Tag: Carson Hocevar

Spire teammates set the pace in Cup Series practice at Phoenix

Spire Motorsports teammates Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell set the pace for NASCAR Cup Series practice at Phoenix Raceway right at the start of the session, and no one could beat it. The two ran their fastest laps on their respective first laps …

Spire Motorsports teammates Carson Hocevar and Michael McDowell set the pace for NASCAR Cup Series practice at Phoenix Raceway right at the start of the session, and no one could beat it.

The two ran their fastest laps on their respective first laps on track. Hocevar topped the leaderboard at 132.533mph (27.163s) with McDowell ending up second fastest at 132.523mph (27.165s).

23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick was third fastest at 132.499mph, Austin Cindric was fourth at 132.489mph and Chris Buescher completed the top five at 132.329mph.

William Byron ran sixth at 132.120mph, Denny Hamlin was seventh at 131.984mph and Erik Jones eight at 131.878mph, Christopher Bell ninth at 131.854mph and John Hunter Nemechek 10th at 131.839mph.

Bell is the defending race winner at Phoenix. He and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team are also looking for their third consecutive Cup Series win after triumphs at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Circuit of The Americas.

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There were no incidents in practice. Cup Series teams had one 45-minute session because Goodyear brought the option tire for the weekend. There was one set of options to use during practice, and teams will have two sets for Sunday’s race.

Joey Logano, who won at Phoenix in the fall, was 11th fastest in practice. Bubba Wallace was 12th, Ryan Blaney 14th and Alex Bowman 15th. Ross Chastain, whose last Cup Series win was at Phoenix in the fall of 2023, was 18th.

Chase Elliott was 20th fastest, Kyle Busch 21st, and Chase Briscoe was 22nd. Kyle Larson was 26th, Shane van Gisbergen ran 31st, and Josh Berry was 34th.

Katherine Legge was 37th fastest out of 37 cars. Legge is making her Cup Series debut with Live Fast Motorsports.

McDowell paced the best 10 consecutive lap average over Reddick, Cindric, Chastain, and Byron.

NEXT: Cup Series single-car qualifying for the Shriners Children’s 500.

NASCAR podcast: Carson Hocevar on Rookie of the Year and what’s next

Carson Hocevar is this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year, and the offseason hasn’t yet slowed things down for him because of the award. Hocevar joins the show to discuss what he’s been up to since Phoenix; what he gets out of being at the …

Carson Hocevar is this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year, and the offseason hasn’t yet slowed things down for him because of the award. Hocevar joins the show to discuss what he’s been up to since Phoenix; what he gets out of being at the shop regularly; what winning Rookie of the Year means to him; the difference in his expectations versus those around him; the growth process throughout the year; the races that stand out or Hocevar is most proud of; quickly taking to the Next Gen car; the idea of sim work and how much he does; what the stats don’t show about the season; things that need to be improved for next year; what did or didn’t surprise him about full-time Cup Series racing; and reflecting on a fast five years in NASCAR.

Spire Motorsports sets new NASCAR record at Homestead in 2024

Spire Motorsports has officially set a new NASCAR record at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2024. Find out what Spire Motorsports has broken!

[autotag]Carson Hocevar[/autotag] and [autotag]Spire Motorsports[/autotag] had a great day at Homestead-Miami Speedway last weekend. Hocevar finished fifth in Stage 1, eighth in Stage 2, and brought home the No. 77 car with a ninth-place finish. The Spire Motorsports driver was really impressive; however, the rest of the No. 77 team was equally impressive on pit road.

According to Spire Motorsports, the No. 77 team set a new record with the fastest four-tire pit stop in NASCAR history. On Sunday afternoon at Homestead, the No. 77 team had an 8.29-second four-tire pit stop. Daniel Bach (Front Changer), Rod Cox (Rear Changer), Jarius Morehead (Tire Carrier), Cody French (Jackman), and Zico Pasut (Fueler) were the crew members.

