Tommy Baldwin 'can't believe' his own take on Carson Hocevar, No. 77 team after New Hampshire

If you keep up with NASCAR, you know that Carson Hocevar has gotten on a lot of people’s nerves over this season. Tommy Bladwin, competition director at Rick Ware Racing, has had his own personal gripes about Hocevar.

Carson Hocevar is a polarizing figure. Many like his unashamed attitude towards racing aggressively on the track. There are others who are less excited about it.

During this season, Baldwin hasn’t shied away from speaking his mind on Hocevar. After a strong P11 run at Loudon, Baldwin changed his tune just a bit.

“I’m gonna hate saying this, but kudos to the 77 yesterday. I hate I’m saying this, but I watched, I had, you know, where we were pitted, son of a b*tch did a good job,” Baldwin admitted on Door Bumper Clear. “He didn’t run into anybody, right? He had a clean day, he ran in the top-10 all day, because he didn’t hit anybody and hurt his car, right? And that’s what I’ve been saying all in the beginning with him, it’s just the kid short-circuits there, but he didn’t yesterday. Again, he did a good job.”

Carson Hocevar has more top-10s and top-fives than he had a year ago. He had trouble early in the season putting together strong runs. However, he has helped move this Spire Motorsports program along and could end up being a legitimate star for the organization in the near future.

While he didn’t get the top-10 at New Hampshire, Hocevar showed great skill and speed. He ran in the top-10 for much of the race and even up near the front. Spire hasn’t been this good ever before, and with Hoceva,r they have had at least two chances this season to win a race.

Carson Hocevar guiding the way for Spire Motorsports

Love him or hate him, Carson Hocevar has shown that he belongs in the Cup Series. His innate speed in the racecar is something that you really can’t teach. It is that natural ability that so many want and so few actually possess.

Let’s not forget, Hocevar will only be 23 years old next season. He is a young driver who is still developing. That’s strange to say about someone in the Cup Series, but it’s true. Hocevar is only getting better as time goes on, and next year will be no different.

The last four races for Hocevar have been P9, P15, P7, and P11. The top-10s finishes were at Darlington and Bristol, two of the most difficult tracks on the schedule. He had top-10s at Indy and Iowa earlier in the summer and strong runs at Watkins Glen and Richmond.

Carson Hocevar is starting to find consistency this season. Let’s see how strong he finishes the year.