Carson Hocevar Shares Thoughts on Today’s State of NASCAR

The No. 77 driver's comments came after watching a replay of the 2000 EA Sports 500 at Talladega, famously the last career win for Dale Earnhardt.

The Spire Motorsports driver is puzzled at how the sport can’t figure out why fans have tuned out over the years compared to NASCAR in 2026.

Hocevar on NASCAR today: ‘We’re on the ventilator’

On Tuesday afternoon, Hocevar posted on Facebook that he was sitting back watching the 2000 Cup Series race at Talladega. Hocevar watched that race and it struck him why NASCAR's popularity has waned over the past 20 years. "It's crazy that we as a sport produce the product we give to fans and wonder why fans have lost interest. This is a lovely race.” The views, the sounds, the cars, the production, the commentators. “Why the sport is where it is today and not where it used to be is as clear as day,” Hocevar wrote.

“The entertainment value of the 2000 Talladega race is light years ahead of today’s racing,” Hocevar said. The 23-year-old believes casual fans just want to be entertained and don’t want to hear about aerodynamics, engine packages, downforce and all that.They just want to be visually entertained and feel like they're not wasting their time watching something that isn't prestigious. We’re on the ventilator and asleep at the wheel of what the real problems are,” Hocevar wrote.

“You could see the year to year innovation of the broadcast quality, always trying to improve and deliver fans their best,” Hocevar said. “I think that’s always been a hallmark of the league since the early 2000s. Today, Hocevar said, there's nothing but "cutting stuff to improve the bottom line," then asking why the fans lose interest. "There's nothing new. “Eventually you’ve seen it all or it’s a shell of its former self and there’s no point in tuning in,” Hocevar said.

I love NASCAR,” Hocevar explains how he feels about the sport.

While Hocevar didn’t mince words in his criticism of today’s NASCAR, he doesn’t want people to get the wrong idea.

Hocevar loves the sport and doesn't want people reading his Facebook post to lose sight of that. The Michigan native took to X and said his biggest pet peeve is that you have to go to a NASCAR race to become a fan.I love Nascar.. Don’t get lost in the translation of passion, and criticism of itself. My biggest complaint is that you have to convince people to do it in person to get someone to become a fan, because it is that big of a difference. ‘I’m so over saying that line,’ wrote Hocevar.

Hocevar has tried to make NASCAR more mainstream. Most notably, he attended the Met Gala, a red carpet event in New York City, on the back of his first career Cup Series win at Talladega.

Hocevar recently attended the TIME100 Sports Gala, where she took photos with NBA superstar LeBron James and Prince Harry.

Hocevar sits fifth in the Cup Series points standings with four races left in the regular season.