Denny Hamlin praises Carson Hocevar after Michigan heartbreaker: 'Future star'

On Sunday, Denny Hamlin charged to the front on the last green flag run to win at Michigan, but all eyes were on Carson Hocevar most of the race. Hocevar, the hometown driver, is making serious noise lately in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Fresh off of his P2 finish at Nashville, Hocevar led the second-most laps at Michigan on Sunday. He was out front for 32 laps. Late in the race, the No. 77 team was short on fuel. Not that it mattered, Hocevar blew a left rear tire that forced him to pit road.

His result, P29, does not reflect how fantastic he was on the track. He earned stage points, led laps, and made moves on the track you would expect from a veteran of the sport. Of course, Hocevar has earned a fair share of criticism from his peers for his aggressive driving style.

Denny Hamlin has been a very vocal critic of Hocevar. On his podcast, he has called out the 22-year-old, going back to his Truck Series days. On Sunday, after winning the Michigan race, and trolling the hometown fans who would have preferred to see Hocevar win, he had nothing but nice things to say about the Spire Motorsports driver.

“No question. Yeah, absolutely,” Hamlin said when asked if he felt empathy for Hocevar’s shortcomings. “Where I don’t feel sorry for him is he actually is half my age, so I know he’s got way more time to win those races. You can’t run as fast as he’s running, being up front as much as he’s up front, without eventually winning. I know that panic sometimes can set in. It’s like, God, we lost this opportunity.

“But he’s with a team that is on the rise. He is on the rise. It’s just a matter of time. None of us would be shocked if it’s next week or a month from now or whenever it is. I certainly give him his fair share of shit on Mondays on my podcast, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t respect his talent.”

Denny Hamlin didn’t stop there. The 44-year-old, 57-time race winner, continued to praise Hocevar for his talents behind the wheel.

“Absolutely, just a superstar when it comes to actual raw talent. When he figures out how to harness that, pick and choose the moments where he is aggressive, he’s going to put it all together and just be the next whoever. There’s five to six elite drivers in this field. He can be one of those five or six very easily when he puts it all together.

“He’s got all the tools to do it. He’s got all the pieces of the puzzle right in front of him. He has all the pieces. He’s not missing anything. It’s just when he figures out the riddle of how to put it together, he’s going to be a future star.”

You can’t beat that kind of compliment from one of the best to ever do it. Denny Hamlin sees the talent in Carson Hocevar. Which has me thinking…Hamlin is a team owner, Hocevar could have a 20+ year career in the sport…do we ever see Hocevar in a 23XI Racing car? I’m not sure Hocevar would ever leave Chevy, but in 10, 15, 20 years, who is to say it can’t happen?