Top Dog: Carson Hocevar
The last road course race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season brought about one of the most challenging tracks on the circuit: the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
Road courses have proven to be either feast or famine for the underdogs, with the ROVAL being no different.
In this year’s rendition of the Bank of America ROVAL 400 (Oct. 13), there wasn’t much feasting up front, but instead plenty of hunger to go around for NASCAR’s dark horses. At the head of the table was a familiar driver as the top dog, Carson Hocevar.
The rookie finished 12th, just shy of another top 10 on what has been a freshman campaign full of success.
Hocevar’s opening stage was fairly modest, gaining two spots from his 20th-place starting position to finish 18th. Aside from turning Brad Keselowski in turn 7, stage two was deja vu for the No. 77, as Hocevar finished the stage in 18th again.
Unfortunately, Hocevar’s incident with Keselowski wasn’t the only brush he had with over-aggression.
Shortly after the final stage began, Hocevar spun another car in turn 7, this time with Shane van Gisbergen while battling for 11th.
The moment didn’t phase Hocevar, who drove into the top 10. The Portage, Mich. native remained in that position for much of the final stage before losing spots to drivers with fresher tires, ultimately setting him up for the 12th-place result.
Hocevar’s run-ins certainly will spur questions of his style, but his results have been speaking louder. Quietly, the freshman has been one of the most consistent drivers in the field over the course of the second half of the year. In the last 18 races, Hocevar has finished 18th or better in 15 of those contests.
That has boosted his average finish to a solid 18.3, which is inside the top 20 for full-time drivers. His 20 top 20s also rank 14th in the field this season.
As the 21-year-old continues to come into his own, road courses have also been a sneaky good track type for him. In the five road course races this year, Hocevar averaged a finish of 15.6, recording a top five and three top 20s. That will prove vital in the future, especially with Mexico City being added to the schedule next year.
Notable Underdog Runs
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. came into the ROVAL with an extra pep in his step, and perhaps the least stress of most drivers after winning at Talladega Superspeedway last week. That confidence led to a solid 16th-place showing…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …