A downward surge has hit Hendrick Motorsports recently. Kyle Larson fell through in his second ‘Double’ attempt, with crashes plaguing him at the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. Then William Byron lost his Charlotte chances after leading for 283 laps. Chase Elliott is winless for over a year, and Alex Bowman is fast approaching his victory anniversary in Chicago. Naturally, the HMS executives would let their eyes stray from their team – and toward Carson Hocevar.And those eyes were arrested by a Spire Motorsports sophomore driver. Carson Hocevar has been on a dazzling streak, defying rivals who have been in the Cup Series way longer than he has. Despite the waves of controversy, one HMS executive likes him, sparking a wild frenzy of rumors among fans.Carson Hocevar enthralls the sport’s top seedGranted, the stream of criticism may take a while to stop for Carson Hocevar. During the Cracker Barrel 400 race, the Spire Motorsports driver clambered up from a 26th-place starting spot. But while he was at Nashville, his Charlotte failure still stung him – Hocevar’s engine had failed at last week’s Coca-Cola 600. So he let that frustration boil over and nudged Ricky Stenhouse Jr to send him spinning. After this wildly controversial move, Hocevar still stuck to his purpose. He kept charging through the field, toppling the race contenders like Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin. Eventually, he trailed Ryan Blaney till the checkered flag, clinching his season’s second runner-up spot.This unflinching resilience despite the loud backlash was enough to impress one of NASCAR’s top seeds. Chad Knaus, current Vice President of Competition at HMS, has been a trailblazer in the sport himself. He helped Jimmie Johnson achieve his seven championships, including the five consecutive ones between 2006 and 2010. So one high-flyer always recognizes another, as Knaus did. After Hocevar’s runner-up finish at Nashville, Knaus personally came to congratulate the 22-year-old speedster. Journalist Steven Taranto uploaded pictures on X, writing: “Second place finish for Carson Hocevar. Matches his career-best from Atlanta earlier this year…Chad Knaus came over to say good job as Carson’s media obligations were winding down.” Second place finish for Carson Hocevar. Matches his career-best from Atlanta earlier this yearChad Knaus came over to say good job as Carson’s media obligations were winding down pic.twitter.com/7QJ5j15Q3o— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) June 2, 2025Well, the close ties between Hendrick Motorsports and Spire are nothing new. HMS supplies Chevrolet engines and valuable technical support to Spire, which has become a solid team in just four years. Remember the Ambetter Health 400 race at Atlanta this year? Carson Hocevar irked several drivers, including Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, and his mentor Ross Chastain. But while he did not apologize to any of them, he made sure to bow to HMS. He stressed that he had no intentions of pushing Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell to the win ahead of Hendrick’s Kyle Larson.Well, all these hints are very interesting. NASCAR fans took them a little further to spark a round of rumors.A tale of heartbreak on the HMS cards?Last year, Alex Bowman underwent a challenging time on social media. Despite his Chicago Street Race victory, fans pointed out his lack of consistency on the racetrack. They began to hound him about his potential hot seat, and it took Jeff Gordon and other HMS executives’ repeated reassurances to calm things down. Now, as Bowman completes a winless year, those unpleasant rumors are back. Fans inevitably linked Chad Knaus’ meeting with Carson Hocevar to Bowman. Somebody underlined Bowman’s latest wreck at Nashville: “OK now if I’m Alex Bowman I’m a little nervous for my job lol. Especially after solo wrecking twice for the 3rd time this season and losing 95% of the speed he had to start the season.” One fan had no doubts about it, they suggested outright: “Obviously this means they’re firing Bowman and putting Carson in the 48.”Despite these rumors, Alex Bowman still has people supporting him. After all, he did turn things around during the 2024 playoffs, accruing the maximum stage points until his DQ at the Charlotte Roval. So one fan rooted for Bowman’s revival: “Yeah, he definitely should worry. Which sucks, I really like Bowman. I hope he can turn it around this summer. I don’t know what’s going on with that team. He hasn’t been the same since his injury.” Although Carson Hocevar’s meeting with Chad Knaus merely implied that something was brewing, the community would not stop hounding Bowman. So one fan sympathized with him: “It probably doesn’t mean much but won’t stop wild speculation.”Some more fans suggested that even Chase Elliott is on the hot seat. The 2020 Cup Series champion has visibly been inconsistent ever since the Next-Gen car debuted in 2022. Moreover, his last Cup Series victory came at Texas Motor Speedway in 2024. So somebody wrote, “Put him in the 9, f— it.” Another fan was all in for a driver swap in HMS, rooting for Carson Hocevar. They wrote, “Hocevar is 100% next in line for a Hendrick seat. Doesnt matter who retires or leaves down the line…hes next.”Clearly, the Silly Season rumors are brewing intensely. With Carson Hocevar continuing to perform well, let us see where the sophomore heads to.The post HMS Vice President’s Uncanny Meeting With Carson Hocevar Sparks Wild Silly Season Rumors appeared first on EssentiallySports.