Carson Hocevar details on “glowingly positive” conversation with HMS and Chevrolet amid Atlanta mischief

Carson Hocevar spoke about the last-lap incident at Atlanta Motor Speedway that spoiled a fellow Chevrolet pilot's potential race-winning drive. While the sophomore NASCAR driver expected tensions to rise in the team meetings, he said the conversations were "glowingly positive".

For the unversed, Hocevar, the driver of the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro for Spire Motorsports, pushed Toyota driver Christopher Bell into the top lane on the final lap. The bump allowed Bell to snatch the lead from Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson before the race was stopped by caution.

The Chevrolet-affiliated Hendrick Motorsports team supplies engines and provides technical support to Spire Motorsports.

In a report by Sportsnaut, Hocevar agreed that the last-lap incident appeared messy but won't apologize for trying to race for the win. Fortunately, the Chevy camp took the incident lightly and let him "have the freedom" to compete.

"I was curious to see how those conversations would go on Monday with Chevrolet and Hendrick and all of those were glowingly positive," Hocevar said during a media availability at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday.

The 2024 NASCAR Rookie of the Year added:

"For that, I’m in an appreciative spot that they let me go race. They see the plans and moves and I can appreciate that as a competitor that they let me have that freedom."

Hocevar may have been faultless with Chevrolet, but some drivers blasted him for his aggressive driving in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta.

Kyle Busch radioed frustration over Hocevar during their late stage one encounter. Ryan Blaney later slammed the Spire Motorsports driver after he was spun out in the closing laps. Ross Chastain had a word with the 22-year-old after they got out of their cars.

Regardless, Hocevar took the criticisms positively. He also appreciated seeing team co-owner Jeff Dickerson happy, saying it was like his dad was proud of him again.

Carson Hocevar (77) ahead of Austin Cindric (2) at Atlanta Motor Speedway - Source: Imagn

Christopher Bell won the Atlanta spring race followed by Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson, respectively. Ryan Blaney and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded up the top five finishers' list.

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"Just block out the noise": Former NASCAR champion on Carson Hocevar following Atlanta controversy

Kevin Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, gave Carson Hocevar advice following a controversial outing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Harvick told the youngster to block out the noise and continue racing for himself for wins.

The former Stewart-Haas Racing driver said (via Happy Hour on Fox):

"It's going to bite him. There’s going to be some times where he has got four or five guys mad at him after the race. There is no better way to learn. Why would you not want to learn by being in the front, racing against the guys that are winning the races and running up front?" mentioned Harvick [21:30 onwards]

He added:

"You have to be able to balance all that and still be able to have that aggressive nature and make those aggressive moves. But you gotta clean some of the mistakes up. You can't keep making the same mistakes. I don't think he's going to do that personally. I think he's very talented but I would advise to just block out the noise and keep that pedal down." [22:14 onwards]

Hocevar will return to racing at the Circuit of the Americas for the season's first road course contest. The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix is scheduled for March 2 at 3:30 p.m. ET, with Fox Sports slated to cover the race.