CONCORD, N.C. -- Carson Hocevar irked some of his fellow drivers with aggressive racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This led to conversations on pit road with Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain, something that the second-year driver does not take for granted.
These are two veterans of the sport who can help guide him as he continues to make his way in the Cup Series.
"Ryan's won (a championship), Ross has been in contention," Hocevar told media members Wednesday at the NASCAR Production Facility. "Like, there's no better school of guys to talk to, right? They've had the same progression as me, Ross especially."
The incidents that led to the conversations took place during the final stage of last weekend's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Hocevar first hit Blaney from behind in what he called a mistake and sent the Team Penske driver sliding toward the infield.
He then ditched Chastain and the bottom lane to move into the middle of the pack with two laps remaining in the race. Hocevar went on to finish second while Chastain lost momentum and slid back in the pack.
These sequences during a hectic superspeedway race were all part of the learning process for Hocevar as he navigates his second full-time season in NASCAR and a different level of competition than the Truck Series.
"I don't want to make dumb decisions," Chastain said. "I don't want to crash anybody, but I want to race and I want to race them as hard as I physically can because I'm doing it with a team that is trying to build.
"We don't have the advantage of having the fastest cars yet. We don't have the advantage of having the cleanest of air."
Chastain has been a key part of this learning process considering the ties between the two drivers. They both drove for Niece Motorsports, and Chastain has been like a big brother to Hocevar.
There are also some similarities between Trackhouse Racing and Spire Motorsports, two Chevy teams trying to become consistent championship contenders.
These are reasons why their conversation last weekend was much longer than the one with Blaney. That connection sets up deeper dives into the art of racing.
Make no mistake -- Hocevar isn't going to necessarily back down in future races. He's still going to be aggressive as he tries to get Spire Motorsports into victory lane and himself into the playoffs. He's going to push for stage points so that he can maximize each race weekend.
But he will take the information provided by Blaney and Chastain and use it as he continues gaining experience in the Cup Series. He will continue growing as a driver, much like Chastain and other aggressive competitors did before him.
Hocevar may be the pupil now, but he sees a future where he could become the teacher.
"Hopefully, I am in 10 years' time -- hopefully, I got the fast forward button -- and there's some other kid that I'm pulling to the frontstretch talking to him and being that role model for them, or that guy," Chastain said.