Hocevar and Spire Motorsports are gaining significant momentum going into the last two races of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. The organization has taken steps forward and could be running more competitively when the 2025 Daytona 500 rolls into the picture. For now, Hocevar and the No. 77 team will look to close out the 2024 NASCAR season on a high note.

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Hocevar respects NASCAR decision on Nashville penalty but suggests there’s more to the story

Carson Hocevar showed no contrition for the contact with Harrison Burton at Nashville Speedway that resulted in a penalty handed down from NASCAR this week, saying that SMT data would show a different story. “My intentions were not by any means to …

Carson Hocevar showed no contrition for the contact with Harrison Burton at Nashville Speedway that resulted in a penalty handed down from NASCAR this week, saying that SMT data would show a different story.

“My intentions were not by any means to have him [spin] around,” Hocevar said Saturday at the Chicago street course. “I went up to bump him like you’ve seen a thousand times and has happened to me a lot. He wanted to use 1,000 pounds of brake pressure in front of me, and obviously, it happened from that. But if you get in a bar fight or whatnot, the guy who throws the last punch to land somebody on the ground isn’t the one who gets in trouble; it’s the one who initiated it.

“So, moving forward, I just won’t initiate anything like that. If anything, I’ll either talk to him after the race or go up next to him and throw my hand in the air rather than use a race car.”

When asked if he felt he needed to show anything to the Cup Series field after his penalty, Hocevar said, “No.”

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Hocevar was fined $50,000 and docked 25 driver points for hooking Burton under caution at Nashville last Sunday. The incident happened on the backstretch with 58 laps to go. Burton, who was scored 25th at the time of the caution, did not hit anything and avoided being hit by oncoming traffic. Hocevar, who was listed in the 27th position, drove up to Burton’s car under caution and made contact with the right rear.

“If you see the SMT, I think you’ll understand,” Hocevar said of what led to the contact. “I think it shows a different picture completely of the whole situation. But there’s no point for me to release that or do anything. It is what it is and I’ll move on.

“My team is very supportive of me … and they’ve reassured me of that. That’s really what matters to me.”

Hocevar said he respects NASCAR’s decision to penalize him. But that it “doesn’t matter” if he agreed with it or not.

Although he’s a rookie in the Cup Series with Spire Motorsports, it is not Hocevar’s first involvement in a controversial incident. Hocevar has frustrated his fellow competitors with his actions over the last few seasons for questionable single-vehicle spins that brought out a caution or contact with another vehicle.

“Don’t hook anybody,” reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney. “You get penalized: pay money, pay points, park them if you have to. That’s something I’ve seen too many times out of that guy from different series. That’s not cool. Don’t do that.”

Blaney felt NASCAR did the “right thing” by handing down the penalty. The Team Penske driver — an alliance teammate of Burton — was asked if he has any responsibility to talk to drivers about such incidents as a champion of the sport.

“I just don’t see it as my role,” Blaney said. “I’m not going to go to you and say, ‘Hey, don’t do that.’ You should know not to do that. That’s something about growing up and learning that you just don’t do. So, no, it’s not my role to go speak to somebody about that unless I am directly involved in it — then you’ll get a talking to, but you gotta learn that stuff on your own.”

One of the most notable and most recent incidents involving Hocevar was the 2023 season finale at Phoenix Raceway. Hocevar spun fellow Craftsman Truck Series championship contender Corey Heim, which he said was not intentional. However, the frustration from Heim and his team resulted in Heim retaliating, which cost both drivers a shot at the championship.

As to whether his reputation played into the penalty from NASCAR, Hocevar said it was a question for the sanctioning body.

“I don’t know. Maybe,” he said. “You can ask NASCAR that. I don’t know what went into their decision. I think, obviously, my track record is not squeaky clean but I guess you’d have to ask NASCAR in that sense. We’re in their sandbox [with] whether they want to rule on [the] one decision you make or [if] track records probably somewhat play a part.”

