Stop me if you've heard this about 15 or more times this year: Carson Hocevar is at the forefront of NASCAR's top storyline of the week, and it has nothing to do with him winning a Cup race (or even running in the top 10).
RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski became the latest name to join Hocevar's long list of enemies, after Hocevar spun him at the end of stage one during Sunday's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Hocevar later stated: "I do everything for TV and entertainment purposes based off everybody else. So I don’t know. Whatever makes us good TV. I just do it for the clicks.”
Whether he was joking or not, he has literally proven on the race track, time and time again, that that's about the size of it.
Keselowski vowed to get revenge on Hocevar, and while we've yet to truly see anybody put their money where their mouth is when it comes to paying back the driver of the No. 77 Chevrolet for his uncanny ability to recklessly ruin others' races, something about this feels different.
So naturally, NASCAR is considering stepping in. Because of course they are.
NASCAR senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis said the feud "was discussed a little" and that everyone was briefed on it, noting that there's a chance Keselowski may be called by Cup Series director Brad Moran due to the threat he made against Hocevar.
NASCAR has already made blatantly clear that they love instigators. Nothing ever happens to the first guy to throw a punch (or cause a wreck). Especially not Hocevar, whom they still apparently believe is the second coming of Dale Earnhardt simply because he isn't afraid to run into people and rile everybody up.
But retaliation? That might as well be considered a first-degree felony. There's only one reason they'd want to talk to Keselowski after his comments, and that would be to threaten action of their own if he follows through on his promise.
Keselowski knows that all too well, after his own driver, Ryan Preece, was nearly kept out of the playoffs for retaliating against Ty Gibbs at Texas Motor Speedway in May.
The reality of the situation feels like NASCAR wants to protect Hocevar. They want Hocevar to be Hocevar because it helps ratings, and they don't want anybody to get in his way, which, quite frankly, makes the whole "Hocevar is just being Hocevar!" narrative feel a lot less genuine and a lot more like an act than a lot of folks already think it is.
Corey Heim said it best, after winning a Brickyard 400 in which Hocevar flipped him off: "You guys [media] love talking about a guy who finished ninth."
But you know who probably wants payback more than anybody? Hocevar himself. He's already proven he's an influencer-driver, rather than just a driver competing for wins. He craves the attention, and quite frankly, for good reason, when you consider the fact that his fanbase continues to drive up his already NASCAR-leading merchandise sales.
While it would be unfair to say that a driver with his talent doesn't care about winning, it's pretty clearly what his number one priority really is.
Somebody giving him true payback might actually move the needle, at least a heck of a lot more than the recycled "Driver running 18th angers somebody again, as merch sales rise" headline, which is basically what his past "feuds" amount to. You're kidding yourself if you think it only takes only one driver to "save NASCAR" and make it relevant again for casual fans.
It's simple. If one driver is allowed to get away with it, NASCAR needs to go back to "boys, have at it." The fact that Keselowski's comments even triggered suggestions of a discussion is laughable.
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