Dale Earnhardt Jr offers verdict on controversial NASCAR Cup Series driver

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr has offered his verdict on Carson Hocevar and his racing antics following Sunday's race at Nashville.

Hocevar has been known to rub some of his Cup Series rivals up the wrong way, and that continued on Sunday, this time coming after an incident on lap 106 saw his No. 77 bump into the rear of Ricky Stenhouse Jr's No. 47 on his way to a second-place finish.

As a result of the contact, Stenhouse Jr was sent sliding into the wall, and the No. 47 was forced to retire from the race as a result, with the damage unable to be repaired by his crew.

Post-race, Stenhouse Jr slammed Hocevar's move as overaggressive, although when Hocevar spoke to the media, he didn't share the same opinion.

"I kind of got a run and felt like I was kind of there,” Hocevar explained.

“I felt like I was there enough to get a call [from Stenhouse’s spotter] inside and have him just run the middle.

"Honestly, he probably could have cleared me, so that’s just what I expected him to do. And he didn’t. And by the time I checked up, I almost spun, too."

READ MORE: Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace among NASCAR Cup Series stars hit with penalties at Nashville

Dale Earnhardt Jr on Carson Hocevar

Reacting to the wreck and those comments, Earnhardt Jr offered his thoughts on Hocevar in general, revealing that whilst he is entertained by him, he still questions some of his actions.

“Well, I hear a guy that doesn’t know that he ran into the back of somebody and wrecked them,” Earnhardt explained on Prime Video's broadcast.

“Hey, I’ll call it like it is. I like Hocevar a lot. Kid’s awesome. Ran second tonight. I like his attitude, I like his personality, and I like his style. But yeah, I think he could have cut the 47 a break, and he chose not to do that.

“That’s his way that he wants to race. He’s not very apologetic about it. A lot of people are going to love that. A lot of people are going to love how he races and how he does his job.

"From what I saw tonight, I think he probably could have gave Ricky an opportunity there and continued to race. And he’ll have to hear that side from Ricky, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out.”

Later, Earnhardt added: "I like what I see out of Hocevar. As a fan and a broadcaster, it is entertaining.”

“I just don’t like it when he wrecks the good guy, you know? I know Stenhouse has had his issues, too, but you kinda gotta pick and choose who your enemies are, and you can’t just kind of blanket the garage, right?

“So, I don’t know that I want him to dial it off or dial it back because it’s great as a fan to see him in controversy. We need a little color, we need a little personality, and he brings tons of it.

"But the garage kind of will police it a little bit. To your point, Corey [LaJoie], nobody’s really stepped to him just yet, but I think he might have messed with the wrong guy tonight.”

READ MORE: NASCAR confirm triple penalty for Cup Series team after Nashville incident

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