Top Dog: Carson Hocevar
As NASCAR Raceday was rolling prior to the Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway (March 10), several drivers were leaving the drivers’ meeting and merged onto the red carpet.
If you watched this segment, which featured the broadcast trio of Chris Myers, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, you may have seen one driver easily hover above all other people standing there.
That was none other than Carson Hocevar, who stands at nearly 6 feet 4 inches, a staggering height for a NASCAR driver. Figuratively, that could be used to describe his positioning among the underdogs in Phoenix, as he topped all others in 15th.
For the second week in a row, Hocevar landed a top-10 starting spot. In his pre-race interview, Hocevar gleamed with enthusiasm, describing the No. 77 team’s early season speed as “ahead of schedule,” and he put that on full display off the bat.
The momentum quickly carried into the race, as Hocevar stood firm inside the top 10 for much of stage one before sliding back to 15th by stage end.
However, his race was nearly doomed during the stage break, as he was forced to make a second stop with a loose wheel. The hiccup caused him to fall as many as two laps down, and he finished the stage in 32nd.
Fortunately for the rookie, a relatively calm race saw several cautions to open the final frame, allowing Hocevar to get back on the lead lap. He stormed back through the field from there to match his season-high finish of 15th through four races.
The Portage, Mich. native’s speed and raw talent has been evident through the first four races. His three consecutive top-20 finishes have all come in the face of adversity. A late crash at Atlanta Motor Speedway pushed him back to 19th. At Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he overcame a flat tire to finish 15th, leading into another recovery at Phoenix.
When issues avoid him in races going forward, keep a close eye on the No. 77.
And while we’re only four races into 2024, don’t look now, but Hocevar leads the Rookie of the Year Standings by 11 points.
How Does it Compare?
Matched up against recent runs by underdogs, Hocevar’s top 15 wasn’t the best finish in recent history, but it was comparable.
Michael McDowell finished ninth in the season finale this past November. McDowell also topped the underdogs in the 2023 spring race in 13th. In 2022, AJ Allmendinger landed a 12th-place result in the fall race, while Ross…
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