Hocevar Bummed In Bristol Top 10 After Racing Up Front

Carson Hocevar (Nigel Kinrade/NKP photo)

BRISTOL, Tenn. – While Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar couldn’t predict the future in Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, he was still in position to contend for his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory.

The No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet appeared to be in prime position after pitting with 26 laps to go.

With extra right side tire wear on the Goodyear Eagle tires, which were lasting about 40 laps on average, Hocevar’s final pit stop allowed him to unleash more speed.

The Portage, Mich., native, on fresh tires, was running down and passing his competition left and right. He was poised to inherit the lead as the final pit cycle played out.

But contact between RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski, Haas Factory Team’s Cole Custer, and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace forced officials to throw the final caution of the night with 12 laps to go.

Hocevar inherited the lead as Keselowski and others pitted. With 14 cautions and a modern-era record of 137 laps under caution, the significance of tire preservation was front and center.

With no fresh tires left to put on his Chevrolet, Hocevar and Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith were vulnerable on the final restart with four laps to go. After being pushed up the track in turn one by Smith, the second-year driver immediately slipped down the running order.

By the time Hocevar’s position stabilized, the checkered flag had waved and he’d crossed the line in seventh. While he left the track disappointed, Hocevar did see the positive of being in position to win.

“It sucks, but we had a shot to win,” Hocevar said. “We can only control what we can control. We don’t have a crystal ball up there with the yellows. I am just proud of this No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet team. We got caught out really early, and we were able to execute there with tire saving, managing and just executing at a top caliber.

“If things had gone green there, we would have had a huge tire advantage, but it just didn’t work out. I’m just super proud of this group. There were a lot of times where I felt like we had a shot to win races, and we were 30th. Obviously, we really wanted that one to work out there, or at least to see if it would have, especially for a new pit crew. This team really wants to win, and you can only ask for shots.”

Carson Hocevar (77) races eventual winner Christopher Bell Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Jacob Seelman/Motorsports Hotspot photo)

The seventh-place finish, which included a sixth place run in the second stage and 26 laps led in the 500-lap race, marked Hocevar’s eighth top 10 of the season. It was also the 14th top 10 finish of the young driver’s Cup Series career.

Notably, Saturday night’s effort came after much of Hocevar’s over-the-wall crew – supplied by Hendrick Motorsports – was swapped with Alex Bowman’s crew in an effort to get Bowman into the second round of the Cup Series playoffs.

Bowman didn’t win either, though, finishing one spot behind Hocevar in eighth place.

Next for Hocevar and the rest of the Cup Series field is New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In his only start at the ‘Magic Mile’ last year, Hocevar finished 17th, although the majority of the race was run in damp conditions on Goodyear’s wet weather tires.

Broadcast coverage of the Mobil 1 301 from Loudon starts Sunday, Sept. 21 at 2 p.m. ET, live on USA, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.