamlin asserted.

This shows there are many drivers in the garage that holds a grudge against the youngster owing to his actions over the years. It would be interesting to see how the Spire driver is going earn back the respect of the garage and get on the good side in the coming years.

Also Read: “I Went to Tell Him I’m Sorry!” Ty Gibbs Blasts Bubba Wallace Over Disrespect After Atlanta Drama