Carson Hocevar penalized for spinning Harrison Burton at Nashville

Carson Hocevar has been penalized for intentionally spinning Harrison Burton at Nashville. Find out more details about Hocevar’s penalty!

[autotag]Carson Hocevar[/autotag] has been penalized for his actions during the NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway. On Tuesday afternoon, NASCAR announced that Hocevar has been docked 25 driver points and fined $50,000 for intentionally spinning [autotag]Harrison Burton[/autotag] under caution during the Cup Series race at Nashville on Sunday evening.

Hocevar bumped Burton a few times under caution before spinning him out. The penalty from NASCAR means the driver of the No. 77 car falls from 22nd to 24th in the point standings, sitting 181 points behind the playoff cut-line. In the grand scheme of the playoff picture, not much changed as Hocevar was already in a likely must-win situation.

Burton did not suffer damage from the spin but finished in 28th place. Meanwhile, Hocevar brought his No. 77 car to a 16th-place finish and was in a position to compete for the win at the end of the event. The No. 21 car didn’t wreck out of the Cup Series race at Nashville, but NASCAR believed that Hocevar’s actions were out of line and a penalizable offense.

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Hocevar penalized for spinning Burton under yellow at Nashville

Carson Hocevar has been fined and docked points by NASCAR for spinning Harrison Burton under caution Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway. The Spire Motorsports driver lost $50,000 and 25 driver points. NASCAR cited sections 4.4B of the Rule Book, …

Carson Hocevar has been fined and docked points by NASCAR for spinning Harrison Burton under caution Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway.

The Spire Motorsports driver lost $50,000 and 25 driver points. NASCAR cited sections 4.4B of the Rule Book, which is NASCAR Member Code of Conduct Penalty Options and Guidelines.

The incident between Hocevar and Burton happened with 58 laps to go in the Ally 400. Under caution, which was brought out for a Brad Keselowski crash in Turn 2, Hocevar hooked Burton in the right rear and spun him on the backstretch. The two had already cleared the crash scene when Hocevar drove up to the rear of Burton’s No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang and made contact.

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Burton did not hit the wall or make contact with another driver. He finished 28th.

Hocevar and the No. 77 Spire Motorsports team finished 16th. He was not penalized for the incident during the race.

Additionally, Tuesday’s penalty report featured two fines for Craftsman Truck Series crew chiefs. Both were for having one loose lug nut after Friday night’s race.

Jon Leonard, crew chief of the No. 42 for Matt Mills, was fined $2,500. Jeriod Prince, crew chief of the No. 88 for Matt Crafton, was also fined $2,500.

Hocevar leads short, rain-affected Cup Series practice at Loudon

Carson Hocevar led a brief NASCAR Cup Series practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. After waiting out rain and track drying for 90 minutes, Hocevar laid down an early lap of 127.533mph (29.865s) to reach the top of the charts. That stood as the …

Carson Hocevar led a brief NASCAR Cup Series practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

After waiting out rain and track drying for 90 minutes, Hocevar laid down an early lap of 127.533mph (29.865s) to reach the top of the charts. That stood as the best lap after rain quickly returned, halting practice after just under five minutes.

Michael McDowell was second quickest with a speed of 127.312mph. Two-time Magic Mile winner Brad Keselowski (127.214mph) followed in third, with William Byron (127.163mph) and Zane Smith (127.125mph) filling out the top five.

Joey Logano (127.082mph) slotted in sixth followed by Denny Hamlin (127.065mph) in the lead Toyota. Josh Berry (126.866mph), Bubba Wallace (126.765mph) and Noah Gragson (126.736mph) completed the top 10.

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Polesitter Chase Elliott (126.278mph) was 19th, with defending winner Martin Truex Jr. (126.057mph) four spots behind him in 23rd.

