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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Hocevar Tallies Hard Fought Third at Nashville

Hocevar showcased his competitive form in a grueling race at Nashville. (Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)

Hocevar showcased his competitive form in a grueling race at Nashville. (Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)

Carson Hocevar may have finished where he started in Friday night’s Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. However, a third place result was a great confidence booster for the 19-year-old Portage, Michigan native.

Prior to 14th round of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, Hocevar’s recent results were feast or famine.

Notably, he pulled back-to-back runner up results at the Bristol Dirt and Darlington races before placing 15th at Kansas. Taking fourth at Texas, the personable racer finished a heartbreaking 16th before suffering an ankle injury from a crash at Gateway.

With relief help from Daniel Suárez, Hocevar was credited with a sixth place finish before an engine failure cost him a shot at winning at Knoxville.

Undoubtedly, the fourth year Truck racer headed into Nashville trying to keep his head up high despite the recent rollercoaster swings.

Hocevar drove a determined race at Nashville. (Photo: Cayden Rush | The Podium Finish)

Hocevar drove a determined race at Nashville. (Photo: Cayden Rush | The Podium Finish)

“Our No. 42 Worldwide Express team is more than ready to break out of this recent stretch of bad luck with a strong run in Nashville,” he said in a team press release. “We’ve shown a lot of speed of late and it’s only a matter of finishing races as we get into the last few races before the start of playoffs. The confidence within this team has never wavered and we’re looking forward to a strong run in Nashville.”

Hocevar kicked off the weekend by qualifying third, his ninth top 10 qualifying effort of the season. Placing sixth following stage 1, Hocevar overcame some contact with John Hunter Nemechek as he made his march up the leaderboard in the final stage.

During the final 10 lap dash to the finish, Hocevar caught leader, Ryan Preece, and stage 1 winner, Zane Smith. On the final lap, it looked like Hocevar would take second from Smith before being bested at the stripe.

Settling for third, Hocevar considered the positives from an eventful race night at the 1.33-mile concrete speedway.

It was a valiant podium finish for Hocevar. (Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)

It was a valiant podium finish for Hocevar. (Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)

“We started third and restarted 36th twice,” Hocevar said. “And I managed to get back up to third. It was good to finally just finish a race and not having anything dumb or blow a good finish. We were able to persevere and do what we had to do with a little bit of strategy.”

Maintaining his eighth place points standings ranking, Hocevar and his Truck rivals have a week off until race 15 of 23 of the season. The O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio on Saturday, July 9 (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1), the penultimate event of the regular season, awaits the competitive Truck field.

Rob Tiongson is a 30-something motorsports journalist who enjoys sports like baseball, basketball, football, soccer, track and field and hockey. A Boston native turned Austinite, racing was the first sport that caught his eyes. From interviews to retrospective articles, if it's about anything with an engine and four wheels, it'll be here on TPF, by him or by one of his talented columnists who have a passion for racing. Currently seeking a sports writing, public relations, or sports marketing career, particularly in motorsports. He enjoys editing and writing articles and features, as well as photography. Moreover, he enjoys time with his family and friends, traveling, cooking, working out and being a fun uncle or "funcle" to his nephew, niece and cat. Tiongson, a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, pursues his Master of Arts in Digital Journalism at St. Bonaventure University. Indeed, while Tiongson is proud to be from Massachusetts, he's an everywhere kind of man residing in Texas.

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