How Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s connection drove Carson Hocevar to purchase a 1997 truck from Facebook Marketplace 

Earlier this year, NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar added a new truck to his garage, decorated like Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s No. 3 Goodwrench car. He purchased it from Facebook Marketplace and now uses it as his daily ride.

Hocevar is in his sophomore year, driving the No. 77 Chevy for Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. A former winner of the prestigious Winchester 400, Hocevar is currently vying for his maiden series victory. Last week at Nashville Superspeedway, he placed second. He sits 17th in the championship standings with 287 points.

Carson Hocevar is a full-time NASCAR driver, but more than anything else, he is a fan of crude racing action. And so, Dale Earnhardt Sr., who is often regarded as the “intimidator” by the NASCAR aficionados, is one of his favourite drivers of all time.

Therefore, it made sense when he said (via Dustin Long, NBC Sports):

“I always thought it’d be cool to have a NASCAR (car) be my street car basically, but not like an actual race car but have it decked out like that. So I’ve always wanted one of those Monte Carlos since I was a kid. That Dale truck just reminded me of that.”

“I think it will win a lot of friends. It’s a conversation starter,” he added.

For now, Hocevar has his eyes set on the Firekeepers Casino 400, which is scheduled for Sunday, June 8. The 200-lap event will begin at 2 p.m. ET, with live coverage on Amazon Prime Video.

Fans can listen to its radio coverage exclusively on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Carson Hocevar has just one start at the two-mile, D-shaped speedway, but that was in the Xfinity Series in 2023.

Denny Hamlin warns Carson Hocevar about an impending payback following their Nashville outing

Last Sunday (June 1) in Nashville, Carson Hocevar got involved in an incident with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. that ultimately ended the day early for the Hyak Motorsports driver. While Stenhouse Jr. didn’t punch Hocevar post-race like he did Kyle Busch last year after the All-Star Race, things might turn sour between the two in the foreseeable future.

Denny Hamlin thinks so, too. Recently, on his Actions Detrimental podcast, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said:

“Ricky Stenhouse will absolutely wreck Carson Hocevar sometime in the near future. He ain’t gonna punch him in the face but he’s absolutely gonna wreck him. If you’re Carson, just know that it’s coming.”

Hamlin added that if Hocevar ever gets in his way or does anything to him that he would deem “egregious,” a payback will follow. The Tampa, Florida, native isn’t one to forgive and forget.