Dale Jr. on Hocevar's Antics, Letarte's Confidence on Wallace in Playoffs, and More

Welcome to Hoot in the Oval — your all-access pass to everything NASCAR. From Denny’s clutch finishes to Ross’s wild moves, Chase Elliott fandom to Bubba’s bold takes — we’ve got the stories that fuel the track and the timeline. Fast, loud, unfiltered. Buckle up, y’all. 🏁

The latest edition of our newsletter covers :

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. talks about Carson Hocevar’s antics

• Steve Letarte’s confidence in Bubba Wallace being a Dark Horse

• Kyle Larson-Chase Elliott equation after Iowa

• Bubba Wallace’s thoughts following recent win

🏁Inside the Oval

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Doesn't Mind Carson Hocevar’s Antics, But Has One Advice

Dale Earnhardt Jr. considers Carson Hocevar as one of the best drivers to come along in NASCAR in a long time. He feels the 22-year-old could be the sport’s “next big thing.”

You know, the next big thing like the next Jeff Gordon, the next Jimmie Johnson, hell, maybe even the next Dale Earnhardt Jr.

But while Junior doesn’t mind Hocevar’s on- and off-track antics, sometimes humorous and sometimes not, he does have a bit of advice to give the young man as he continues to grow into stardom.

First, the whole incident at Iowa between Hocevar and Zane Smith.

“I’m exhausted talking about Hocevar, everyone,” Junior admitted on this week’s edition of the Dale Jr. Download podcast. “I really wanted to move on and skip over this one, but apparently, the rest of the crew is all just really enjoying the Hocevar happenings.”

“So he got loose and I guess he got loose underneath Zane and wrecked him and then Zane tried to wreck him back and missed. And then Zane's crew chief come up to Carson on pit road after the race. Man, I mean it's like we've seen this before multiple times.

“I mean, Hocevar needs to hear from somebody, so I'm fine with that [that Smith’s crew chief chewed Hocevar out after the race for the contact and Smith’s wrecked race car],” added Junior.

But had Smith not whiffed and missed in his retaliatory move, he may have had a good chunk of the Cup garage carrying him around on their shoulders for being a hero, teaching Hocevar a lesson.

Even though Hocevar has made a few enemies this season with his aggressive driving style, not to mention the on-track incidents he’s been involved in, it doesn’t help his own cause when he goes on social media and “poke the bear” by calling out some of his opponents.

“That part I do like,” Earnhardt said, surprisingly. “Our sport needs personality, and he's got a lot of personality and some of the stuff that he does, or has done, or does in the future, I'm not going to love all of it, but I like it because we need people to stir the pot, we need people that push like that.” 

But Earnhardt, who is old enough to be Hocevar’s father and gives him fatherly-like advice a lot, gave Hocevar some public advice as well.

“I think if he would try to calm down a little bit, he would do a little bit better,” Earnhardt said of Hocevar. “Overall, I think he needs to clean it up a little bit in terms of look at his results since Nashville: just a lot of incidents, a lot of contact, a lot of problems, a lot of rough finishes, bad finishes.”

“I'd like to see him take the next like step in polishing his craft. I don't want him to change anything he's doing off the track.”

Hocevar comes into this weekend’s race at Watkins Glen needing a strong finish. He’s 22nd in the Cup standings and is likely out of the upcoming playoffs. Unless he wins one of the last three regular-season races at Watkins Glen, Richmond, or Daytona.

Junior mentioned how Hocevar has done since Nashville, when he finished runner-up. Here are the results in the subsequent nine races: 29th, 34th, 18th, 10th, 35th, 32nd, 35th, 10th, and 8th this past Sunday at Iowa (even with the contact with Smith).

“I'm just saying, like, let's kind of get back to basics. Let's get back to racing. Let's quit like ruffling a feather every single weekend, let's go run a complete race. He's got quick cars. He's got good talent, let's kind of get back to building this team, helping this team get to where they want to go," said Junior. 

“I think he needs to work on that a little bit and take a little bit of time just to let the dust settle. Nashville, the Charlotte race, [Hocevar was] kicking ass. But it just feels like it's just a little bit too ugly now, the races that he runs are just a little muddy. “I just think he needs to try to get him a little five-to-10 week run of just trying to get good results and not be in the middle of this sh*t,” he added.

🏁Insider Take

Steve Letarte Believes Bubba Wallace Can Be the Dark Horse in the NASCAR Playoffs

Bubba Wallace’s run at Iowa Speedway may not have ended in Victory Lane, but it offered a clear sign of his postseason credentials. After contact with John Hunter Nemechek, Wallace damaged the right-rear toe link and dropped to 32nd. He fought back to finish sixth — a recovery NBC analyst Steve Letarte says speaks volumes.

“I would just bring this to the meeting and say, ‘This is the team that has to be around in the playoffs,’” Letarte said, pointing to the data charting Wallace’s steady climb after the final two pit stops.

“Do I think the #23 is going to outrun the #5 every week? They can, but they’re not the favorite if you were looking at the betting odds. This sort of tenacity will get you to advance. And if the others trip up, if the favorites stub their toe, you could take advantage of it.”

Wallace’s afternoon was a masterclass in patient execution. Stage 1 ended with him in 13th; Stage 2 saw him slide to 25th; and the final stage nearly unraveled before a series of cautions put him back on the lead lap. On fresh tires for the last restart, he cut through the field in 64 laps to secure one of his strongest short-track finishes.

With three races left before the playoffs, Wallace sits 10th in the standings. In Letarte’s view, he is firmly in position to disrupt the championship picture.

🏁 Trackside Trivia
(One stat. One year. Every edition.)

