Dale Earnhardt Jr. predicts payback: Carson Hocevar to face ‘bad situations’ after the Mexico race drama

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently made his feelings known on Carson Hocevar's involvement in on-track incidents this season. Following the incident in Mexico with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Dale Jr. believes that Hocevar is lined up for a tough time during the remainder of the season.

Hocevar has built a reputation as an aggressive driver. Some have also drawn parallels between him and seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt due to his ferocity. Notably, a controversial incident at Nashville with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. started this controversy, which later found itself reignited after a late race altercation between Hocevar and RSJ was witnessed during the recent Mexico City race.

In a recent episode of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo Media podcast, the former Xfinity Series champion shed light on what the Spire Motorsports driver should be expecting from his competitors, especially RSJ, who he believes 'needs to be' the driver to take revenge.

Every week that goes by where Carson (Hocevar) has some sort of a situation. Um, you become more leery, I think, of being around him and you're like, 'Okay, well, if I see him or I'm around him this weekend at Pocono, I'm going to give him even more room, right?"

"There's these other guys. There's a Noah Gragson's that are like, Hey, I'll be the one to get his ass back for everybody. It needs to be Ricky, right? In this sense, but there will be other drivers that'll take swipes at Carson or put him in bad situations."

In other exciting news, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is scheduled to make a comeback to the Xfinity Series grid at Pocono Raceway, as he assumes the role of crew chief for JR Motorsports #88 team on Saturday.

Catch the Explore the Pocono Mountains 250 live on Saturday, June 21 at 3:30 PM Eastern.

What went down in Nashville that triggered Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s exciting NASCAR return?

Mardy Lindley, crew chief of the #88 team driven by JRM’s standout driver Connor Zilisch, received a one-race suspension following post-race inspection at Nashville Superspeedway. The penalty was issued after officials found two lug nuts on the car that were not secure.

The suspension levied on Lindley was deferred for the Xfinity race at Autodromo Hermano Rodriguez. As such, he will serve the penalty at Pocono, allowing Dale Earnhardt Jr. to step in as crew chief for the first time in the Xfinity Series.

A post on JR Motorsports' X account confirmed the presence of Dale Jr. on pit road at Pocono.

"This weekend, @DaleJr will be filling in for Mardy Lindley as crew chief of the No. 88 as Lindley serves his one race suspension for loose lugnuts following the NXS race in Nashville two weeks ago." the post read

Rookie Xfinity driver Connor Zilisch is currently ranked P5 in the driver standings, with a win to his credit.