Is The Monkey Off Carson Hocevar’s Back Now?

Summary

The Dale Jr. Download — "Is The Monkey Off Carson Hocevar’s Back Now?"

Date: April 29, 2026
Host: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Guest: Carson Hocevar (NASCAR driver)
Co-hosts/Panel: TJ Majors, Luke Lambert
Podcast Network: Dirty Mo Media, SiriusXM

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Episode Overview

This lively guest episode centers on Carson Hocevar’s breakthrough first Cup Series victory and what it means for his career trajectory. The conversation covers the emotional weight of finally securing a win, the evolution of superspeedway racing, the nuances of racing etiquette and rules, Hocevar's personal aspirations, and his off-track life and interests. The trio (plus Lambert) dig into the mentality of becoming a winner, the sense of relief and validation that comes with it, and Carson’s plans for his racing future — all conveyed with candor and humor characteristic of both Dale Jr. and Hocevar.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Blend Rule” Controversy & Race Procedures

• Driver Meetings (or Lack Thereof):
  • [03:18 – 10:17]
  • The crew debate a recent race penalty connected to improper blending off pit road, highlighting changes in NASCAR protocol since the pandemic.
    • Hocevar: "I agree with that. I mean, I don't, I don't look at emails or whatever." (04:45)
    • The group reminisces about when blend-zone etiquette was upheld by unspoken code versus now, when it's become an exploited gray area.
    • They discuss recent NASCAR efforts to tighten up rule enforcement, with Hocevar admitting, "I was appreciative that y'all got popped at least. So that was how I found out that was even a rule." (05:22–05:45)
    • There's a call for more in-person, directive drivers' meetings: "Now that the pandemic's over, we can all get back together." (TJ, 03:37)

2. Superspeedway Racing, Crash Survival, & Emotional Peaks

• Wreck Avoidance & In-Race Decision-Making:
  • [10:45 – 16:39]
  • Hocevar details his lucky escape during a major crash, talking through how his intuition and experience helped him survive without severe damage.
    • "I blew my tire... I was like, if they wreck — ‘cause I'm yo-yoing through everybody..." (11:05)
    • "I was so braced for impact... but we didn't really get any damage." (12:23)
• On the Unique Energy of Talladega:
  • Hocevar reflects on how the venue’s vibe impacts drivers—how you “play into the crowd” (13:55) and the mental game of racing at Talladega vs. other tracks.

3. The Meaning and Mindset Behind a First Cup Win

• The Burden of Expectation:
  • [21:52 – 25:12]
  • Hocevar opens up about feeling pressure to convert growing recognition into results:
    • “It’s been wearing on me that, like, it’s — we haven’t won... The trajectory of how recognizable you are at the racetrack kind of normally goes with what you do.” (21:52)
• Superspeedway Strategy Evolution:
  • He explains his shift from conservative, team-ordered survival to aggressive, confident racing, resulting in recent superspeedway success.
    • "I just, I really enjoy these races because... it's super driver dependent, but it's so team dependent too." (15:07)
    • “I was bound, determined... I'm gonna be leading at the end to give myself a shot.” (22:40)
  • Discussion of how the final laps unfolded, with references to the racing “gods” and poetic irony linking his win to previous defeats.
    • “I looked at the racing gods a little bit... that's who turned us at the 500… That’s the irony.” (24:36)

4. Racing Format, Points, and Season Goals

• Points Standings and Mental Approach:
  • [39:56 – 42:42]
  • The group discusses the difference between points formats, the importance of consistency, and how winning shifts pressure.
  • Hocevar’s immediate goal is a top-12 points finish:
    • “I’d really like to finish like top 12 in points. I mean, you’re going to be huge for us.” (40:05)
  • He describes adapting his approach, emphasizing finishing races versus “swinging for the fences” every week.

5. On-Track Reputation, Modern Racing, and Craft

• Racecraft and Manipulating Air:
  • [43:13 – 47:06]
  • Hocevar discusses the subtleties of Cup car control, particularly the art of “manipulating air”, which he considers his specialty.
    • “If you wrote on a piece of paper, what’s your number one strong suit? Mine is manipulating air.” (44:21)
  • Observation: Modern Cup drivers are “underrated” at this, and Hocevar notes the field’s high technical skill and low mistake rate.

6. Life Off the Track: Short Track Roots, Toys, and Future Plans

• Grassroots Connections and Track Ownership Dreams:
  • [47:06 – 50:59]
  • Hocevar shares his love for dirt and pavement late models, future aspirations like buying his home track (Kalamazoo), and staying involved as a team owner/promoter.
    • “I really want it. I want to buy [Kalamazoo Speedway]... Just promote it, help it...” (49:16)
• Ambitions Beyond NASCAR:
  • His dream of running the Indy 500, joking about possible height problems (he’s 6'4") but eager to try (51:49).
• Garage of Dreams:
  • Plans for a “barndominium,” shop full of cars, and a replica dirt track: “I want to build an exact replica of the Chili Bowl.” (59:40)
  • “If you want to try to drift through the shop... I want cheap garage doors ‘cause we’re gonna drive stuff through it!” (59:40–60:07)

7. Sim Racing, Video Games, Nostalgia

• Sim & Gaming Life:
  • Hocevar travels with a sim rig; planning one for his motorhome (54:35).
  • Talks about gaming addiction and investments: “I have a knife in [Counter-Strike] that’s like four grand.” (61:46)
• Racing Collectibles and Marketplace Finds:
  • The backstory on owning iconic vehicles (like Dale Jr.'s truck and a Casey Kane car): “I want to have a car... every generation.” (59:23)
  • Nostalgic motivation: “The very first race I vividly remember... was the COT race at Bristol.” (56:41)

8. Reflections on Winning, Emotional Resonance & Celebration

• Reliving the Win:
  • [33:57 – 35:22, 66:38 – 69:10]
  • Hocevar becomes emotional watching replay videos:
    • “Every time I watch the video, I just, like, ball. Like, I literally cry my ass off... I get back into the same emotion…” (34:03)
• Comparisons with Dale Jr.:
  • Dale and Hocevar bond over the sense of relief and validity that comes with that elusive first win.
  • Dale Jr. reflects: “When I won Texas, I was like, I think I did it, you know, I think I’m gonna get to do this forever.” (36:50)
• Celebration Choices:
  • Comparison of celebration styles, with Hocevar sitting on the door and Dale Jr. “driving down and looking at the fans.”
    • Carson: “I wanted to make... they were going to get the loudest if they could know I’m there.” (68:35)
    • Dale Jr.: “I just like to watch. I just like to look at them, you know...” (67:53)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On not reading race rule emails:
  Carson Hocevar (04:45):
  “I don’t, I don’t look at emails or whatever.”
• On finally winning:
  Carson Hocevar (34:03):
  “Every time I watch the video, I just, like, ball. Like, I literally cry my ass off.”
• Dale Jr.’s mindset as a young driver:
  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (36:10):
  “I was afraid I was going to suck and be out of it after about three or four years... If I could win a race, that ought to do it, right?”
• On balancing popularity and performance:
  Carson Hocevar (21:52):
  “I can't be the guy that everybody just, you know, enjoys watching... Eventually, they're going to put a different T-shirt on because this guy’s actually going to win.”
• On his wild celebration and self-aware humor:
  Carson Hocevar (33:02):
  “My legs were so worn out... so bruised from, you know, the whole shindig I pulled off after the race... I cut the hell out of my hand... but, yeah, it was worth it!”
• On future aspirations:
  Carson Hocevar (51:35):
  “The ultimate one for me is the Indy 500. That’s by far the coolest race for me. Indy is my favorite track, even on the cup car...”
• On manipulating air in the Cup car:
  Carson Hocevar (44:21):
  "If you wrote on a piece of paper, what’s your number one strong suit? Mine is manipulating air.”
• Dale Jr. on celebration style:
  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (67:53):
  "I just like to watch. I just like to look at [the fans], you know..."
• On being emotional after a win:
  Carson Hocevar (34:03):
  “I get, I’m like, I’m mainly crying just because I, I literally get back into the same emotion I was in…”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:18 – 10:17 — The “blend rule,” drivers’ meetings, and pit road policing
• 11:01 – 13:02 — Hocevar’s Talladega crash-avoidance and in-race decision-making
• 13:55 – 16:32 — Emotional dynamics and approach to superspeedway races
• 21:52 – 25:12 — The burden of expectation, popularity, and winning
• 33:57 – 35:22 — Hocevar on reliving victory and the emotion of the win
• 39:56 – 42:42 — Season goals, points, and adapting to the current format
• 43:13 – 47:06 — Racecraft, manipulating air, and skill level in the Cup Series
• 47:06 – 50:59 — Grassroots ownership ambitions and short track passions
• 51:35 – 52:09 — Indy 500 dreams and discussion of physical limits
• 54:35 – 62:01 — Sim racing, gaming, and video game investments
• 66:38 – 69:10 — Celebration choices; How drivers acknowledge the crowd

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Tone & Takeaways

The episode is candid, energetic, and marked by mutual admiration and humor. Carson Hocevar’s genuine, emotional reflections and Dale Jr.’s seasoned perspective make for a refreshing discussion about the stakes and rewards of making it in NASCAR. Both hosts and guest freely share their thoughts about today’s racing landscape, simultaneously analytical and nostalgic, making this a must-listen for fans interested in both results and racer mentality.

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For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In…

This episode chronicles not just a race win, but the human side of motorsports — the anxiety before success, the sense of validation after, and the fun that keeps drivers coming back. From stories about email-overlooked rules to dreams of grassroots revival and sim rigs in motorhomes, it offers a full-spectrum view of a young star’s rise and the evolving world of NASCAR.

Transcript

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[TJ Majors]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[TJ Majors]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Luke Lambert]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The following is a production of Dirty Mo Media.

[TJ Majors]

You're Dale Jr.

