CARSON  SCOTT  HOCEVAR   -   01/28/2003

Hocevar began competing in quarter midgets at the age of 7, winning 79 feature races and 15 national championships.  He started racing at Berlin Raceway in 2015 under the mentorship of retired Cup driver Johnny Benson.  Carson graduated to full-sized stock cars in 2015 and immediately made an impact by winning an Outlaw Late Model feature at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan, as a mere 12-year-old.  Later that summer, he earned his first template Super Late Model victory at Berlin as a 13-year-old, becoming the youngest winner in both Late Model divisions with his victories that season.  He won his first Super Late Model race at the track in 2013, but then NASCAR stopped all drivers under 14 from competing from sanctioned tracks. Upon reaching 14, Carson responded with a breakout season in which he won the Berlin track championship as a 14-year-old — the youngest in NASCAR Whelen All-American Series history — and added three other victories on the regional

JEGS/CRA All-Stars Pro Late Model Tour.  He has found success quickly on each rung of his racing ladder Hocevar competed in 11 ARCA Series races between 2018 and 2019, with six Top 5 and nine Top 10 finishes and two pole positions.  Also, in 2019 Hocevar would make his first NASCAR Truck Series start in the Eldora ‘Dirt Derby’ truck races; starting 13th and finishing 25th.  He got a win in the prestigious Winchester 400, a very popular Late Model event; and finished fifth in the All American 400; another prestigious Late Model race.  He ran a limited schedule in 2019-2020 due to age restrictions.  In 2020 he drove part time in the Truck Series for owner Al Niece.  He made  seven starts, and had several good runs finishing in the ‘teens’, with a best finish of 12th at Dover.  He also won in his Super

Late Model at Anderson, in the Redbud 400. 2021 saw him drive full time for Niece Motorsports and he was a formidable competitor.  He took care of his equipment, hardly ever getting involved in an accident.  He did have one DNF when he was caught up in ‘the big one’ at Talladega. Other than that, he only had three finishes worse than 16th the whole year. He had a great run at Charlotte and almost pulled off the win; finishing second.  For the year he had three Top 5 and eight Top 10 results.  Carson made it into the playoffs; and progressed through each round; but was eliminated from Championship contention right before the final race of the season.  He finished tenth in the points standings.  For 2022 Hocevar returned to pilot the #42 for Niece Motorsports.  Hocevar was so close to breaking through and getting that first win on several occasions in 2022.  He started off his season with a good run at Daytona finishing ninth.  He ran well the next four races with mixed results.  At Bristol he looked to in line for the win, as he led 55 laps, before Ben Rhodes roughed him up a bit to take the lead, and drive on to the win.  Carson was second.  The next race at Darlington Hocevar was strong one again as he led some laps mid-race.  But he was no match for John Hunter Nemechek as Carson once again came home second.  A few weeks later, while battling for the lead, Hocevar was spun during the final lap of the Gateway race.  Hocevar broke his right tibia at the ankle when his truck was t-boned by Tyler Hill.  He underwent surgery prior to the Sonoma race.  Hocevar took the pole position at Sonoma, before wrecking in turn ten right after 

crossing the timing line.  On lap 11, he was relieved by Daniel Suárez, who took the #42 to a sixth place finish.  Driving with a broken leg and having to use crutches to get around, Hocevar put on some inspiring drives.  He finished third at Nashville; and followed that with another third the next week at Mid-Ohio road course.  He then finished fifth at Pocono.  His strong runs put him into the Chase for the Championship.  He would finish second at Kansas; but it would not be good enough to advance him to the round of eight.  He finished the season tenth in points.  He'll be back behind the wheel of the #42 in 2023 looking for that first win.  Hocevar had a good year in the Truck series, still 

Super Late Model Champ - Berlin Raceway 2017

First ARCA start - Toldeo 2018

driving for Niece Motorsports.  He started off ok with a 12th place finish at Daytona; and followed that with a seventh place run the next race at Las Vegas.  At Atlanta he was involved in a crash and finished 31st; while at COTA he had a broken axle and finished 34th.  But he bounced back and grabbed a win the next race at Texas.  This locked him into the Chase.  He had three more bad weeks in a row; but after that he found a new gear.  He went on a run of five Top 5 finishes in a row; which included a win at Nashville.  A finish of 12th the next race would be his worst

finish the rest of the year before they headed to the Championship race at Phoenix.  He got a win at Richmond, and easily advanced through each round of the play offs to make it to the finals; adding a fourth win on the year at Homestead.  He was very competitive in the championship race at Phoenix.  He qualified 13th but worked his way up through the field quickly.  He was up to eighth at the end of stage one.  With about 30 laps to go he was right behind leader Corey Heim.  They raced into turn one together, and Hocevar took to the apron to try and get by.  His truck slid up and into Heim and both spun.  Both lined up at the rear of the field with 24 laps to go, and 25 trucks on the lead lap pretty much ruined any chance for either of them 

First Truck start - Eldora 2019

2020 Red Bud 400 win - Anderson IN (#71)

claiming the championship.  Zane Smith was out front and driving away as the race reached two laps to go.  The yellow’s flew because Heim had intentionally crashed Hocevar to show his frustration.  This stole the win from Smith; and later in the week, NASCAR would fine and penalize Heim for his actions.  The truck series drivers raced like a bunch of raw rookies from that point on.  It took until lap 179 before the race would see the checkered hankie fly; in a race schedule for just 150 laps.  Hocevar went on to finish 29th in the race.  But Carson’s talent had opened some peoples eyes this season.  In addition to his 

starts in the truck; he also made five starts in the Xfinity series.  His first start came wheeling the #07 for Bobby Dotter. He started 17th, but his transmission failed and he ended up 38th.  The rest of his starts came at the controls of the #77.  He finished sixth at Darlington and seventh at Charlotte.  His other two starts came at Nashville and Michigan where he finished in the 30’s.  He made a whopping nine starts in the Cup series to show owners what kind of talent he had.  He drove the #7 for Spire Motorsports in his first career Cup start.  He ran well but had issues and crashed finishing 36th.  After Noah Gragson was suspended from NASCAR competition at the end of July; various drivers filled the seat of the #42 for Legacy Motor Club.  They liked what they saw in Hocevar and picked him up starting on race 27 to drive the remainder of

Truck series 2021

First Truck win - 2023

First Cup start - St Louis 2023

the season.  His first start for them saw him make a stout run finishing 17th.  Pretty good for a guy moving right from the truck series to the Cup series.  At Kansas he was 20th, and had his season best finish of 11th the next week at Bristol.  He ran well, but got involved in crashes at Talladega and Vegas.  His final run came at Phoenix where he finished 19th.  Spire Motorsports also liked what they saw in Hocevar.  They decided to release Ty Dillon from the #77 and put Hocevar in the Cup car full time in 2024.

First Xfinity series start- COTA 2023

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