"Sometimes be a little more selfish": Carson Hocevar reveals NASCAR legend's advice amid Atlanta controversy

Carson Hocevar looked back on his week following the Cup race at Atlanta last Sunday. The Spire Motorsports driver found himself in the middle of a controversy after his aggressive moves on the track angered some of his rivals.

Drivers like Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney confronted Hocevar after the race. And for the next few days, Hocevar's driving style was a big subject of discussion among the NASCAR fans and insiders.

Recently, ahead of this Sunday's Cup race at COTA, Hocevar was asked about people defending him and taking his side instead of criticizing his driving style. The 22-year-old mentioned that the only two conversations he had that were negative were with Blaney and Chastain. Apart from those two, 'rest were all positive' for the young driver.

"I think one of the most shocking when Mark Martin tried to hunt my phone number down and was tweeting and doing everything. Everybody that wants to be negative about it, the most respected driver was giving me lot of endorsement and a lot of behind the scenes. For me everything was positive and most importantly for me, the only conversations I was interested to see how those conversations we were going to have on Monday when we talked to Chevrolet and Hendrick and all those were glowingly positive," Carson Hocevar described via Frontstretch. [1:30]

He claimed that he's appreciative for the spot he's in where he can race and enjoy his freedom as a competitor. When a reporter quizzed Hocevar about what Mark Martin told him, he revealed:

"Just do our own thing and go race. He has a really good relationship with Luke Lambert, just wanted to tell Luke and reassure him to let me go race and be myself and just go there for the #77 car and sometimes be a little more selfish."

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave his verdict on the personality of Carson Hocevar

Speaking on the Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave his take on Carson Hocevar's personality. The NASCAR Hall of Famer said that in his opinion, Hocevar is 'a good person' who isn't a brat or 'a little punk'.

Earnhardt continued that when Hocevar is behind the wheel of a racecar, he may act punky or bratty. But that is also the way Joey Logano, a 3x Cup champion is as Junior mentioned.

"They change a little bit when they're between being in the car and out the car, the personality changes, they race differently than you would expect how they act off the track," Dale Jr. added.

With that said, it'll be interesting to see how or if Carson Hocevar brings any change to his aggressive driving style during the road course race on Sunday. The Spire Motorsports driver is all set to start from a competitive spot as he qualified in fourth spot on Saturday.