- Carson Hocevar shocks the field with a second NASCAR win in the same week.
- Spire Motorsports driver outdueled Kyle Busch at Texas to take the Truck win.
- Hocevar shows a touch of swagger after his Texas Truck Series win.
It was a tremendous week for Carson Hocevar. Last Sunday, he broke through with his first Cup win at Talladega. Riding that momentum, he returned on Friday night and did it again, this time at Texas Motor Speedway, taking the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in overtime. The track holds history for him, as it is the same venue where he bagged his first Truck victory.
Hocevar made his move when it mattered, driving past Gio Ruggiero on the outside through Turns 3 and 4 as the field took the white flag. The pass sealed his second win in five days, coming right five after his Cup win at Talladega Superspeedway.
Carson Hocevar bags his sixth win of the series
Starting from P11, Hocevar wasted no time climbing through the field. By the end of Stage 1, he was already running inside the top two. He kept the pressure on and went on to win Stage 2.
The final stage, however, turned into a hustle. Ruggiero held the lead with two laps remaining in regulation after the restart with six laps to go. Then came a pileup. A crash involving Jake Garcia, Justin Haley, Conner Jones, and Tanner Gray brought out the yellow at Lap 165, leading to a red flag for cleanup for the second time in the closing 15 laps.
But the overtime led to a finish to remember. On the final lap, Ruggiero found himself boxed in three-wide, lost control for a moment, and slid sideways. He managed to keep the truck off the wall but dropped down the order, crossing the line in 14th.
Up front, Hocevar led a 1-2 finish for Spire Motorsports, with teammate Kyle Busch taking second, while Kaden Honeycutt, Brandon Jones, and Ben Rhodes rounded out the top five. Layne Riggs finished sixth, followed by Daniel Hemric in seventh, Christian Eckes in eighth, Ty Majeski in ninth, and Chandler Smith in 10th.
Busch, the winningest driver in the series, returned to the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet but ran into trouble early. On Lap 13, he hit the wall exiting Turn 4, forcing an unscheduled stop under green after a flat right-front tire. The setback dropped him off the lead lap until Stage 2, when he got the free pass following a caution on Lap 51 triggered by a crash involving Cole Butcher.
Apart from the St. Petersburg race, Hocevar has competed in every Craftsman Truck Series event this season. NASCAR has expanded the allowance for Cup drivers, permitting up to eight Truck Series starts, up from five in prior seasons.
In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Cup drivers can take part in up to 10 races.
So far, Hocevar has made six starts in the Truck Series, and in his sixth outing, he claimed his sixth Truck win, which came at Texas, having earlier finished P2 in the second race of the season at Atlanta.
Hocevar gets a bit cocky after his Texas win
With 68 wins in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Kyle Busch has long been the benchmark for many drivers who grew up watching him. For Hocevar, finishing ahead of Busch carried a lot more significance than anyone could imagine.
“We had to reverse order. Obviously, the 1-2 with Kyle. I watched him win a lot of truck races, and it’s finally good to put an end to his Texas streak,” Hocevar said.
Reflecting on the race, which saw him deal with concerns over a loose wheel, regroup for restarts, and fend off both Ruggiero and Busch, Hocevar pointed to what set the No. 77 team apart.
He said, “I mean, the cocky answer would be the difference is what’s in the seat, for sure. But we were really good on restarts. These guys do a really, really good job.”
“It’s been a struggle on the truck side, but I’m so thankful to get it done here. You know, with Al Nis, I saw him. You know, great to do it, though, with Spire and Jeff to get a one-two.”
