Carson Hocevar living the dream back home in Michigan as aggressive, headline-grabbing NASCAR driver

BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) - Carson Hocevar grew up 80 miles west of Michigan International Speedway, where he attended his first race at the age of 5.

As a kid in Portage, he dreamed of becoming a NASCAR driver that people talked about.

The 22-year-old Hocevar got his wish.

He knocked Ricky Stenhouse Jr. out of last week’s race at Nashville and his aggressive style has created a buzz in a sport that traditionally has young drivers trying to find the line between aggressive and reckless driving.

"It’s cool to be talked about," Hocevar said Saturday, a day ahead of the FireKeepers Casino 400. "Obviously, you want to be talked about maybe in a different light.

“But I mean, at least they're talking, right? And, I think that's big for me."

Hocevar called Stenhouse earlier in the week to discuss their contact on Lap 106 of 300 at Nashville, where Stenhouse was bumped from behind and sent into a wall. Both said the conversation was productive.

"I don’t think he crashed me on purpose," Stenhouse said. “But I think he was super impatient.

"We’ve never had any issues. He’s had plenty of issues with other people."

Hocevar, in his second full Cup season, was behind only winner Ryan Blaney at Nashville to match the career-best, second-place finish he had earlier this year.

At the race in Atlanta, several drivers complained about Hocevar over the radio or some addressed their concerns face to face in pit lane. Blaney, who got turned by Hocevar in the final stage of the race, and Ross Chastain confronted him in February.

Chastain sounded frustrated that Hocevar, who drives the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, has not appeared to learn from his mistakes.

His latest move was reckless, Chastain said.

"Yeah, 47 spun off his front bumper," he said. "Been there, done that."

Blaney has, too.

"You can say you're sorry all you want, but if you don't learn from them and make a change, then everyone thinks you're lying," Blaney said.

NASCAR's "In-season Challenge" will begin seeding drivers Sunday and at the following two races in Mexico City and at Pocono. The results will create a field of 32 drivers, who will race for a $1 million prize over a five-race competition starts June 28 at Atlanta.

Single elimination will reduce the field to 16 in Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four in Dover and the final two on July 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The NBA has had success with a similar format.

"It's like the March Madness bracket," said Blaney, whose No. 12 Ford finished first last week at Nashville. “You want to do well to seed yourself against an easier opponent.

“It could be big. It could grow. I think it's a great idea. Why not try it? You're still going to have racing. It's just going to be a race within the race between all the guys."

Denny Hamiln is prepared to leave his No. 11 Toyota behind this weekend to join his fiancé, Jordan, who is due to give birth to a baby boy - their third child - at any time.

Hamlin, who is also juggling his role as the co-owner of a team suing NASCAR, said he would skip next week’s race in Mexico City if necessary to witness the birth of his boy.

Hendrick Motorsports has won a record 316 Cup races, but hasn’t finished first at Michigan in more than a decade.

Jeff Gordon’s third win on the track was the team’s ninth and that was way back on Aug. 17, 2014.

"It’s just kind of surprising because I don't feel like it's a track that we struggle at by any means," said Kyle Larson, who drives the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick. “Every time we’ve been here, we've been one of the fastest and up front.

"It's not a track like Nashville, where where we struggle."

Larson at +300 is the betting favorite to win Sunday, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by points leader William Byron (+375), defending race champion Tyler Reddick (+500) and Christopher Bell (+550).