NASCAR’s Carson Hocevar & The Birthday Flamethrower

Carson Hocevar (Nigel Kinrade/NKP photo)

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Whatever you got for your birthday in the past year, it’s not as exotic as the gift that Spire Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar found for himself this week.

Hocevar, who turned 22 on Tuesday, posted a picture of himself on social media – later accompanied by a demonstration video – of himself with the present he ordered himself off eBay.

Making a literal quip on the millennial slang usage of the word, Hocevar got himself “fire.” More specifically, he bought a flamethrower.

And no, it’s not a joke. Watch the video below and see for yourself.

As he told reporters during Spire’s team media day Wednesday, “it’s not a flamethrower … except it is.”

Paradoxical, much?

“’It’s Not A Flamethrower’ is actually what it’s called; Elon [Musk] made it, and I said to myself this year that I wanted something for my birthday, because … if it’s not Doordashing food, I don’t spend any money, really,” Hocevar explained. “So I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to spend something,’ and I went on eBay … and I was trying to find No. 77 (to match his car number, because Musk’s company only made 20,000 of the gadget), but the only one I could find was No. 7,000.

“So, I have No. 7,000 of the ‘Not A Flamethrower,’ and I’ve had a lot of fun with it.”

Asked for clarification by event moderator and CW Sports NASCAR Xfinity Series pit reporter Kim Coon on “exactly what the mechanism is,” Hocevar grinned widely before reiterating:

“It’s literally a flamethrower. I actually asked if I could bring it in on stage … and [the team] said no.”

That statement elicited raucous laughter from the media members in attendance.

So why on earth would a NASCAR Cup Series driver – and the reigning Sunoco Rookie of the Year, no less – need a flamethrower on hand at home?

The same reason any other Michigan-born Southern transplant would, of course: to get rid of the ice left behind by the recent winter storm that passed through North Carolina.

“When I came back [to Mooresville], my whole driveway was ice,” Hocevar said. “I literally couldn’t drive my truck up it because things were so slick. That’s where the flamethrower idea started to take shape, because I was first trying to grab, like, hammers and stuff to try and break [the ice] … and then I started trying to roll the lawn mower on it, and that didn’t work. (laughter) I thought about even [using] a hair dryer! I just needed an extension cord to do that. … So, then I finally got the flamethrower.

“But, of course, somehow it didn’t come through and got delayed … and all the ice melted, so for my birthday, I lit my birthday candles with the flamethrower.”

Hocevar is entering his second season at NASCAR’s top level and hopes to capture his first Cup Series win this year.

It’s safe to say that after this week, he’s already won social media – perhaps for the entire year – but it may have come at a small price.

Before she ended the line of questioning, Coon made the point to Hocevar that “I feel like it should be in your contract that you shouldn’t be allowed to have a flamethrower.”

As the room erupted with chuckles again, Hocevar sighed good-naturedly and agreed.

“It’s probably getting added [into my contract] right now,” he admitted sheepishly.

Given a few of the non-racing related injuries suffered by various drivers over the course of recent history, that added protection clause might be for the best if Spire’s team management were to follow through.

Hocevar will kick off his second year of Cup Series competition with the non-points Cook Out Clash at historic Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston Salem, N.C., on Sunday, Feb. 2, followed by the 67th Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway on Feb. 16.

Both races will be broadcast live on FOX, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.