[Carson Hocevar]

Should I say it? It's Dale Jr. Podcast.

[TJ Majors]

I gotta say

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

hey everybody. Welcome back for another episode of the Dale Jr. Download here.

[TJ Majors]

It's Wednesday. It's the guest show. And if you loved a little bit of what you heard from Carson Hosavar on Tuesday, we got more for you today. A one hour plus episode of Carson Hosvar.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We talk about his first win.

[TJ Majors]

We're going to talk a little bit

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

about just some of the hobbies and

[TJ Majors]

things that he's interested in. He's a character, man.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He is a personality, somebody I'm super

[TJ Majors]

excited about in this industry.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He's one of the guys, one of

[TJ Majors]

the many guys that are going to carry us into the future and we're going to have a lot of fun talking to him today. So here's a lot of the Carson host of our interview with me, TJ Majors at the table here in the Arby's studio.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Don't forget about Arby's new meet in three box. You get more meal for your money at Arby's. We have the meets.

[TJ Majors]

And let's get Carson in here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We're sitting here arguing, believe it or

[TJ Majors]

not, we're arguing about the penalty on the O'Reilly race on the back straightaway with Carson and Justin, apparently. So my take on it is, do you want to raise up? Yeah, they apparently, look, man, apparently they, you know, they don't have drivers meetings anymore. You get an email.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

And a video.

[Carson Hocevar]

Right.

[TJ Majors]

And I think we need to go back to having driver's meetings again. You know, now that the pandemic's over, we can all get back together.

[Carson Hocevar]

I agree with that. I mean, I don't, I don't look at emails or whatever.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, there was, there was a, there

[TJ Majors]

was a, NASCAR apparently was like, hey, guys, we're going to police this a little harder. This, you know, we don't love what we're seeing, this trend of guys pulling up in front of the pack off pit road at Daytona and Talladega. So we're going to, you know, we're

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

going to call people on if they

[TJ Majors]

start getting too aggressive. Well, nobody really thought a lot of it, you know, of.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, you don't even know really what that means. Right, Agreed.

[TJ Majors]

Well, so we do now.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We saw the video and they got popped.

[TJ Majors]

I'm like, they did, they did what they said they shouldn't do and the

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

TV was very good.

[TJ Majors]

Shout out to Parker and yeah, they did, Murray. They do such a great job. Adam, they were like, hey, man, they talked about this in the email, the driver's meeting. They told, I'm sure that they even talked about in the competition meeting that the TV broadcast booth has where NASCAR said, hey, we're going to police this harder. We don't love the trend. We're going to try to get it, get a hold of it. And so they, they saw it and they said, nascar is not going to

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

love that, but that's going to be a problem.

[TJ Majors]

And sure enough, they penalized their guys.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, what is the. What is. And I was saying to TJ, dude, in like 2005, nobody did that.

[TJ Majors]

That was really against the code, right? To put to blatantly, like, go into the third lane and pull up in front of two, you know, a 10 car pack. That was against code. Now it's kind of become like normalized. Is it truly when you see a

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

guy do it, do you go, oh, darn, okay, you know, just going to figure out a way to get around him or do you go, what an idiot?

[Carson Hocevar]

No, I mean, every time I, I mean, I'm normally the one doing it, honestly. So, I mean, hell, I did it on the Chevy, so. But I was already on the racetrack when I did it. But I, I've already. But they were already doing it before I got in there, really. Especially like, the Penske cars, like, they, they like, had a plan of like, all right, one car goes here, one car goes here, one car goes here to really, like, block them. And like, we haven't like, you know, like wrecked anything. I, I know. I was appreciative that y' all got popped at least. So that was how I found out that was even a rule. Because I saw Carson at like the concert at the Boulevard, and he's like, hey, man, don't do what I did. And I was like, what the hell did you do? Like, I, I didn't even realize what the penalties for. I, I thought like, maybe he just got up too quickly off turn two. I didn't realize it was like halfway down the back just turning up like, because I just thought that was, it

[Luke Lambert]

wasn't like blaining the 500 if you saw that clip. He landed literally in the middle of 1 and 2 at Daytona. I've never seen it before, but that was. I mean, it got away with it,

[Carson Hocevar]

but, But I felt like, I feel like one in like Talladega. Like, you go through on the apron through one and two and you get halfway down the back, you can kind of just do what you want. Where Daytona. Like, it's like the. Well, you kind of got stay on the different.

[Luke Lambert]

It sounds weird, but it is different.

[Carson Hocevar]

It's different. It is like you're not really on the apron. You're still merging onto the track. You just can't go too far and everything. Like, it's similar, like poke narrow, like Pocono. We're getting away with murder. A lot of them are just like going straight to the wall off turn to when you're supposed to stay low and everything. Like, there's other places we. We get away with it.

[TJ Majors]

It's gotten something. Something that's gotten really aggressive.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

Because, I mean, man back. I hate to sound like an old man back in my day, but we

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

all adhered pretty good to the, you know, the. The no blend rule.

[TJ Majors]

And we all stayed pretty tight. If we were told to use the apron, obviously it made it very simple to. To use the apron and then come up off the, you know, off of turn two and just, you know, you're looking up. All right, nobody's coming. I can. I feel like I can get up against the wall here, but if somebody was coming, you didn't drive up in front of them. You never would.

[Carson Hocevar]

I think the thing is, to the car, like, there's. If. If they slammed you at 20 mile an hour faster, you're just gonna shoot you forward. If they slammed you back in the day, 20 mile an hour faster.

[Luke Lambert]

Oh, yeah, we were.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah.

[Carson Hocevar]

We completely destroyed. Yeah.

[Luke Lambert]

Remember that Daytona 500 car with Robbie Gordon? That one time we sat on the pole for the 500 and we're like third in line in the group and Robbie always had a prop. He. It was hard to get.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He pulled out in front of us.

[Luke Lambert]

He. He came up to the. Up by the wall at daytona off of 4 to get in front of the group because if he didn't get there, we were going to blow by him and he wasn't gonna keep up. And.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And we were tandem drafting.

[Luke Lambert]

No Truex. We were. Well, the guy behind us, I saw it coming. I'm like, hey, man, 55's blending up here. You know, Be ready to check up a little bit. Well, the guy behind us didn't.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It was Trick.

[TJ Majors]

We were tandem.

[Luke Lambert]

Well, he didn't lift. And we saw the inside wall there

[TJ Majors]

with our pole entry. Yeah. With a pole sitting.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

Daytona 500 car. We had to go to a backup.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[Luke Lambert]

That really sucks.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

Damn right.

[Carson Hocevar]

That was practice.

[TJ Majors]

It was in practice.

[Carson Hocevar]

Oh, yeah, guys.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah, dude.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You'll be hauling ass.

[TJ Majors]

And guys. Guys will be 20 mile an hour slower on the bottom, and they'll see you coming. They'll just start feeding up in front of you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[Luke Lambert]

What are you doing? Slow fade up. Like, are they gonna do it? Are they gonna. Oh, they are. And everyone checks up and. Yeah, not good.

[TJ Majors]

Well, I. I'm in a tough position sometimes because, look, I'm. I was owner both them cars. I was mad that it happened to him. I was mad it cost him spots and a good result. They didn't never get the caution they were looking for, and they finished 21st and 22nd or some. But I also see NASCAR's point where I got to say, I. I want them to get a hold of it.

[Carson Hocevar]

Right.

[TJ Majors]

I don't like it. I don't love the idea that it's kind of becoming normal.

[Luke Lambert]

There's a big wreck coming.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

They need to figure it out. And nascar, it happened to be us that got busted.

[Luke Lambert]

So if you didn't talk to Carson on Saturday, I mean, you.

[Carson Hocevar]

I probably would have no idea. I mean, that's. I. I would have had no idea. But, like, I think some of my crew guys went and, like, I probably would have got told Sunday.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah, well, I was telling Carson to stand the line, and he still moved up. I mean, sometimes when you're in that moment, you just make the decision, I guess.

[TJ Majors]

You have. Y' all still have in person driver's meetings, do you not.

[Carson Hocevar]

Not really. I mean, so the in person drivers meetings is just kind of that show for, like, fans and sponsors and everything. And all they do is just play the video. Yeah, they just play the video and then. But like, Elton, he went up there. He normally says like one or two things. Like, you know, you know, here's the stage length. You know, thanks for coming out. You know, here's this and, you know, race above the W line. But then he was like, hey, the blend rule. All right, you know, here's the video, you know, thanks for coming.

[TJ Majors]

Oh, there was an extra.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, he kind of like, extra. So I would have, like, what the hell is he talking about?

[Luke Lambert]

Like, yeah, so it wasn't a video of don't do this.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, I know. A lot of us, though, we're like, kind of like looking at each other, though, about the blend line. Like, I don't know why we're. Why are we policing this? Like, we haven't wrecked yet. Like, can we at least just wreck first?

[Luke Lambert]

But you don't like that them car, both your cars wrecking right there, huh?

[Dr. Horton Announcer]

Yeah, I know.

[TJ Majors]

Well, hey, it is what it is. Congratulations again to Corey Day. Great, great race by Corey. He did an awesome job. And. Yeah. So let's move on to the cup race.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Big, big Crash.

[TJ Majors]

Going into turn three. I got to see. I got. I was flying to Nashville and doing some work with Texas Roadhouse, so I didn't get a chance to. To see all of it, but I did see this big crash y' all had into turn three. Where were you?

[Carson Hocevar]

So I was the last car on the top.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Last car.

[Carson Hocevar]

The last car on the top lane. And so, literally, I was the, like, going off turn two. I kept doing the. Trying to get the fastest lap. So I'd, like, lay way back, and I would just drive through the field. Like, you know, they're like four wide,

[Luke Lambert]

half throttle, and that is kind of

[Carson Hocevar]

fun to do when you do that. I would just start cutting through five wide and stuff, trying to get the fastest lap. And. Yeah. So this is me. So this is. I literally happen to think of it.

[TJ Majors]

Holy ends like days of thunder.

[Carson Hocevar]

So I blew my tire just. Literally just on the brake. And so, like, right there, I'm, like, flat and everything, but you can see it bouncing. Yeah. But, yeah, I just happened to take off, too. I was like, man. Because I just kept doing this with the pack and. Yo. Yo. And I was like, if they wreck. Because I'm yo. Yoing through everybody. And I just happened to think that off, too. And I was like, I probably should back off a little bit. And then all of a sudden, I saw, like, one car do something not normal. And then Tyler said, they're wrecking, and you see smoke. So luckily, I saw that. I had that intuition, a little bit of, like, being aware that I'm putting myself in a bad spot, what I was doing. But we didn't really get any damage. We just knocked the. There was something with the left front we had to fix because there's so much rubber that hit it. But. But no, I was completely fine. I braced for impact because I couldn't see anything.

[Luke Lambert]

Dude, I'm gonna go and tell you if there was a car sitting in front of you're.

[Carson Hocevar]

Dude, it's over. Yeah. I was more worried about a car. I was just. I was. I was so braced for impact. Of them spinning back up. Yeah.

[Luke Lambert]

Hitting the door or something.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah. Like, just. Or just flying in from behind that they didn't see.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Carson Hocevar]

But I was like, if I. And I was. I just kept turning my wheel right. Because I was like, if they, like, you know, if they have four flats, they're just gonna slide down. So I was like, yeah, just. Just clean. Just go. Just go to the bottom.

[Luke Lambert]

Please move. I mean, it worked out.

[Carson Hocevar]

I'm. Yeah. I got super lucky there.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So, you know, what kind, you know,

[TJ Majors]

what, what, what's your, what's your opinion on, on racing at Talladega? Racing at Daytona? Not so much the product on the racetrack. Just like I've, I grew up, dad was a massive fan of, of both tracks. And so I, I always look forward to going to racing there, no matter what kind of package we had or how the cars reacted with each other and whatnot. And, and you know, and Talladega, I was texting with you a little bit. Talladega is a special place. It's just, you know, when you go there versus other racetracks, all racetracks kind of have a different vibe, a different culture and a feel. Talladega definitely is, is, is a unique place. One of, one of a kind. You got the boulevard and all the, the fans just really get up and make a weekend out of it. Feels like an event, you know, and

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

you carry, I think carry that or

[TJ Majors]

you can't help but carry that into the race. You realize that, you know, there's a lot of folks that are here to see something happen.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, you play into the crowd a little bit when you walk into that place. Like you, you do. Yeah. I, it's just so funny. Like, I hated super speedways because, like, when I was running trucks, I had to like, I was always riding in the back because, like, they kept telling me they're like, hey, we can't afford to like wreck trucks. So we much rather you just hanging out on all the other places but just ride around. I mean, it's a truck race. They're gonna wreck. Just get your fifth or tenth by just finishing. So I just did that. And then, you know, in the cup car spire, same deal. I was like, we only had like three cars for our, for my team or three or four. And I told Luke, I was like, well, I don't want to like, put myself in a hole on like metric or anything or, but like kill a car and write it off. Yeah. Like in my rookie year, so I just, I did the ride around in the back. I literally ran like last the whole time and then finished like know, 10th or, or you know, like 15 day.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah, no wreck car.

[Carson Hocevar]

But it wasn't until my second year cup at Daytona, I, you know, got, I rode around the whole time and my fuel pump broke and so it, I was going to ride around. I was going to finish like 15th and you know, top 15, whatever, get myself, whatever. Well, it broke with like four to go and so I was like, this sucks. I Just rode around for like a decent finish and got nothing out of it. And so just said, screw it. I'm just going to just like go actually race these things. And then that's when we finished second Atlanta, and then we fished second or six at both Talladegas last year, then had a shot to win the 500 and then now one here. It's like I've just, I, I really enjoy these races because I, I'm never worried about car speed. I'm never worried about anything. Like, I just feel like it's super driver dependent, but it's so team dependent too. Like, especially now, like you got your picker, has to be locked in your crew chief. Like everybody has to be in sync, spotter, everything, strategy. It's all that. So. And that, that's the racing part that's the most fun for me for racing. That's why I love dirt racing. Because you could watch a guy catch a guy within four laps because he found five tenths, he could just go online. It gets so emotional. And you know, Talladega, you know, you could do this, do the same. You could decide to take an extra lane or take this run or get creative on things and, you know, and then the crowd gets really into it and everything, but really just anywhere that like, you get like that, you know, buzzer beater feel in racing, which is really tough to find. I feel like you can only really find that right now in our deal at super speedways or unless there's like a freak, you know, greenway checkered or something.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah, but Kansas greenway.

[Carson Hocevar]

But realistically, you can, you know, only really expect it to be consistently at these superspeedways.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

and you go. You went out to.

[TJ Majors]

You went out into the infield and hung out, and you kind of know what the vibe is like down there. And I really never really did that that much till later in my career. I'd heard about it and heard about it and heard about it, but I never really spent much time in the racetrack. Now, it's common, you know, it's common to see drivers now that social. So before social media, nobody went in the infield because we weren't creating content.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, yeah, right.

[TJ Majors]

You just. You went. You might sneak in there on the golf.

[Carson Hocevar]

You also didn't know what you were missing, too.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, yeah, but people would.

[Carson Hocevar]

Our.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Our other crew chiefs, other drivers, you'd.

[TJ Majors]

I'd stand in the bus lot, man. You'd see all kind of golf carts running back and forth, People going out in the infield.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

Coming back, going, man, you wouldn't believe what we saw, you know.

[Luke Lambert]

But now, Davis used to go once in a while in your golf cart. We'd go out there.

[TJ Majors]

But now that content and all that stuff is kind of part of our everyday life. You guys go out there and sometimes there's an objective and a job and the track puts something together. They had the float for years where they dragged drivers around.

[Luke Lambert]

Oh, that's right. I forgot about that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, so, I mean, that's common now.

[TJ Majors]

And so, you know, when you go out in the infield and kind of see what everybody's doing and seeing how jacked up fans are to be there and what it means to them for that race weekend, how does that. How, you know, how does that make you maybe get up a little bit more on Sunday morning to try to go win that race or try to go, you know, be the guy the fans are seeing at the front of the pack. I couldn't wait. I used to, like, challenge myself to, like, I'm gonna lead by lap four. I'm gonna lead lap three. I'm gonna be leading this race, you know?

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

And. And so.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And I didn't do that anywhere else,

[TJ Majors]

you know, I mean, I ran as hard as I could. I didn't want to win less. I just. Only at Talladega, I was like, I'm

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

gonna lead her lap.

[TJ Majors]

You know, I'm gonna. And so I felt that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I felt I knew the fans were there.

[TJ Majors]

They let me know they were there. Right. And I'm sure you kind of had the same experience.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, I mean, so, you know, I. I mean, I'm, you know, by. By no means anybody in my mind, but, like, you know, I. I feel like, especially before I was probably a year ago. You know, I'm getting recognized a lot more at the racetrack at least and everything. And, you know, I'm noticing, like, my, you know, fans are, you know, the fans that would go to Talladega and everything. And, you know, it's been wearing on me that, like, it's, you know, we haven't won. I was just like, man, like, the trajectory of, you know, how recognizable you are at the racetrack kind of normally goes with how you. What you do. Yeah. And I'm like. And, like, it's supposed to go together.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Carson Hocevar]

Like, it's supposed to. Supposed to roll together. Like, I can't be the guy that everybody just, you know, enjoys watching. Like, eventually they're going to go, well, yeah, okay. But I'm going to, you know, put a different T shirt on today because this guy's actually going to win. And so it's been wearing on me a lot. And, you know, after the 500, I was. I was pretty locked in on, like, you know, you go to Atlanta, and I thought, we're gonna have a shot and everything. But, like, truly, like Talladega, I was like, we're gonna. I'm gonna. I'm gonna be leading at the end no matter what. Like, I'm gonna be leading at the end to give myself a shot. And then when it came three to go. I feel like you could always pick on who's gonna win the superspeedways based off of what they're owed or, you know, just kind of how their season's gone or whatever. I feel like you kind of pick, and I've always kind of done that. Like, I've always kind of tried to pick who was going to win. Like, I picked Corey Day to win. You know, he won, but I just kind of, you know, I felt like he was owed Rockingham. Like, he was super fast and he gets a lot of flack, but he's super aggressive. I was like. Like, super aggressive, owed maybe a race, probably going to win Talladega. And so I was just, like, sitting there on the drive. I was driving to a Dirtley ball test on Wednesday, and I was just like, if anybody's out, it's us. Like, we, you know, leading on the white 5, 500. I've, you know, feel like we've. We've been good, but we've just keep losing finishes for whatever reason, pit stops or whatever. I'm, like, I'm picking me today. Like, I'm picking me this weekend. So I was. I was bound, determined that, like, you know, the races isn't. Isn't, you know, just go take the lead and dominate anymore. It's take care of the race and be, you know, strategize to get there at the front of the end. But I was like, you know, we did everything that we planned to do. Like, we never even like got worried or anything throughout the race. Like, you know, roll off pit Road, I'm third and you know, push the 17 out. Want to get to the top? I get to the top. If I wanted to be on the bottom, I could shuffle around, get to the bottom and. And you know, just kind of, I just managed where I was and I felt like I was always in, in control and, and when it came three to go on that restart and the 43 spawn, you know, I kind of looked at like, you know, I got turned into him, but I looked at the racing gods a little bit of like, all right, that's who turned us at the 500. The 47 is the one. That 47 hit me and I didn't get spun this time. And it was the same three cars from the 500. All right, well, that's real ironic. I was like, that's the irony. And it killed the only non Chevy up there.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah, when I saw that, I was like, ooh.

