Denny Hamlin explains how the No:42 Legacy MC team got better as soon as Noah Gragson ‘got out of the car’
Denny Hamlin is impressed by the consistency and skills of Truck Championship contender Carson Hocevar.
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Denny Hamlin and Noah Gregson (Via IMAGO)
The 2023 season has been a nightmare for Jimmie Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club and especially for the No:42 crew. With the promising end to the 2022 season, the team was expected to produce solid runs with Erik Jones and rookie Noah Gragson behind the wheel. While Jones showed some promises, Gragson struggled to deliver on the track.
He was inconsistent the whole year. A clash with Ross Chastain, missing a race due to concussion, and finally, the nail in the coffin, indefinite suspension for liking an insensitive social media post. After the last incident, he was realised by the team. Gragson had to complete sensitivity training to get re-instated by NASCAR and the youngster is now focussed on rebuilding his career.
Gregson was replaced by multiple drivers before finely hitting the sweet spot with Truck Series regular Carson Hocevar who has produced impressive performance including a solid P11 last Sunday at Bristol. JGR’s Denny Hamlin has attributed the sudden rise in performance on the Toyota bound team finding a something at their home-base.
“Carson Hocevar, fantastic run. It looks like Legacy has turned the corner. Unfortunately for Noah, as soon as got out of the car, the organization got better. I don’t (think it’s all driver). I think the No. 43 car is still running better, as well. It doesn’t take much. There’s a home base probably, and set-up where they meet. Found something, hit on something at a race track,” Hamlin said in Action Detrimental podcast (H&T: ProTalk).
“It’s doubtful that they’re getting any Chevrolet information anymore. So they’re having to kind of do this on their own. So the old fashion was is using a pen and paper and trying to figure out what the right set-up is. It just takes hitting it one time to come up with some sort of baseline, that helps you at all race tracks,” Hamlin added.
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Denny Hamlin praises Carson Hocevar maturity and growth
While Hocevar’s talent was never a question, his attitude on the track didn’t sit well with many in the NASCAR community this year. He had made some questionable calls o the track resulting in race ending crashes and wrecks.
Hamlin pointed out that ‘bonehead’ Hocevar is long gone and he has matured to a great driver. The 23XI Racing owner has pointed pout that the youngster has proven to the garage that he is ready to race with the bog boys.
“He was running in the top ten for most of the night. He’s doing great. He’s doing a great job. You can’t say enough about, we gave him a lot of s— for a long time in the truck series, kind of making some really boneheaded decisions, but he’s certainly grown up quickly, and he’s showing that he can compete at the highest level,” Hamlin said.
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Justin P Joy
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