They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but let’s be clear: imitation isn’t a clear-cut path to intimidation.
Carson Hocevar owns a Chevrolet Silverado, which is painted like Dale Earnhardt’s old black No. 3, in his personal garage. The full-time driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series, like Earnhardt, is one of the most aggressive drivers in the sport. And it feels like Hocevar, already known as “The Hurricane”, is ready to carry the torch in an important role as NASCAR’s bad boy.
However, it feels there is too much of a concerted effort to force the fanbase into thinking Hocevar is the next Dale Earnhardt.
Yes, there are parallels, undoubtedly, between the driving styles of the two drivers. But, to this point, there is one glaring difference between Hocevar and Earnhardt.
While Earnhardt was aggressive on track and made very few friends along the way, the NASCAR Hall of Famer was laser-focused on winning races and winning championships. That’s all that mattered to him, and if anyone got in his way, they got their cages rattled.
Earnhardt wasn’t concerned with being “the next” anything, and what resulted was a legendary career and a persona that is still talked about 25 years after his passing.
Aside from his No. 3 Chevrolet being thrown into a hole about half the size of his car, nothing was ever forced for Earnhardt. It all happened naturally.
And the same will be true of Hocevar, if he continues his bumping and beating ways and finds success throughout his career. There’s no need to speed-rush the process.
Don’t tell us Hocevar is the next Dale Earnhardt. Instead, the focus for Hocevar and his race team should be on one thing, and one thing only — winning.
The 23-year-old Hocevar comes into this weekend’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway without a win through the opening 86 races of his NASCAR Cup Series career.
While Hocevar is racing in a completely different era, obviously, and rookie drivers have found it increasingly more difficult in recent years to break through in the NASCAR Cup Series, Earnhardt had amassed six victories and a NASCAR Cup Series championship by the time he reached 86 starts in NASCAR Cup Series competition.
Hocevar has recorded just four top-five finishes and 16 top-10s to date. In the same number of starts, Earnhardt had already collected 47 top-five finishes and 54 top-10s.
To put it bluntly, Hocevar, who will carry a Chili’s-sponsored No. 77 car that is designed to look like Earnhardt’s 1981 Wrangler paint scheme this weekend, hasn’t quite earned the right to be compared to Earnhardt. Not just yet. Maybe someday, but that day is not today.
And look, that’s okay. This isn’t a diss on Hocevar by any means. Not many drivers find themselves matching or surpassing the lofty career numbers built by “The Intimidator”.
But few, if any, have ever attempted to build marketing campaigns intended to compare themselves to Earnhardt.
Prior to this weekend’s tribute scheme to Earnhardt, Hocevar ran a black, red, and white paint scheme, which drew inspiration from Earnhardt’s Black, silver, and red GM Goodwrench paint schemes. The paint scheme was dubbed the Intimi-‘Dente.
— Carson Hocevar (@CarsonHocevar) February 24, 2026
Just a few weeks later, he’s in another Earnhardt Sr.-inspired paint scheme. And this could be me totally misreading the situation, but it feels way too forced.
Instead of working to be the next Dale Earnhardt, Hocevar should focus solely on forging his own path and showcase why someone should aspire to be the next Carson Hocevar. Once he starts collecting some wins and, if everything falls his way, some championships, the comparisons to Earnhardt will come from the industry without the need for an advertising campaign.
Sure, Hocevar is aggressive, has raw talent, and is marketable. But he’s not legendary. Not yet.