[Carson Hocevar]

I was like, all right, so I'm the top Chevy here and there's only Chevy's around me and one Ford next to me. I was like, and they're not going to roll the third lane. I was like, all right, as long as I don't up, I'm going to win. Like, we're going to win this.

[Luke Lambert]

That was.

[Carson Hocevar]

It was in a. I was in. We were in the best spot for sure.

[Luke Lambert]

Do you kind of miss. Do you like the racing you talked about just a minute ago where you could kind of manipulate lanes and stuff? We've had a lot of fun with that in the past. And I kind of feel like the O'Reilly cars are similar to that. Like a car can get out front and if the car behind them, they're too wide behind them. That car has a really hard time getting a run and making something happen. Do you miss that type or do you think you would enjoy that type of racing?

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, I mean, I love Atlanta. Atlanta's by far.

[Luke Lambert]

Atlanta's fun.

[Carson Hocevar]

Like it's on. It reminds me a lot. I mean, I wasn't, I wasn't in the races, but I watch a lot of 2000s races. Obviously really good Atlanta races exactly like that. To me, like, it you know, super bumpy and everything. So, you know, I always wished I could have ran just like one gen 4 super speedway race at Daytona. And so there's one day it clicked in my head. I was like, hell, this is, this is just Atlanta. Like, all right, I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna just, you know, vicariously live through that and just enjoy this. But the best I can get, I, I wish we had a little closer. Like, I like, I liked what we had at Daytona. Like it rolled the top really good and you kind of move around. I didn't think it was bad.

[Luke Lambert]

Daytona definitely has more character with the bumps and, and the way the track when it gets hot there too. And the. You mean sometimes you gotta handle. Yeah, handling becomes an issue at Daytona a lot more with guys. I mean, if you run on the bottom two by two, do you ever have to l Daytona through the late exits?

[Carson Hocevar]

A little bit.

[Luke Lambert]

Like, you don't have to do that Talladega though.

[Carson Hocevar]

Right.

[Luke Lambert]

So that keeps the bottom lane able to work harder at Daytona. And I mean a Talladega, when you're at Daytona you get them gaps and that's when that second, third link and move.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, and we just get so fast. Like you could push at Talladega, I think the biggest thing is you, you have six to eight cars pushing basically, so you just go so fast where Daytona, they're building gaps and everything through the corner. But yeah, I would, I would, I enjoy Daytona. Talladega is like, I mean, I was, when I'm on the front row, I'm like, hell yeah, just, yeah, just lock down the front rows and we'll just see how, see who wins. You know, flip a coin.

[Luke Lambert]

It is kind of at the end of a race of Daytona now. It is kind of between, I mean, basically who's leading the rows right there at the end. So you don't really have that three wide move to the top.

[TJ Majors]

And yeah, I know that they're, I know that there's some test sessions they're bringing back off the off season testing and there's a, there's going to be some attempts to try to see what things can affect the race cars. I'm sure NASCAR will put a good plan together for their test to try to figure out how they can maybe come up with some things that might improve or, you know, give you what you enjoy at Atlanta, give that to you at a Talladega, at a Daytona. Because I think that's what everybody would love to have.

[Carson Hocevar]

I mean, they would, I mean, you Know, I feel like they get a lot of flack, but, like, I mean, they clearly want it. They want it to, like.

[TJ Majors]

That's right.

[Luke Lambert]

Oh, 100% they want it.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah. Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

I don't know, though.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, I just don't. I don't know that it's realistic, how.

[TJ Majors]

How easy it would be to obtain whatever they're trying to. Yeah, I don't know what lever to pull, so I don't either, you know, and I'm not. There was a time around 2014 and that if. If you got the lead, you literally control the lead just by moving back and forth off of the two rows and getting the put. I mean, it was. You know, I always.

[Luke Lambert]

Guys had to work really hard to get around it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It was hard. It was hard.

[TJ Majors]

Like, if you got control of the

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

race and got the lead with 20

[TJ Majors]

to go in 2014, you had about an 80 to 90% chance of winning the race.

[Luke Lambert]

I feel like that's the way O'Reilly is hard.

[TJ Majors]

It's hard for people to remember it being that way, but it was.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah, I feel like O'Reilly's like that a lot because that's how Austin Hills won a lot of races.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

If you give Austin Hill the lead at a. Gosh, he's hard to sell. The.

[Carson Hocevar]

I ran my first O'Reilly race at Daytona on, like, a super speedway, and, you know, I'm. I'm the same guy in the stands. Just like. Just somebody drive around the guy, you know, somebody try it, you know, and, you know, I finally got there, and, you know, I was in a car, right? But, like, I was like, I'm, like, wide open. I can't catch this guy. Like, you know, and I'm like, fifth, sixth in line. I'm like, all right, okay, I get it now. Yeah, I understand. I can't build any runs. I, like, I did it in practice, too. I was like, I am the slow. Like, I told everybody. I was like, dude, what car did you put me in? Like, this thing is, I can't keep up. And they're like, no, it's normal.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah.

[Carson Hocevar]

I was like, oh, well, damn. All right. No, I was looking forward to this. Yeah.

[Luke Lambert]

That's another way. Our car was on Saturday with Carson. I mean, if one car was behind him, the one car was insanely the car behind us. If he was. They were side by side behind him. He could not get a big enough run to get around us. Really? I mean, it was hard.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah. So, well, dude, what did you do Sunday night?

[Carson Hocevar]

So we went to we went to the Mooresville Chilies. They had it all. I was so pumped about that. Mainly because I was so hungry, I hadn't ate anything.

[Luke Lambert]

So do you work with them on this? Like, if you win, you can go. They're going to say openly, or this

[Carson Hocevar]

is all see to your pants. Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

Just how many people were with your group at Chili's?

[Carson Hocevar]

It was so full. It was probably 60 to 80 people from everybody in the company was there. Like, I mean, you know, my PR guy said it on. On. On the media center. So I'm shot. No fans show up. But I had so many people call me, too. They were like, you have, like, B.J. mcLeod called me. He's like, dude, I've never, like, wanted to go hang out with anybody and do anything. But he's like, I almost came. He's like, I almost just got my car at 1am There's a bunch of people that text me. They're like, dude, I was so close to coming just to just come witness it. But he's like, nah, I just wanted to.

[TJ Majors]

So Chili's was open at 1am 1am they.

[Carson Hocevar]

They opened it. They specifically just went there, opened it, had all the. You know, they had a whole platter set up. You know, we did a bunch of speeches at, you know, up at the bar and everything. And it was fun.

[Luke Lambert]

But it's cool when a sponsoring involved like that.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, they. They got a cake, and I was like, how the hell did you make a cake? They're like, no, we went and bought it and everything. But, you know, they had everything and. But, yeah, like, the, you know, corporate people were there at the race. It was a Chili's race, so they had a ton of people. So they. Before we were done with Victory Lane, they had already made the calls to the Mooresville location. You know, they know us, everything. They always came in at the shop, but they were like, you know, they both had the same idea, basically. And we all went there and then we went to Luke's house right after. You know, eventually it was last call, and they're like, all right, we're all,

[Luke Lambert]

yeah, we got a call for real now.

[Carson Hocevar]

So we went to. We went to Luke's house. He just bought a new house and had a pool area. So, you know, everybody went and hung out, and I sat down on the couch and I sat there and finally, like, the adrenaline wore off me and I felt like the lamest guy in the world. But I was like, I don't care. My legs were so worn out, and I Was like so bruised from, you know, the whole shindig I pulled off after the race that I was like, you guys have fun. I am sitting right here on this couch and I will just enjoy the company. And that's just what I did. I just laid down and we talked forever. I went to bed. I got. I stole his truck, went to. Went to my house at like 6, 6am, sat in my bed and just texted everybody right before I went to sleep. Because I knew if. If I didn't respond to texts before I went to bed, I was never going to do it.

[Luke Lambert]

Are you a copy paste guy or did you.

[Carson Hocevar]

No, I wrote. I. I was not copy and paste. I normally copy and paste, but I was like, no. I was like, everybody's gonna expect me to copy and paste. I'm writing everyone, like, and everyone's gonna be different. Like, I'm challenging my. But like, I was like, no, like. So I, I wrote it. I wrote it all back and everything. And yeah, it's, you know, woke up for somehow at like 10am and rolled on and. And then I started watching all the videos and everything and.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah, it sounds like whenever you'd win back in the day a little bit, don't it? Yeah, Yeah, a little bit.

[TJ Majors]

It's awesome.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So bruised.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, a little bit. What's up? Oh, just from the door or whatever, like, you know, my legs were like a little like, you know, bruised up a little bit and everything. Just bouncing off.

[TJ Majors]

When you bounced off properly.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, like I cut the hell out of my hand.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I see that. Was that from.

[Carson Hocevar]

That. So that was from when I was holding on. I was holding the roof rail on the front.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Ah.

[Carson Hocevar]

And so when I went like, gotcha. Went forward and rolled and came back and like I leaned back. It's like I slept, slid it on that. But ouch, you know, battle scars and everything. We were joking that I was gonna just peel it just so I had a scar.

[Luke Lambert]

I mean, it's probably worth it. You'd take that?

[Carson Hocevar]

Oh, yeah, I would do it. I would do it again.

[TJ Majors]

So when you watch all the videos, you know, that's one of. That's one of my favorite things, is to every now and then go back and watch an old race, you know, and just relive the emotions. Right. And so

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

what.

[TJ Majors]

What does that feel like? I guess when you. Because, you know, it does take a while for it to sink in.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, I was, I was driving here and it doesn't feel like I've. I've won. Like, I keep forgetting I'VE already, I've won one. But I mean, every time, I mean, literally every time I watch the video, I, I just, like, ball, Like, I literally cry my ass off. Like, I just. So lame. Like, I mean, literally, like, almost two days apart. But like, but that's what, but like, I, I felt like I, I, I was so focused on soaking it all in and like, I wanted to visualize it. And like, nothing's a blur. I could tell you exactly where, you know, what row I saw somebody. I could tell you everything. I could tell you exactly what I was pointing to. I remember it all. And so when I watched, when I rewatched the videos, I, I still remember it. So, like, I get, I'm like, I'm mainly crying just because I, I literally get back into the same emotion I can get. I was. And like, I can hear the crowd. I can hear everything. I can visualize everything again. And so, like, that's my favorite part is like, I can, I could get back to that spot because that was the number one thing I was scared of if I ever won was either wouldn't feel like I dreamt about and like, it wouldn't feel like that big of a deal and would just, they'd be like, damn, this is everything I've ever, ever dreamt of, worked for. And it just, you know, it just, it wasn't what you'd expect. You know, the expectations were so high and everything, but no, you know, matched up perfectly.

[Luke Lambert]

Did you ever win like that? I kind of feel like 2014 Daytona 500 for me was like, no.

[TJ Majors]

I mean, my first cup win at Texas was like that one there is one of my favorites because

[Luke Lambert]

we,

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

you

[TJ Majors]

know, to what you're saying, it's an emotion of finally. So, like, I always tell people, and I don't know that anyone understands what this means, but I was telling somebody yesterday when I got the opportunity to race, I didn't, I didn't look at, I didn't look out into the future and go, man, I'm going to want

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

to win 50 races or I want

[TJ Majors]

to win 100 races or 300 races or a championship. I looked at Chad Little or Derek Cope and Hilton Sawyer and guys like that and said, I want to do whatever they're doing so I can do this for a living. I want to do enough to do

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

it for 20 years, right?

[TJ Majors]

And I was afraid that I was going to suck and be out of it after about three or four years and be like, I got to find a job. And so I was like, man, if

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I could win a race, I think

[TJ Majors]

if I could win one race, you

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

know, Derek cope one day, Tom500.

[Luke Lambert]

And he's still racing.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He's racing like hell. So if I could just win one race, that ought to do it, right? And so that was my goal.

[TJ Majors]

And so when I won Texas, I was like, I think I did it, you know, I think I'm gonna get

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

to do this forever.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah. Locked in.

[Luke Lambert]

Yes.

[Carson Hocevar]

Oh, man.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah. And so you locked into the playoff.

[Carson Hocevar]

Put him on the Wheaties box. He did it.

[TJ Majors]

Dude. It was like a. All right, man. I think I'm gonna race for a living.

[Luke Lambert]

That was the moment.

[TJ Majors]

Yes. It was such a relief.

[Luke Lambert]

Wasn't the two championships that you won before that or, I mean, I mean,

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

yeah, in my, that's how our minds

[TJ Majors]

work when we're young. We're like very, we compartmentalize and we like do a lot of math. It doesn't make sense, you know? Doesn't make sense. You might, I might look at you and go, oh, man, you're going to be a race car driver the rest of your life. You have nothing to worry about.

[Luke Lambert]

He's not going to see it that way.

[TJ Majors]

Your head, you might be going, I need to do more. I've not done enough, you know?

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, yeah. I, I, I've been just thinking. I was just like, I just need one. Yeah, I just need.

[TJ Majors]

I was the same way.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Hey, this is Dale Hart Jr. And for all the latest Dale Jr. Download gear, including the I'm will drink some beer T shirt we've been talking about here around the office, head over to shop.dirtymomedia.com for all the latest merch. Guys, it's back and I'm excited because now you don't have to go hunting all over for good barbecue. Arby's is bringing back that slow smoked goodness straight to the drive thru. I've been waiting all year for Arby's. Bring back their barbecue sandwich lineup this year and it's even better than ever. We're talking a quarter pound of pulled pork smoked for four hours and a quarter pound of chopped brisket smoked for a full 13 hours. Now that's real barbecue, low and slow. On pit road, we work fast, but in the barbecue pit, slow is how

[TJ Majors]

you get it right.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And they got it right. And the sweet and spicy barbecue sauces are back too. So you can mix it up however you like. I'll be honest. 13 hour brisket from a drive thru. I had to try it. I picked up a sandwich the other day for lunch on my way to the shop, and it surprised me. It's legit. Low and slow in fast food. It's kind of wild, but it works. Arby's is doing real authentic barbecue that's so good, you won't believe that you got it at a drive thru. Everybody knows Arby's has the meats, so if you can count on anyone to do barbecue right, it had to be Arby's available for a limited time at participating locations. While supplies last, prices may vary. Get your barbecue sandwich at Arby's near you today.

[BetterHelp / Indeed Announcer]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Hiring.

[BetterHelp / Indeed Announcer]

Do it the right way with Indeed.

[Luke Lambert]

So what's next, like, on your goal list? You got your first win out of the way. Like, what's next for you? Like, goal as I know you want to win every week, but like, really,

[Carson Hocevar]

like, I'd really like to big jump into points, right? Yeah, I'd really like to finish like top 12 in points. I mean, you're going to be huge for us. Like, if we could, like, top 10 would be really big, but really like 12. Top 12 would be really big. Like, I feel like that's a lot better goal for me right now this season. Like, obviously I want to. Yeah. Keep winning for sure, but like for a season long. Yeah.

[Luke Lambert]

The names that you're in front of, though, like some of the names that you're in front of right now or.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, let's look.

[TJ Majors]

Let's see.

[Luke Lambert]

Pretty big names.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How far ahead of 12th is he?

[Carson Hocevar]

70.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

70. That's a good chunk.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Luke Lambert]

I mean, you're in front of Christopher Bell.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So wait. All right, so real talk, you, last

[Luke Lambert]

year,

[TJ Majors]

last year, my opinion, you, you had a lot of races where you, you didn't finish the race, right? You had a little, you had some clunky moments. You feel like you, to do what you want to do. You've got to.

[Carson Hocevar]

If you got, we got to put together races.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, if you got car, you got

[TJ Majors]

to go, hey, man, today's just on my day.

[Carson Hocevar]

I just, I, I felt like last year we got really like where there's so many races where we're going to put together a decent day and like we'd blow up or, you know, fuel pump or tire and everything. So, like. But for us to make the playoffs, you had to win. And we were, we already blew away all these good races. So it was just like, well, I just, number one, I just want to win one. So I was like, well, I just want to win one. But also too, the, the, the points thing, you know, the scoreboard or, you know, goal post, the goal post was moving the whole time. Like, I mean, if this was the playoff format, I, I'd be eighth and I'd be like, thank God I won. But if I was eighth, I'd be like, well, I mean, it's not a guarantee, you know, if the guys out back win, you know, thank God Tyler Reddick won four races to. Yeah, otherwise, you know, block that someone

[Luke Lambert]

can still get in in front of

[Carson Hocevar]

somebody could keep getting in. But yeah, now I'm like, oh, we're plus 70. Like, we're just get rolling here. Like, you know, just now I'm more like finish race. Yeah, we just keep finishing.

[TJ Majors]

So you have to adapt. You are mentally adapting to racing under this format.

[Carson Hocevar]

I, I, you would think that like Aspire would want the playoff format. You know, like, I, I feel like I want, I think it's a way bigger advantage for us to have to chase like, well, for, for multiple reasons. Number one, if we do get in the chase, I could not survive another like two rounds probably if I didn't have wins for the playoff points, because

[Luke Lambert]

I would have kill you.

[Carson Hocevar]

Well, I could have a great three races get out of the, out of the gate and you know, like a Denny or somebody that happened to him, like, he had a terrible round. He was, you know, he like ran 30th for three rows, but he has the most playoff points. Well, and the deal, he goes right back in front of me. I'm like, I never survived that. Like, I have to bank on their misfortune and myself having a good one. But if I come out of the gate swinging in the, in the chase for first three and everybody else has bad races, I could, you Know, maybe

[TJ Majors]

work your way into it.

[Carson Hocevar]

Work my way into it or something.

[Luke Lambert]

This is why I kind of want to. I haven't liked the metric qualifying format. I think if you. Like you said, you get down one week, it's so hard to get back.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[Luke Lambert]

To even. But yeah.

[Carson Hocevar]

Well, we were half excited. I yelled in victory lane. I was like rolling out last at Texas and qualifying. I was like, we pay one on the metric.

[Luke Lambert]

I mean, that helps your whole weekend though, man. You get a good laugh. You get a good pistol. Yeah. So.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah. So going into Texas, you know, like TJ said, what's next? What's the next racetrack you're looking forward to?

[Carson Hocevar]

We were honestly looking forward to Texas.

[Luke Lambert]

I was going to say, you got pretty Cole.

[Carson Hocevar]

We run six. We came down pit road, and when I came off pit road, the caution came out. So I got stuck a lap down and everything. And then that was one of the deals of like, I was just trying my ass off to drive around people and got stuck in a dirty spot and I wrecked myself there.

[TJ Majors]

But what about the 600? You ran really good there last year.

[Carson Hocevar]

I mean, that's the thing. We're coming up to all the good tracks that we like. That good string, like this was kind of our string that we like, you know, tail day.

[Luke Lambert]

You feel like you're a mile and a half bigger type.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, for sure. Like, the only short track I think we're any good at is.

[Luke Lambert]

That's weird because with your background, I would say, you know, like short tracks would be.

[Carson Hocevar]

But like I've. Yeah, that's the thing is like, it's super, like car dependent. Like, I feel like what I'm like, if you wrote on piece of paper is like, what's your number one strong suit of shrinks is manipulating air. For me.

[Luke Lambert]

Oh, yeah.

[Carson Hocevar]

You know, constantly just. I'm all about feeling the air and manipulating it, car placing and car placement, the whole deal. And I can make speed, but really it's just, you know, I'm hoping a lot of guys aren't maximizing their speed. It's a lot easier for everybody to maximize at Martinsville or Bristol or, you know, nowhere. With air they can maximize no problem. But I'm just hoping they're not gonna, you know, they're gonna be lifting a little earlier than me and get a little less downforce or not take this spot or not, you know, go this close to the wall so they can manipulate, you know.

[Luke Lambert]

Do you think the cup guys, they're. I always kind of think they're Underrated when it comes to how good the guys really are manipulating air and where they play scars, like, how good the drivers really are. When you get to the Cup Series,

[Carson Hocevar]

you just look, we don't crash. Like, nobody makes mistakes right now. Like, it's. You know, now that it's more of a, you know, chase format. Right.

[Luke Lambert]

And you run so close together.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, we're all. You know, I. You know, I don't know how it would be in the 2000s, but if you were four or five wide, I feel like it was always, you know, if they were 3 wide, the commentary, oh, somebody's gonna crash. You know, this ain't gonna work. You know, going in the corner now, it's like, five wide, and they're like. Yeah. So they're. Yep, yep. Two in, one out or three? Three in, one out. No problem. You got it, buddy. Yeah. You got it. No, like, we're not. I'm not stressed about it.

[Luke Lambert]

Even as spotters, you don't. Even when you hear four or five whitening, I mean, you're kind of like, all right, well, this guy's gonna hold. You're, like, not worried about a guy not holding his line or something.

[Carson Hocevar]

And I don't know if that's the, you know, the side force not mattering anymore. Like, I think that has a lot to do with it, because a lot of times you would. It's just Somebody would just bust their ass on, you know, get the air pulled off when we get loose. But now you could put. I mean, you could put five of them touching each other, and they're not gonna get free unless there's a car in front of them and, you know, all of a sudden. And then they all get tired. Yeah, but really, if they're. They're side by side as close, touching, it's fine. I mean, at the Clash, it was hilarious. It was faster to run into somebody because you had somebody to lean on. I'd be. During the rain, I would run more throttle leaning on somebody like a cushion in a dirt car than I would like. I would like. I'd lean into them. I just start throttling up in the middle of the corner, just, like, grinding, like, their door and everything rolling on them. And then I, like, clear them, and I'd start spinning the tires again, and I'd have to lift.

[Luke Lambert]

That's similar to iracing. You can kind of get in there sometimes and bounce off somebody.

[Carson Hocevar]

Just bounce off of them. But I was laughing my ass off. I was like, there's no way. This is Like I was like, man, you know, art imitates real life, I guess.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah. So one of the fun things about this weekend and this win is seeing a bunch of the old, old photos of you back when you're 14 years old, trying to figure out how to become a race car driver. You know, you, you have a short track background. You own race cars at race at short tracks around the country. You know, what's your, you don't have a ton of opportunity. You know, being a full time cup driver, it takes all, all your time. You're, you know, you're, you're, you're studying every single week. You don't really, you know, you don't have weekends off to go race and do things you want to do. What is your, you know, I know you're young, you might not even have it, but what is your agenda in terms of owning short track cars? Where you want to see them race, where you want to continue to race. I know you go to Berlin and other places from time to time. What's your, what's your goals if you have a vision or 5 year, 10 year vision of your connection and retaining that connection to the short track?

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, I mean there's, I mean there's multiple for, for me, like I, I mean I just love, love racing. Like I'm gonna run. I, I'm so thankful that Jeff Dickerson loves racing just as much as I do. And you know, we're, we're gonna run as many dirt late mall races as possible. Yeah. A bunch of dirt late model just because there's a lot of races during the week. Yeah. But like I love it. Like it's just so different. Like when I go to payment mod race, it's fun for me but like you know, you're going to test for two days and everything. Oh yeah.

[Luke Lambert]

Like five days for the cars to.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah. Versus like dirt lay mod could show up but there's like no expectations for me. I can just kind of just show up and walk into that deal and nobody's going to expect anything from me. I don't know.

[Luke Lambert]

Cars hard to adapt to though because the dirt late miles you gotta like drive them so deep into the corner.

[Carson Hocevar]

Right. That fits perfect for me if it's, it's the perfect race car because the

[Luke Lambert]

car don't work until, I mean you gotta drive it.

[Carson Hocevar]

So you have to drive this. Yeah, I thought it's made me a better cup driver actually, so. And then I want to run a lot of payment, payment late m stuff like there's A lot of stuff on my bucket list. Like, I saw Tristan, like he's our development guy. He ran the Mazda race at like Daytona. And I was like, I want to go.

[Luke Lambert]

That. That would probably be pretty fun.

[Carson Hocevar]

I want to go run that with him and everything. But you know, the number one thing for me eventually, like if Kalamazoo Speedway ever comes on the market, I really want it, I want to buy it.

[Luke Lambert]

That's your.

[Carson Hocevar]

I want just. I want something. I want like 1% or something. I just, I just want to be able to promote that and just see it be the most. I think it's the most fun short track, race track to race. And it's just a. Kind of become a hidden gem. They. They renovated it. They had sky boxes in 2000, like four or like five.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah, I used to hear quite.

[Carson Hocevar]

Sky boxes. They had the whole deal. They had gimmicks. It was full every night like that. That' what I grew up watching. Like.

[Luke Lambert]

Is that your home track?

[Carson Hocevar]

It's my home track. Basically I raced Berlin because they ran template lay models at Kalamazoo. They had Outlaw Late malls on payment. But you'd. They'd send people home.

[TJ Majors]

Oh yeah.

[Carson Hocevar]

And so it was known that if you want to watch Outlaw late malls, you only could go to Kalamazoo. So it was full, it was packed. They're hauling ass everything. And is that the late models where

[Luke Lambert]

they had the big side?

[Carson Hocevar]

So it's the same one like a

[TJ Majors]

wedge body dirt car?

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, it's like a dirt car. Yeah, but that on pavement, beautiful cars. But they haul. They're probably a second faster than template cars.

[Luke Lambert]

Are they hard to drive? The fun to drive?

[Carson Hocevar]

They're fun to drive. They're fun. But yeah, I just, I love that track. It's so bumpy. You could run the fourth lane and everything. But it was so it's the main reason, like I was a racer.

[Luke Lambert]

You hit the road blocks Splitter.

[Carson Hocevar]

But no, it's the. That track was. I like, I don't think if I went to that track I would be as big as a race fan as I was. Like, it was so perfect. Like it was.

[TJ Majors]

I would run around and tell them of your interests.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, I've been trying to talk.

[TJ Majors]

They may just like let you buy.

[Carson Hocevar]

Well, I needed. I needed one.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah, you probably call this week, see what they say.

[Carson Hocevar]

I was like, if there's that I need it. Hopefully this works out. But. But no, I. I just really want to like, if anything, I just like, I don't even want to collect on the 1%. I just want to know I'm on the whatever, and then just promote it. Like, I just want to really promote it and help it with.

[TJ Majors]

I think that they would love this.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah. Yeah, I would.

[Luke Lambert]

I. I would think so.

[TJ Majors]

Having a guy like you out there,

[Carson Hocevar]

and then there's other stuff. I want to. I want to race. Like, I just. I just want to race every day. I don't have any other hobbies.

[Luke Lambert]

What are the. What. What else you want to race?

[Carson Hocevar]

I mean, the ultimate one for me is the Indy 500. That's by far the. The coolest race for me. Indy is my favorite track, even on the cup car. Like, I've never been more too tall. Yeah, I mean, I think I'd be close.

[TJ Majors]

You're too tall to get on that ride, man.

[Carson Hocevar]

I think I'd be all right. Well, luckily, my torso is short. That I think might help me. I don't know. I. I have no idea. I'm hoping I. I might cry if I'm too tall, but, I mean, I gotta. I gotta win a lot.

[Luke Lambert]

Obviously, Max ran an indie car.

[TJ Majors]

Max. Is he six foot? What are you.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah, Max. Pretty tall.

[Carson Hocevar]

I'm six' four.

[TJ Majors]

Six' four?

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, but I do it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Max is not six' four.

[Carson Hocevar]

I don't know. Well, I mean, he's tall, but Indy. Indy, the racetrack is my favorite. I was P1 and 10 lap average at the Brickyard the first year I ran. And, you know, they were. They were like, dude, like, what you. You kind of pushing really hard and everything, but they're like. We're like P1 10 live averages. This is awesome. And, like, I had a little scuff mark on the right side, and they're talking to me, and I was just like, dude, I'm not gonna lie. I've never. And I told him this, and I meant it. I've never gone down a straightaway and realized I was smiling. Like, I was cheesing my ass off smiling and enjoying it. And I was literally. You know how you sit in the driveway and you're like, you know, buzzer beater shooting? It's like, oh, you know, oh, three more seconds on the clock. Ms. Hard. Two more seconds on the clock. All of a sudden, for every lap I was running it, I kept narrating as if I was coming around to win the Indy 500 or race the Indy 550, pretending cars were behind me and everything, and I was like. And he comes around to the checkered flag. Oh, my God, there's one more to go. I just kept doing that and I kept getting so close to the wall and eventually I just came down pit road and they're like, we're supposed to stay out. I was like, I had to stop. Yeah, I had to stop. I was going to Scuff Market was

[Luke Lambert]

going to get worse.

[Carson Hocevar]

It was going to get worse.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Guys, it's back and I'm excited because now you don't have to go hunting

[TJ Majors]

all over for good barbecue.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Arby's is bringing back that slow smoked goodness straight to the drive thru. I've been waiting all year for Arby to bring back their barbecue sandwich lineup this year and it's even better than ever. We're talking a quarter pound of pulled pork smoked for four hours and a quarter pound of chopped brisket smoked for a full 13 hours. Now that's real barbecue. Low and slow. On pit road, we work fast, but in the barbecue pit, slow is how

[TJ Majors]

you get it right.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And they got it right. And the sweet and spicy barbecue sauces are back too. So you can mix it up however you like. I'll be honest. 13 hour brisket from a drive thru. I had to try it. I picked up a sandwich the other day for lunch on my way to the shop and it surprised me. It's legit. Low and slow in fast food. It's kind of wild, but it works. Arby's is doing real authentic barbecue that's so good you won't believe that you got it at a drive thru. Everybody knows Arby's has the meats. So if you can count on anyone to do barbecue right, it had to be Arby's available for a limited time at participating locations. While supplies last. Prices may vary. Get your barbecue sandwich at Arby's near you. Today

[TJ Majors]

is the. I know until I know in Daytona you had a. You had a what amounts to a sim rig up in the hauler. Is that in the hauler?

[Carson Hocevar]

Every week it's in every week. I'm working on putting one in my motorhome so I have to really.

[Luke Lambert]

How you going to do that?

[Carson Hocevar]

What? What do you mean?

[TJ Majors]

How are you going to do it? I'm sure you mapped it out.

[Carson Hocevar]

Oh yeah. So there's a spot in my, my motorhome that I have that, that there's like a desk and then just a chair. Well, I'm just going to take the chair out. Just put us.

[Luke Lambert]

So there's like that.

[Carson Hocevar]

There's like a. There was like the booth like where there's like two deals table and then there's a gap where there's just a regular, like, you know, just revolving chair and then a desk. So I'm just gonna take the chair out so it's gonna go right there.

[Luke Lambert]

You kind of had that. He had a desk.

[TJ Majors]

I had a desk back in the day, 20 years ago. But we clamped the wheel to the

[Luke Lambert]

desk and we could run from the bus.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

Are you gonna bolt it down?

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Carson Hocevar]

We're gonna figure out. I mean, they, they. I. I let them handle it and everything, but I was just like, let

[TJ Majors]

me know when it's.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What is this? What is it? I heard that they.

[TJ Majors]

They put that SIM rig up in there so they'd know where you were at.

[Carson Hocevar]

Pretty much.

[TJ Majors]

Because if. Yeah. Because if you are left to your own, you wander off.

[Carson Hocevar]

I do. I mean, I just like to. I like to sit still. I just like to just. Just keep rolling around and everything and.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah. I mean, I. All my buddies get mad at me all the time. We'll go out somewhere and I just go, you know, I'll just go group to group or, you know, I see this, I just leave them and everything.

[Luke Lambert]

And I just thought you didn't have any friends, man.

[Carson Hocevar]

What I noticed.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What is your. What is the deal with buying the.

[TJ Majors]

The cars? The Gray Ghost, you got the Dale

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

truck still,

[TJ Majors]

you know, these are marketplace buys.

[Carson Hocevar]

I have the Casey Kane car.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah, the Casey Kane's race car. What is your plan? What's the vision?

[Carson Hocevar]

So, I mean, the, The. The Dale truck was just kind of just funny. I said as a joke. And they were like, you should buy it. And I just wanted an old truck. So it worked out. But then, you know, I saw the great ghost and Luke was the one that sent it to me. That's his favorite scheme of all time.

[Luke Lambert]

I was gonna ask how you found some of these.

[Carson Hocevar]

And so Luke sent it to me. And so I. He sent it to me while I was in the sim. So I bought it and then surprised him with it. And. But the Casey Kane car, the very first race I vividly remember when I was a kid was the very first cot race at Bristol. I had a list. I had a. I had a buddy when I was a kid that my. My parents knew. And he was the only kid in, you know, Portage, Michigan that knew racing that I knew of and everything. So I went, I went. It was the first time I went over to anybody else's house to watch a NASCAR race. We had pizza and play with our die cast and watch Bristol. I was like, this is the Coolest thing in the world. I've, I've made it. And I was like, six.

[Luke Lambert]

We didn't think so that day, did we?

[Carson Hocevar]

But I remember watching that, that race and I remember the finish. I had no idea I had, I mean, I was so green. Like, I, I, I had no idea. I was just watching cars go around.

[Luke Lambert]

That was, that was the first race you watched that.

[Carson Hocevar]

That was first. The first race I vividly remember. Remember? Yeah, like that, like I have a memory attached to, you know, I remember watching, you know, being told I watched before, but that's the one that I remember. Like a core memory there. And, you know, the guy texted me, he's like, hey, I have this case Kane car and everything. And I was like, nah, man. Like, I'm, I'm good. And he gave me the price. I was like, it's not bad. It's pretty good. But I was like, nah, nah. And, and so I was like, all right, just give me the details on like, is it real chassis? What's the deal? And he told me what chassis was and everything. And I was like, if you can prove that's real. I was like, I'll buy it right now. Like, right now. Like I was at Kansas in, in practice or practicing. And so I look, looked at Philip, my agent, and I was like, hey, I need X amount of dollars. Like, if this guy, like, I handed him my phone because I had to go practice. I said, hey, respond to this guy. If he sends back all these details of the car and it's legit, wire him the money and. And literally he sent it back. So we brought it to the shop and a lot of the guys worked at Everham at Spire. There are a few of them. And I got really nervous when that thing got unloaded that it was reor not and I hadn't seen it. I hadn't seen it in person. That was first time I was seeing it. And so they started walking around and they start pointing everything out. Like it still has the camera or still has the stickers from the in car camera on the roof and that's right. Yes. But it's, it's, it's been adjusted because it ran in 07 and 08. But that's the car that was on the front row and that. And I was like, you know, it's not like, oh, this car ran and it qualified 37th or everything. I mean, there's a picture of that thing on the front row.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah, pretty cool.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But so are you, are these, you

[TJ Majors]

know, you're going to keep this stuff forever. You just don't know. You just kind of.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No rhyme or reason.

[Carson Hocevar]

I mean, I. I don't have any reason to sell. I want to have a car. I want to have a car. You have every generation. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You got a shop.

[TJ Majors]

What's your. You just.

[Carson Hocevar]

So I'm building. I'm building a barndominium and everything. That's where I'm gonna live. I just want to live out there. Exactly. You know, have exactly what I want.

[Luke Lambert]

Those things are perfect nowadays.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yes. It's so perfect. And then. So I build a second shop, and that's gonna be the shop where, like, you know, whoever wants to come over, you know, open invitation. I want a bunch of cars. I want a bunch of toys and everything. Like, if you want to try to drift through the shop and you worry about hitting the wall, whatever. Like, I have miners, my garage door sponsor. I'm like, hey, I need some garage doors. And they're like, all right, you know, we got these super, you know, nice ones and everything. We'll give you. And I was like, no, give me the cheapest ones you want.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah, we're gonna need more than one.

[Carson Hocevar]

I want more. And they're like, what are you talking. I was like, I'm gonna. We're drive stuff through it and stuff. And I was like, they're like, you know, you get worried of, like, what they're gonna say to that. And they're like, oh, can we be there to see it? And I was like, all right, perfect. I want to build a. I want to build an exact replica of the chili bowl. Like, I wanted to build a dirt track. And I kept describing. I was like, nah, let me just. Let me just build, like, the chili bowl. I'd like. Chili was like, one of my favorite dirt tracks of all time. I was like, let me just build that. Like, I want to have, like, you know, a bunch of trucks or cars or whatever, you know, some crap boxes or maybe some fun cars, and literally just. I'm going to set up a bunch of cameras on my property and everything, obviously. So, number one, like, if anybody gets hurt, we have it, you know, on video and everything. But. But ultimately. But ultimately, like, I'm. I'm gonna have, like, you know, open invitation. Like, if anybody wants to go, like, I don't even need to be there. Just, you know, here's. Here's the. You know, here's the side of the property that's all yours. You can do whatever you want with it. Just. It's gotta be, you Know if you're gonna do something cool, you gotta film it or I gotta see it and

[Luke Lambert]

I want to be able to see it.

[Carson Hocevar]

I just want. I want to be able to see it. You don't have to post it. You don't have to do everything. You know, you don't have to become an influencer and be worried about it. Especially like drivers with their sponsors and everything. But I was like, you know, especially their team and anything, if they're doing anything. But I was like, I just want to see it. I want to see if you do something cool, I want to see it.

[Luke Lambert]

I got two quick questions for you. What's your favorite? I know you're big in eye racing. Love iracing. What's your favorite non racing sim, you know, racing game right now? What do you play?

[Carson Hocevar]

Non racing game? We. We play counter strike a lot.

[Luke Lambert]

Have you bought items or sold them? There's a big market for that, right?

[Carson Hocevar]

I. I've spent way too much.

[Luke Lambert]

Oh, my gosh.

[Carson Hocevar]

Seriously? Yeah, Yeah. I have a. I. A knife in that game. That's like four grand.

[Luke Lambert]

I've seen. Jesus, dude. It's a huge black.

[Carson Hocevar]

So stupid. It's like there's like. It's like it was crypto before crypto,

[TJ Majors]

but it's a lot more real.

[Luke Lambert]

I get it.

[TJ Majors]

I get it. I did. I spent a ton of money on clash of clans. I don't look.

[Carson Hocevar]

Oh, dude, no. But you can't sell your clash of clans. People that flip it.

[Luke Lambert]

We were on the same pace with clash of clans and I woke up one morning and I looked at his town. I'm like, jesus, dude, what happened? He's like, I got drunk and rage upgraded. I'm like, well, that's not fair. Fair.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[Luke Lambert]

And other quick question here.

[Carson Hocevar]

All right.

[Luke Lambert]

Ar race on Saturday. Cletus did a great job, you know. What do you think about his race there?

[Carson Hocevar]

Dude, I was so pumped for him.

[TJ Majors]

He's close, dude.

[Carson Hocevar]

Dude, so close.

[TJ Majors]

I.

[Carson Hocevar]

So he thought he made a mistake when he got dean and. And close. And I was like, no, I think he would have side drafted and just pulled you back. And you and Andy would have had to make a choice of like, is he going to go three wide? Is he going to push Gus? Is he going to push you? And I thought it was perfect. He pretty much got killed. Gus's momentum going left. I just told him just, you got to turn back like the second you're done with that back for the next. You gotta go get to the next guy. He got too locked in on the first guy.

[Luke Lambert]

It's easy to do though, man. When you're in the moment. You don't even think about it. I know.

[Carson Hocevar]

Done this.

[Luke Lambert]

You know when he pulled out and passed the 18 car for the lead. I don't know if you watched that race.

[Carson Hocevar]

I couldn't believe like Finch, I think it was Finch behind him. Pulled out with him. Like I, I thought he was getting like get excited and just pull out now and you know, get ducked.

[TJ Majors]

Yes.

[Carson Hocevar]

But they all went with him and

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I was like, who wouldn't want to push him into the lead though, right?

[Carson Hocevar]

I know.

[Luke Lambert]

I, I mean, I don't, I told somebody that I don't think that plate's been out of the case since the but eight days, man. I know it.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

It's funny, I thought that he looked like a guy who knew what he was doing.

[Carson Hocevar]

I said the same dude.

[Luke Lambert]

He did really good.

[Carson Hocevar]

I said the same thing. I, I, I said it, I said it before the, you know, the, the restart or whatever. I, like when he pulled out, I, I was like, it looks like he's done this before.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah, he's start.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

You might not even know it.

[Carson Hocevar]

It's, I figured it would click more on the super speedways first. But like that's all he's trying to do too. Like he's just trying to be good enough to run the 500. He looked really good. Yeah.

[Luke Lambert]

Like start, like he actually was doing a really good job. The only mistakes he was making, he was chasing guys up out of the trial, trying to side draft like the third lane from the bottom. He was going over.

[Carson Hocevar]

He's such a textbook racer. It's, it's like when you're so green, like you just think you have to side draft everybody chasing him way up here.

[Luke Lambert]

But like we, I had, I had Andy J. And we were just gonna p finish line. If it came down to it. If we could get a run, we would pass him. But we were planning on pushing because the 18 had the, the damage in front of us. But I thought Cletus did a great job. Like he'd had very few moments where he looked out of place. He looked really good.

[TJ Majors]

I think he ought to run full time ARCA for a year or two. Yeah, I don't, I don't, I think it should, I mean if you want to do an O'Reilly race or truck race or something that pops up. But I think he should go full time ARCA racing and shell this idea of a Daytona 500 like it's out There. Leave it out there in the. In the distance.

[Carson Hocevar]

He loves arca, too. Like, he called me.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's perfect.

[Carson Hocevar]

It called me right after. After Rockingham. And he's like, dude, like, that wasn't, like, you know, that wasn't a lot of fun.

[Luke Lambert]

No, it wasn't.

[Carson Hocevar]

Like, you know, arc is way more fun. Like, you know, it's just. It's just so much like he could just relax. Like, he's not. He's not lost. Like, you know, it's almost like, you know, you're. I mean, I had in school all the time where, like, you know, the smart kids talking and you feel stupid. Like, like, you. You're set up on a group project, and they just do all the work and everything. That was him in the O'Reilly race of just like, he's. He's, like, getting ready to, like, have the most fun in his life, but everybody's so smart and good that he, like, almost gets put in a spot where he feels, like, dumb or, like, you know, he's like, you know, just downing himself the whole time during the experience where, like, in arca, you know, he could run seventh and, you know, being green and. And he's pumped with it.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah.

[Carson Hocevar]

At a non super speedway, just because there's. Yeah. You know, there's only 10 cars that are within the same second bracket.

[Luke Lambert]

He's gotten good enough to run there. Yeah, perfectly. And he started that race pretty buried in the pack a little bit. He just gets rolling. Yeah, he just stayed. He was really smart.

[Carson Hocevar]

Well, he said he was gonna do arc. He told me he was gonna do ARCA for. For a long time. And I was just laughing. I was like. I was talking to, like, you know, some guys, you know, the Heat Wave guys and everything, and he's like. I was like, dude, like, if he just keeps running these ARCA races at seriously, eventually he's gonna win one. Like, they're just gonna hand him one. And then I was like. It was almost a day. Like, almost. So I. I had a question for you. But. So in 2014, when you won that 500, did you plan on doing that when you ran backwards with the. You know, and doing the wave and everything?

[TJ Majors]

So I kind of started doing that. We did it in a three car when I won the bush race at Daytona.

[Luke Lambert]

Wrangler car, right?

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

I don't know why, but I got sour on burnouts. Like, I did a lot of burnouts. And then guys started doing burnouts to damage their car.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah, yeah. Try blow quarter pounds, Right?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Whatever.

[TJ Majors]

And I'm like. And so I'm sitting there going, man, they're cheating, and nobody's calling them out on it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And we're just letting them do it every week. Every time, you know, there's one specific car that would win.

[TJ Majors]

And every time he blew the quarter panels off. Every time, I'm like, all right, that's no longer, like, a fun gimmick. Now it's like. And so. And Mark Martin would always say, who is a guy that I absolutely love?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Mark Martin would go, man, I'm not

[TJ Majors]

a big fan of burnouts. You know, it's just hard on the motor. You know, back when I was racing, we didn't like to beat the motors up. And I'm thinking, I'm not. I might dial the burnouts back. And so I just drive down there, and I know the fans are excited that I won't, because I didn't win all the time. And they were like, hell, yeah, here they won. You know, so I'd turn around and drive back. And I just like to watch.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I just like to look at them,

[TJ Majors]

you know, just like, you got out of the car and wrote. You looked at them, right?

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah. So I was. So I was there. I was in the stands that. That day, and. And for. You know, I just remember you running that. That. And then you did. You did a little donut, and it happened to be right where I was standing and everything. And it wasn't until after that I knew you were even looking, like, you know, because you had that. That camera on the right side. But, like, I was. I was pretty or I was decently high up. And, you know, when I was a kid. Kid, I was like, damn, I should have walked down to the fence or gotten lower. I didn't know you could do that. I just. I didn't know you could do that. I just was like, this is my seat. You know, I got to stay in my seat.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Carson Hocevar]

And. But I just remember you doing that, and I'd never asked, obviously, and, you know, and I get asked all the time of, like, why. Why I sat on the door, and I was like, well, I remember. I remember seeing the video and realizing you were looking, but when I was in the stands, I couldn't tell if you were looking or not. Like, I. I couldn't. I couldn't see you because. Yeah, you know, it's just hard to

[TJ Majors]

see the fence and all that.

[Carson Hocevar]

So that's where I just. I was like, man, I wanted to. I wanted to make. I feel like they were going to get the loudest if they could know I'm there. And I was like, I know I don't have an in car camera that's gonna show up on the jumbotron. Yeah.

[TJ Majors]

Now I thought you're, you're. Dude, your celebration was great. I loved, you know, watching other drivers respond to it. You know, you got a lot of people that are. I know you say you don't have a ton of friends at the race.

[Carson Hocevar]

No, I thought that. I was really shocked.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah, there was some guys, there's other guys too, that you're friends with that are in the O'Reilly series, Truck series. A lot of guys commenting on your post, liking your post, liking some other, you know, some, some industry posts of that video saying it was one of the best post race, you know, celebrations. Just really

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

non traditional.

[TJ Majors]

Right. And unique. Unique your own and you know, you're only going to win that first race once and you certainly made it count. Yeah, that was a lot of fun.

[Carson Hocevar]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm glad you came by, man. We kept you a little longer than

[TJ Majors]

I think you were then. We typically keep our winners. Normally they're calling in and we do about three or four questions, but thanks for your time.

[Carson Hocevar]

I appreciate it.

[TJ Majors]

Well, your first wins, a special, special day. You're going to win a lot of races. You're going to be a massive asset to the industry. You got a great personality.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Keep being you, keep doing what you're doing.

[TJ Majors]

Keep sharing with everybody who you are. We love to see your toys, we love to see your property.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We love to see you carve that

[TJ Majors]

and shape that however you want to do it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And the more of that we see, the more of you we see, the more we like.

[Carson Hocevar]

I appreciate it.

[TJ Majors]

And just keep digging, man. You're having fun and we're having fun watching you and appreciate you coming through.

[Carson Hocevar]

No, thank you.

[Luke Lambert]

Yeah, man, appreciate you coming in.

[Carson Hocevar]

Appreciate it.

[TJ Majors]

You bet.

[Carson Hocevar]

Thanks.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right, so that was the interview with Carson and went really long.

[TJ Majors]

We actually brought him in to talk about his win and we just kept going because the dude's just so fun.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Ended up being a whole hour long

[TJ Majors]

conversation and we thought we'd turn it into a guest segment that was not planned, but something that just happened naturally. And I love that he's been on the show before, but certainly coming off his first win, I don't know why,

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

but his first win helped me really

[TJ Majors]

relive some of my own emotions around my first win. And I don't know, for some reason I can really relate with Carson on what he's going through over these past several days. And that was a lot of fun to talk to him. And man, he is just so gracious to just tell it how it is or how he views it. You know, he's not measured, he's not, you know, strategic or stock with his, with his feedback. Just kind of says what he feels and what he thinks.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And I love that.

[TJ Majors]

And I think that that's why I think a lot of us are going to enjoy watching this career develop. But thankful for his time. We weren't planning on having him here that long and he was comfortable to be able to stay in the seat for a while.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So pretty cool. Hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for Arby's here in the Arby's studio.

[TJ Majors]

Don't forget about the new Meet in three box with Arby's. Get more meal for your money at Arby's. We have the meets and we'll see you tomorrow with Bless your heart.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Check out Dirty Mo Media on Instagram, Facebook X and TikTok.

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