Can Carson Hocevar beat Chase Elliott?
So far, only two Chevrolet drivers have won races this Cup Series season: Chase Elliott, leading the OEM’s campaign with two, and Carson Hocevar closely following with one. However, the latter has got far more cheers from the fans.
Elliott has been around for over a decade, but Hocevar only recently joined the field full-time and has been making quite an impact. His high-energy attitude, aggressive performance, and overall conduct with the fans have made him one of the most popular drivers on the field. Despite this, however, Elliott still remains the favorite to win the Most Popular Driver Award, for the ninth time in a row this season.
Many claim that this is because he has the support of the older generation, being Bill Elliott’s son. He was, technically, the first driver in history to ‘dominate’ this award. And now his son is doing the same. However, the newer fans criticize it. Yet, Elliott continues to win. As it has been suggested, it could be because not enough fans are going out to actually vote for Hocevar, and Elliott ends up winning.
But insider Jeff Gluck made an interesting comment recently: “You could have the Cleetus effect. You know, telling people, ‘hey, go vote for Carson’ kind of thing.”
Cleetus McFarland has gained a large audience in the past years working as an automotive YouTuber. His fanbase only boosted after his NASCAR debut, and understandably, not all his viewers are NASCAR fans. But the friendship he shares with Hocevar could potentially help the latter in gaining more popularity on paper.
If McFarland were to simply promote Hocevar better on his socials, the latter might as well get more votes and dethrone Elliott as the ‘Most Popular Driver’ on the field. While that is quite possible, considering the massive cheers Hocevar gains, many fans don’t think it might actually happen.
Fans refuse to agree with the McFarland-Hocevar theory
“Cleatus would have to campaign on social daily to make it competitive,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. is usually the first driver to give his strong suggestions on claims like these, and he did exactly that. At the end of the day, McFarland can only pull in so many voters through his audience. The backing that Elliott has gained through the years would require a lot more campaigning to overcome. Coming from a driver who won the award 15 years in a row, it seems to make sense.
Cleatus would have to campaign on social daily to make it competitive.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) May 7, 2026
“Not saying it’s impossible but I think people heavily underestimate how many offline/facebook exclusive chase elliott fans there are,” one of the fans commented. As mentioned, most of Chase Elliott’s fan base is through the older generation, and McFarland’s audience, mainly consisting of the younger generation, might not be able to make up for it.
Because of that, there have been quite a few allegations of nepotism attached to Chase Elliott. It is understood that he gains all the votes because of his father, Bill Elliott. Like another comment read: “Let’s be real. Chase will win until he retires. Then it’ll fall to some other nepo kid.”
“I think Hocevar will need to back up his win with at least one more to have a chance.” Carson Hocevar just won at Talladega, marking his maiden Cup Series win. Although he now has a massive following, the only way he can get the Most Popular Driver’s Award sealed is through another victory, perhaps a few more, considering Elliott is still the Chevy driver with more wins this season.
But at the same time, a change seems to be coming. “If you go to races, I’ve been to three this year, there’s a growing amount of 77s you see,” a fan wrote. Hocevar’s popularity has witnessed a massive surge this year. In fact, his invitation to the Met Gala spoke volumes about his fame as a NASCAR driver. Some also suggest that they might be bringing the sport back to the mainstream media.
So even though it seems unlikely, even though Elliott has won the award for years at end, it wouldn’t be completely surprising if Hocevar were to edge him out this season.
