Carson Hocevar is still young in his Cup career, but even so, the Talladega winner has amassed a fan following that is not just significant but also diverse. 

Hocevar has been drawing fans to the sport, and NASCAR insiders believe he’s even reaching an audience beyond the usual crop of NASCAR fans, or what people refer to as traditional NASCAR fans. 

On the Rubbin is Racing podcast, Michael McCarthy, aka Large, discussed the topic with Dan DiOrio, aka Spider. Large spotted an interesting phenomenon about the fan zones and how Carson Hocevar fans are not the people you may expect to see at NASCAR races. 

“Typically for NASCAR meet and greets, everyone looks like they’re at a NASCAR meet and greet. It’s people who are wearing the merch. They all look like they were coming from the track or going to the track. It has the traditional NASCAR fan feel,” said Large. 

He then added on the kind of fans Hocevar brings, “Not an insult by any stretch of imagination. Carson Hocevar brings them all out. Put a couple of Goth chicks, there was one girl who was dressed up like Sabrina Carpenter. It was the UN waiting in line to see this kid, and they were dying to see him.”

Large was speaking about the meet and greet during the race weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, where Spider was present too. Spider said, “Just the amount of diversity that exists in his fan base is a testament to how universally loved Carson Hocevar is. I think all walks of life came out to support Carson, and it was a great turnout.”

Spider and Large were speaking in the context of the Barstool meet-and-greet zone that they had set up in Nashville in collaboration with Hocevar. 

Why is Hocevar such a fan magnet?

Carson Hocevar has been spotted many a time sitting in the grandstand watching races he’s not competing in, sitting with his popcorn just like a regular fan would. The No. 77 Spire Chevrolet driver is in his third full Cup season and remains connected to his fans. 

The celebrations he pulled by hanging out of the car after his Talladega win show the kind of showman he is, and his down-to-earth personality and regular interactions with fans across platforms show why he is as popular amongst the fans. 

Spider spoke about the success Hocevar brought to the event. He was skeptical that, despite the hype and the buildup to their meet-and-greet, they weren’t expecting so many people, and there was a fear that the event would flop, but the crowd came out for Hocevar. 

“I was pleasantly surprised when I showed up at like 5 p.m., and they were like, 'All the wristbands are ready, gone, and distributed. He's a guy that's going to continue to gain fans, and for good reason, he’s unbelievable,” said Spider. 

He also said that Hocevar stayed much longer than he was expected to and met and signed autographs for all the fans there, showing just why he is so loved and capable of bringing a new audience to the sport.

Whether he's sitting in the grandstands, celebrating with the crowd after a win, or staying late to sign every autograph, Hocevar continues to show that he may be a driver himself, but he has not forgotten what it feels like to be a fan.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason