Kyle Busch’s frustration with Carson Hocevar isn’t new — it’s a decade-old grudge. The two-time Cup Series champion recently peeled back the layers of their rocky history, revealing a clash rooted in unchecked aggression and a generational divide in NASCAR’s approach to respect.
From a teenage Hocevar sideswiping Busch in a Michigan late model race to their fiery Atlanta showdown this season, the feud highlights a broader tension — veterans versus a new breed prioritizing chaos over craft.
Kyle Busch’s Long-Standing Grievance With Carson Hocevar
The animosity traces back to Kalamazoo Speedway, where a 13-year-old Hocevar made an aggressive move on Busch during a Super Late Model race.
“Lap 8 or 11, somewhere early in the race, like I wasn’t that great, but I was going to bide my time, and I was just riding. He comes right up alongside me, sideswipes me, puts me in the front stretch fence, and goes on,” Busch recalled on Kevin Harvick’s “Happy Hour” podcast.
“Never nothing after the fact. Never a sorry.”
That incident shaped Hocevar’s reputation. Fast-forward to February’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta, where the Spire Motorsports rookie nearly triggered a multi-car wreck while battling Busch. Over the radio, Busch raged, “I don’t care if I wreck the whole f****** field. I’m over him, I’m going to wreck his a**,” calling Hocevar a “douchebag” for repeated reckless moves.
But Busch’s anger isn’t just about torn-up cars — it’s about accountability.
“He hasn’t learned not one thing,” Busch said, criticizing Hocevar’s lone-wolf approach. Unlike past eras, where veterans mentored rookies, Busch argues today’s drivers “would rather crash than win.”
“There is no fixing what we’ve got going right now, with everybody running over everybody.”
Mentorship Gap in NASCAR’s New Era
Busch compared Hocevar’s trajectory to his own early career missteps and the guidance that helped him correct them. After a 2005 Las Vegas clash with Tony Stewart left both fuming, Stewart summoned Busch to his motorhome weeks later.
“He said, ‘You’re young, you’re fast, you can do this. You’re going to be a multi-time winner, champion one day. Like you’ve got it, you’re going to be fine, but you’ve got to rein it in,’” Busch recalled.
Busch argues that NASCAR’s mentorship culture has disappeared. When asked why he doesn’t take young drivers under his wing, he bluntly replied, “We’re in a completely different era now.”
He pointed to legends like Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin, who balanced aggression with calculated precision — a stark contrast to today’s “plug holes and pray” style.
Hocevar’s Atlanta antics, where he finished second after triggering multiple near-wrecks, epitomize this shift. “He’s making many bold moves to try to make the most of it,” Busch told NBC Sports post-race. “Do it at the end, you know. Do it in the last 30 laps, not in the first 230.”
For Busch, the Hocevar feud isn’t personal; it’s a sign of a sport losing its nuance. As NASCAR’s Gen Z drivers prioritize viral moments over veteran-approved tactics, clashes like this may become the norm. But as Stewart once warned Busch: Speed without strategy is just a ticket to the fence.