Decision-making was split between teams as the session got underway, with many quickly taking to the track while others chose to wait out a couple laps and confirm the conditions were okay. Nearly the entire field ultimately took to the track, with only Christopher Bell failing to complete a lap at speed.

“I feel like track conditions are going to be completely different when we actually race, so I’m not too concerned about it,” Bell said afterward.

There are 36 drivers entered in the USA Today 301. No driver was able to complete more than seven laps in the abbreviated session, so there were no 10-lap averages to review.

Sunday’s green flag will fly at 2:06 p.m. ET on USA Network.

Carson Hocevar’s new Zeigler Auto Group scheme for 2024 NASCAR season revealed

Carson Hocevar’s new Zeigler Auto Group paint scheme for the 2024 NASCAR season has been revealed. Take a look at Hocevar’s scheme for 2024!

[autotag]Carson Hocevar[/autotag] will move from the NASCAR Truck Series to the NASCAR Cup Series as he will drive the No. 77 car full-time for Spire Motorsports in 2024. Fellow Cup Series rookie Zane Smith will join Hocevar as he pilots the No. 71 car after signing with Trackhouse Racing. Now, the driver of the No. 77 car has his first paint scheme revealed for 2024.

Zeigler Auto Group will fully sponsor Hocevar in seven Cup Series races and partially sponsor him in two. The Michigan native teams up with a Michigan-based company. As for the paint scheme, it is very sharp with the only flaw being on the rear of the car. Hocevar’s yellow rookie stripes blend in with the yellow on the rear.

This is still a good-looking paint scheme as Hocevar looks to have a strong rookie campaign in the Cup Series. Hocevar and Spire Motorsports are a perfect fit, and while it may take some time, the two parties should work well together. There will be more paint scheme announcements on the way before the start of the 2024 NASCAR season.

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Carson Hocevar’s new NASCAR Cup Series crew chief for 2024 revealed

Carson Hocevar’s new crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series for the 2024 season has been revealed. Who is Hocevar’s new crew chief?

[autotag]Carson Hocevar[/autotag] broke through for an incredible 2023 NASCAR season that featured several Truck Series victories, a trip to the Championship 4, and replacement races in the No. 42 car for Legacy Motor Club that put him on the map. Next year, Hocevar will drive the No. 77 Cup car for Spire Motorsports full-time with a familiar crew chief on the top of the box.

Spire Motorsports announced on Wednesday afternoon that Luke Lambert will join Hocevar and the No. 77 team in 2024. Lambert moved to the NASCAR Cup Series with Noah Gragson, and after the driver’s suspension, he was the crew chief for Hocevar in his events. The 41-year-old crew chief has also held the role at Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Childress Racing.

This is a fantastic partnership, as Hocevar has experience with Lambert in the Cup Series. In fact, the duo gelled really well as the No. 42 car saw a drastic jump in performance near the end of the 2023 NASCAR season. If all goes right moving forward, Hocevar and Lambert could become a force in the Cup Series.

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Hocevar edges closer to Truck Series title with Homestead win

Carson Hocevar secured his first NASCAR CRATSMAN Truck Series Championship 4 appearance with a victory Saturday in the Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, earning all four of his career series wins this season – the trophy …

Carson Hocevar secured his first NASCAR CRATSMAN Truck Series Championship 4 appearance with a victory Saturday in the Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, earning all four of his career series wins this season – the trophy Saturday most impactful among them.

Hocevar put his No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet into the lead with 11 laps remaining and held off the hard-charging Zane Smith by 2.705s to claim the win over the reigning series champion, whose runner-up effort was disqualified by NASCAR after a post-race technical inspection found the defending series champion’s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford was illegal – using an unapproved windshield support.

 

“We are disappointed in the disqualification,’’ Front Row Motorsports said in a statement after the NASCAR inspection. “We will continue to work and discuss with NASCAR officials back at the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, N.C. before making any further comment.’’

