NASCAR driver Carson Hocevar has seemingly made plenty of enemies among his peers this season for his many on-track incidents that have caused wrecks. While the latest moment with Brad Keselowski has now put a new target on Hocevar’s back, it has also helped his branding and bank account.
In the aftermath of Hocevar wrecking Keselowski in Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington, the 42-year-old promised that he was going to get the young driver back for the incident. Hocevar responed by saying he will “tighten my belts” and then immediately turned to taking the moment to market himself and delight his growing fan base even more.
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Immediately after the race, the 23-year-old Cup Series driver announced that there would be a 6 percent discount on merchandise on his site. On Monday, CarsonHocevar.com put out a new “Got my belts tight” t-shirt to preorder for $35.
While Hocevar’s peers might not have liked what he did to Keselowski nor his handling of the wreck in post-race interviews and on social media, many NASCAR fans loved it. As noted by Adam Stern of the Sports Business Journal, Hocevar’s online souvenir shop amassed nearly $200,000 in sales in the 24 hours following the Southern 500 on Sunday night.
It’s not the first time that Hocevar has turned an on-track beef that he’s seemingly created into a marketing opportunity. Earlier this year, amid a seemingly one-sided feud with fellow driver Zane Smith, the No. 77 team had a T-shirt swap with Hocevar giving out his merchandise to NASCAR fans who wanted to trade in apparel from other drivers and teams.
The behavior and public comments might be ruffling some feathers in the NASCAR garage. However, no driver outside of Bubba Wallace and Corey Heim has been willing to pay it back to the No. 77 on the track, and the combination of followers he has gained and merch his team is selling speaks to the support from fans. It might not be the best strategy to win races consistently or contend for a Cup Series championship, but it should certainly make Hocevar both one of the wealthiest drivers in NASCAR and its most polarizing star.
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