Carson Hocevar’s aggressive brand of racing continues to divide the NASCAR garage. Kevin Harvick believes it may only be a matter of time before someone responds in kind.

On the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, the 2014 Cup Series champion offered a blunt assessment of Hocevar’s driving style following Sunday’s chaotic run in the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway.

“I feel like Carson is going to take a run. He’s going to plug a hole every chance that he gets,” Harvick said. “He’s going to put you three-wide. He’s possibly going to put you four-wide. If you open the middle up, he’s going to take a chance, like he did with Christopher Bell, to fill that hole. Especially when he’s racing for a win. 

“He’s not going to worry about it when he gets out. I think that’s the part where all the other drivers are — it kind of pisses them off.”

Alas, Hocevar’s “Hurricane” reputation was fully on display in Atlanta. After going two laps down early in Stage 1, he clawed his way back into contention and ultimately finished fourth.

But along the way, he forced tight situations, including the move that contributed to Bell’s crash on an overtime restart. Still, Harvick made it clear he doesn’t believe Hocevar is technically in the wrong.

“I don’t think he’s doing anything wrong. I think he’s racing aggressively,” Harvick added. “But when you put people in bad positions over and over and over, eventually somebody is going to take that method and make sure that they send that message.”

However, if Harvick were still behind the wheel? “If you’re a competitor and you’re racing against him, what do you do to show him that you’re not going to do that?” Harvick responded. “I think the way I would approach it is, I’d probably wreck him the first chance I got. I mean, if it was me, I would.”

In the end, Hocevar’s final-lap fate only added to the drama. Side-by-side with Tyler Reddick for the win, he was left without drafting help when Chase Briscoe pushed Reddick instead. Hocevar was shuffled backward and watched his first Cup victory slip away.

A fourth-place finish is strong on paper, and Hocevar’s 2026 start has been impressive. But in the Cup Series, aggression can earn respect, but it can also lead to retaliation.

As Harvick put it, it may simply be a matter of who decides to send the message first. There’s plenty of candidates, so Hocevar better heed Harvick’s words moving forward.