2009: Joey Logano Becomes the Youngest Winner in NASCAR Cup Series History

On June 28, 2009, Joey Logano won the rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He was 19 years, 1 month, and 4 days old when he took the checkered flag, becoming the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Cup race.

He beat veterans, including Jeff Gordon in that rain-shortened affair, eclipsing the previous youngest-winner mark set by Kyle Busch in 2005.

🗣️ Pit Politics

Should Rick Hendrick Be Concerned About Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott’s Equation After Iowa?

Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott’s conflict at Iowa was, on the surface, concerning for theirs and Hendrick Motorsports fans.

But in a post-race analysis of the incident, Steve Letarte, former Team Hendrick crew chief-turned broadcaster, applauded the two drivers and their conflict, provided it doesn’t continue or worsen.

“In my opinion, actually, I think that this is what makes an organization great,” Letarte said on NASCAR After The Race. “I don’t think that Rick [Hendrick], Jeff Andrews, Jeff Gordon, or Chad Knaus will allow this beating and banging, pushing and shoving, to be more than great racing.”

“I think that it’s okay that they hit each other, that they’re pissed at each other in the near term. It’s not okay if it continues past the Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday meeting because that’s how you build an organization of winners.”

The way Letarte sees it, it’s every man for himself out there, and being teammates is irrelevant, in most cases. But if things get nasty, much like the time when Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were at odds for much of a season, the entire organization will suffer, not just the two drivers involved.

Hendrick had to ultimately sit the two drivers down for the fabled “milk and cookies” chat, and things quickly went back to normal, with both drivers becoming friends again rather than the on-track enemies that they had become.

Since he began his team in the early 1980s, Hendrick has had a knack for quickly nipping any animosity or conflict between his drivers. That’s why the organization has won well over 200 races, because Hendrick steps in at the first sign of trouble.

“[Team Hendrick] can’t have this many wins without … yeah, you hit each other, it’s a bar fight,” Letarte said. “If you start racing people like they’re your teammates, you’re not going to go forward. That’s a magical mix. If the race teams start racing each other differently, fans are going to lose their minds. We don’t want to see organizations race, we want to see drivers race,” said Letarte.

After the race at Iowa, Larson uncharacteristically threw Elliott under the bus with a profane rant over his team radio..

“F* k every single motherfing ahole. God damn it! How much f***** room do I have to leave people? … I’ve been quiet for 45 minutes… I’ve been trying to be a good teammate, [and] a good competitor, and it hasn’t gotten me anywhere for the last f** ing hour,” Larson said.

Larson and Elliott have since calmed down, but it should be interesting to see what happens this weekend at Watkins Glen, where its tight road course has often been the scene of not only tight racing but hot tempers.

Maybe Hendrick should bring some milk and cookies with him on the trip, just in case.

🎙️ Hoot’s Radio Chatter

Bubba Wallace: Look at My Racing, Not My Race

Bubba Wallace has been one of NASCAR’s most visible drivers, not only for his results on the track but also as the sport’s most prominent Black competitor. Speaking at Iowa Speedway after his Brickyard 400 victory, Wallace addressed the success of several other Black drivers, reiterating that his primary focus remains his performance behind the wheel.

Wallace was responding to a question about Myles Rowe’s historic Indy NXT win and Lavar Scott’s fifth-place finish in the ARCA race. He called Rowe’s performance “really, really cool” and praised his demeanor.

“You could see the emotion. My man seems like he’s an old soul… You have to check his pulse on him and make sure he’s still breathing in victory lane. I wish I had that kind of demeanor at times,” Wallace said.

The 23XI Racing driver added that when he crossed the finish line in Indianapolis, his thoughts were not on his identity but on the racing milestones he had achieved. “The first thing I thought about was finally no more day count since Bubba Wallace’s last win,” said Wallace.

The victory also meant no longer sitting on the playoff cutline heading into Daytona. “All that was gone in that moment. I didn’t realize the African-American side until hours later.”

While acknowledging the significance of representation, Wallace stressed that he approaches competition as a racecar driver first. “A lot of people try to downplay it, and I get it, I’m biracial and I love both sides of who I am,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m a racecar driver and enjoy where I am in life and where I am as a person.”

Wallace referenced a past social media post that sparked debate. The pinned tweet read, “You are not going to stop hearing about the Black driver,” which he said was often misinterpreted.

“I never lead off with ‘I’m the Black driver.’ No disrespect to you guys, a lot of headlines start off with that. That’s what I was saying,” Wallace explained.

“Yes, it’s out there every time I do something, just embrace it. People flip it and say all he cares about is being Black, but that’s not what I’m saying. I love my Black side and I love my white side. I love how competitive I am and that I’m able to showcase that at the highest level in NASCAR.”

For Wallace, the message is clear: his racing speaks first, his identity follows.

🏁 Lap Back in Time: NASCAR Stat of the Year
(One stat. One year. Every edition.)

1951: Marvin Burke Wins in His Only NASCAR Grand National Start

On October 14, 1951, Marvin Burke made his first and only NASCAR Grand National Series appearance at Oakland Stadium.

Starting strong, he led 156 of 250 laps and took the checkered flag, becoming the only driver in NASCAR Cup history to win in his sole career start.

Burke never raced again in the series, leaving behind one of the rarest perfect records in NASCAR history.

📚Also Worth Reading

1. “I’m Out of Breath”: Kyle Larson Targets Knoxville Nationals Repeat After Thursday Qualifier Win

2. “I Was Pretty Pissed Off”: Watkins Glen Heartbreak Still on Shane van Gisbergen’s Mind After One Year

3. Everything About Ross Chastain’s “Protect Your Melon” Campaign at Watkins Glen