The DQ moved ThorSport Racing’s Ben Rhodes into runner-up on the afternoon helping him to advance to the Playoffs — prevailing in a tiebreaker with rookie Nick Sanchez, the polesitter who finished 17th after making contact with another truck coming to pit road for his final stop.

Regular season champion, TRICON Garage’s Corey Heim, GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger and Hocevar’s Niece Motorsports teammate Bailey Curry rounded out the top five.

Heim, Hocevar, Enfinger and Rhodes will now race for the championship Nov. 3 at Phoenix Raceway.

Hocevar celebrated the win by climbing high atop the flag stand to claim the checkered flag in person. He threw it down to the cheering fans behind the fence then climbed back down on the grandstand side to high-five fans and celebrate the biggest win of his life – to date.

“It kills me I can’t do a burnout but we have to take this truck to Phoenix,’’ a grinning Hocevar said. “This truck was so good. We just got behind on pit stops and just lost track position which was unfortunate, but man, it’s so good to feel [like this]. I love it.

“I thought we could win today with our truck, even with all the setbacks from the debris and everything. We had a shot to win and we did just that.’’

The battle for that final Playoff position was as dramatic as the fight for the victory.

Rhodes came into this final regular season race only five points behind Sanchez for the fourth championship-eligible transfer position. He finished 24th in the opening stage and 10th in the second stage. It still left him outside looking into the Championship 4, so Rhodes’ ThorSport team opted to pit for fresh tires early and out of pit sequence. The move allowed his No. 99 Ford to take the race lead as the other frontrunners pit later.

He held the point with 30 laps remaining only to have Hocevar and Smith chase him back down. Hocevar passed him with 11 laps remaining, Smith a lap later.

“We failed Ben today. We didn’t give him a very good truck and he bailed us out at the end there,’’ Rhodes’ crew chief Rich Lushes said. “It was the only call we had. We had to do something different than everybody else and it all worked out so I guess we’re going to [the championship race] again.’’

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It was a heartbreaking ending for the 22-year old Sanchez, who is from nearby Miami and raced often at Homestead-Miami Speedway as he was coming up the junior ranks. He won the pole and led the opening five laps, only to see his Playoff hopes in jeopardy after a miscue approaching his final pit stop with 34 laps remaining. His No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet hit the back of Tanner Gray’s truck as the two were slowing to enter pit road causing noticeable damage to Sanchez’ Chevrolet.

“Obviously I lost a lot of time there and just lost time in the pits trying to fix it,’’ Sanchez said. “Just my fault, no two ways to it. I really didn’t know the No. 15 was pitting and didn’t slow down [enough], so that’s on me. I apologize to my team. They’re going to support me. To miss by one point is pretty rough, but all you can do is go to Phoenix and try to win.”

Heim led a race-best 57 of the 134 laps and swept both Stage victories. His third place finish marked the series-best 15th-consecutive top-10 finish of the season.

“I really thought we had them covered today. I mean, we were smoking the first two stages and kind of waiting on the third stage and then it went out like a light switch so we’ll look everything over,’’ Heim said, adding, “We’ve got bigger things on the horizon so we’ll focus on that.’’

Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton, Rajah Caruth, Ty Majeski and Chase Purdy rounded out the top 10. Majeski joins Smith, Sanchez and Christian Eckes being eliminated from Playoff contention.

Eckes finished 20th after what looked like a sure-bet top-10 finish was hampered by penalties and miscues on the afternoon. He was called for moving lanes on a restart and another time for speeding on pit road exit late in the race.

“We had a truck able to advance and just kept making mistakes,’’ Eckes said. “Just wasn’t good enough today.’’

IndyCar star Marco Andretti finished 18h in his second series start in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. He’s also scheduled to race at Phoenix in two weeks.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series concludes the season with the Craftsman 150 at the one-mile Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 3 (10:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

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