Carson Hocevar (No. 77) stole the show in the Autotrader 400, finishing in fourth place at EchoPark Speedway. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)
HAMPTON, Ga. — Despite finishing a little short of his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory, Carson Hocevar stole the show en route to a fourth-place finish in the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway.
After rallying back from both a cut tire in the early portion of the race and damage to the right side of his No. 77 in the back half, Hocevar found himself in the thick of it once again with a shot at Victory Lane on the line.
“Our car’s really fast,” Hocevar said. “To go from two laps down, to get stage points and then finish fourth. That’s good points for us.”
After an aggressive move on the first overtime restart which knocked Christopher Bell out of contention, Hocevar found himself on the front row for attempt No. 2. Bubba Wallace, who restarted alongside him, got clear of both lanes after a great push from 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick.
On the initial lap during the second attempt, Hocevar got a push from Ross Chastain, and as Wallace moved up to block, Hocevar shot to the middle, leading to a drag race between him and Reddick as they took the white flag. With both cars way out front, it allowed Chase Briscoe to catch up to the two leaders, but he elected to push Reddick as a Toyota defense, leaving Hocevar with no help from behind.
“I was taking every run,” said Hocevar. “I’m sure I owe people apologies, but, I think we’re all going for spaces and runs.”
Carson Hocevar (No. 77) leading the outside lane during the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway. (Photo: Phil Cavali | The Podium Finish)
That push helped Reddick to ultimately win the race, becoming the first driver in the NASCAR Cup Series to win the first two races of the season since Matt Kenseth in 2009.
Now in full-on scramble mode, Hocevar threw in a couple more big blocks on Wallace and Spire Motorsports teammate Daniel Suarez on the final lap, leading him to survive and score a fourth-place finish.
“I went over to Briscoe and I just kind of laughed,” said Hocevar. “I thought it was a great spot on the top, and then I looked in my mirror, and I’m like ‘Alright, perfect, he’s (Briscoe) going to push me’ and then they start going left, I was confused for a second, and then I realized there was another Toyota. I was like, ‘Oh, he’s not going to push me.'”
When looking back at the different problems and run-ins throughout the race, including a damaged toe link, Hocevar was happy with the speed that his No. 77 car had at the end of the race after enduring all of those potential major issues.
“Luckily, all four tires were straight,” he said. “My toe was knocked out, but it still was pretty fast and was able to finish fourth there.”
For Hocevar, the result marks the third consecutive top 10 finish at EchoPark Speedway, finishing inside the top five in two of them. It also marks a successful start to the season for Hocevar and the No. 77 team, finding themselves in the fourth position in the driver points standings after two races.
“Pretty excited for our start of the year,” he said. “Now, I’m going to go mess up a little bit on the road course. Not being a total front contender. Then hopefully get back going with this upfront type of deal at Phoenix.”
Despite the skepticism for race No. 3, Hocevar will look to carry the momentum into next weekend when the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Circuit of the Americas for the DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne on Sunday, March 1, at 3:30 p.m. EST on FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and HBO Max.
