Carson Hocevar

Carson Scott Hocevar (born January 28, 2003) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports, part-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro SS for Young's Motorsports, and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports. He has previously competed in the ARCA Menards Series. He is a former member of the Drivers Edge Development driver development system.

Racing career Early career

Hocevar began competing in quarter midgets at the age of seven, winning 79 feature races and fifteen national championships. with nine top-ten finishes and two pole positions.

In 2019, Hocevar joined the Driver's Edge Development Program.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Hocevar made his NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series debut in the 2019 Eldora Dirt Derby driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Silverado for Jordan Anderson Racing. He qualified for the main event by finishing third in the third qualifying race. He returned to the series in November at the Lucas Oil 150, driving a No. 56 for JAR in a partnership with Hill Motorsports.

On December 20, 2019, Hocevar joined Niece Motorsports for a nine-race schedule in 2020.

On September 24, 2020, Hocevar and Niece announced a full-season schedule in 2021. During the season, Hocevar would have a very successful rookie season, nearly winning multiple races. He finished second at Charlotte and fourth at Las Vegas. He re-signed with Niece in 2022.

On June 4, 2022, Hocevar broke his right tibia at the ankle during the final lap of the Gateway race when his truck was T-boned by Tyler Hill. He underwent surgery prior to the Sonoma race. Hocevar took the pole position before wrecking in turn 10. On lap eleven, he was relieved by Daniel Suárez, who took the No. 42 to a sixth-place finish.

Hocevar started the 2023 season with a twelfth-place finish at Daytona. He scored his first career win at Texas in double-overtime after race leader Nick Sanchez made contact with Zane Smith on the final lap and Hocevar unintentionally spun Sanchez from behind. Hocevar also scored wins at Nashville and Richmond. He won at Homestead to make the Championship 4. During the race, he spun out Corey Heim, which also collected Stewart Friesen. After that, Heim retaliated on Hocevar so he finished 29th. After Heim slammed him on the turn 4 wall in retaliation for spinning him earlier in the race, he also finished fourth in the final points standings. After NASCAR penalized Heim 25 driver points for intentionally wrecking him, Hocevar was credited with a third-place points finish.

On April 18, 2025, it was announced that Hocevar would drive part-time for Spire Motorsports in their No. 7 truck in four races. In his second start with Spire, he would earn his fifth career win at Kansas.

On January 29, 2026, it was announced that Hocevar would run the season opening race at Daytona, running the No. 77 truck for Spire. He won his sixth career race at Texas.

NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Hocevar takes his damaged car out of the race at Nashville Superspeedway in 2023. On March 7, 2023, Spire Motorsports announced that they will expand their racing operations to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, with Hocevar running six races in their No. 77 car, making his debut in the series at Circuit of the Americas in the No. 07 for SS-Green Light Racing He was initially on the entry list for the race at Dover Motor Speedway, but was withdrawn due to the weather providing the risk of qualifying being canceled. His debut with the team was thus scheduled for the next race at Darlington Raceway. He would finish sixth at Darlington and eighth at Charlotte Motor Speedway but would DNF at Nashville Superspeedway.

On February 24, 2025, it was announced that Hocevar would drive for SS-Green Light Racing with BRK Racing, replacing Garrett Smithley at COTA. He was involved in an early wreck, earning a 38th place DNF. On July 30, shortly after Josh Williams was released by Kaulig Racing, it was announced that he would drive the No. 11 for the team at Iowa.

NASCAR Cup Series 2023: Part-time

On May 30, 2023, Hocevar was named the driver of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Camaro ZL1 for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway Motorsports Park after Spire's full-time driver Corey LaJoie would fill in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy while HMS driver Chase Elliott served a one-race suspension. He finished in 36th place after suffering a brake rotor explosion going into turn 1 in the second stage on lap 91 while running in 16th place. Hocevar drove the Legacy Motor Club No. 42 (originally driven by Noah Gragson, then by Josh Berry and Mike Rockenfeller on road courses after Gragson was suspended prior to the Michigan race) to a 17th-place finish at Darlington. He then scored a career-best 11th-place finish at the Bristol night race. On October 4, Hocevar was signed to drive the No. 42 for the remainder of the season, except at Homestead-Miami where the team's 2024 driver John Hunter Nemechek drove in the No. 42 car instead.

2024–present: Spire Motorsports

On October 10, 2023, Hocevar announced on NASCAR Race Hub that he would bypass competing full-time in the Xfinity Series to join Spire Motorsports in the Cup Series full-time for the 2024 season, driving the No. 77 car under a multi-year deal. Hocevar started the season with a 40th place DNF at the 2024 Daytona 500 after an early crash. He scored his first career top-ten finish at Texas. At Nashville, Hocevar spun out Harrison Burton during a caution lap; as a result, he was fined 50,000 and docked 25 driver points. At Richmond, Hocevar would score his third top-ten finish of the season, tying his best finish of eighth. In qualifying for the regular season finale at Darlington, Hocevar put the 77 car on the front row, qualifying second. It was the best starting spot for Spire Motorsports in the team's history, along with Hocevar's best starting spot for his own Cup career. Unfortunately, Hocevar would crash on Lap 335 and would DNF in 33rd place. At Watkins Glen on September 15, Hocevar once again eclipsed his best career NCS finish for the third time in 2024 with a third-place finish, leading a triple top-ten for Spire Motorsports and even contending for the win in the final restarts. At the end of the season, he won the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award.

Hocevar started the 2025 season with a 30th-place DNF at the 2025 Daytona 500. The following week at Atlanta, Hocevar improved upon his career best finish with a second place in which he was battling three wide behind Christopher Bell and ahead of Kyle Larson when a caution flew coming to the checkered flag during an overtime restart. At Texas, he would earn his first career Cup Series pole. At Nashville, Hocevar again tied his best finish of second, losing to Ryan Blaney. Following the Mexico road race, Spire Motorsports fined Hocevar 50,000 and ordered him to undergo cultural-sensitivity and bias-awareness training for making scathing comments regarding his experience in Mexico City during a livestream. During the Hollywood Casino 400, Hocevar spun, and after safety personnel had arrived at the crash scene, officials indicated that Hocevar revved and spun his tires in an attempt to rejoin the field while those safety workers attended to his car. On October 1, Hocevar was fined US$50,000 for member conduct violations.

Hocevar started the 2026 season with an 18th-place finish at the 2026 Daytona 500 after taking the white flag in the lead but being subsequently spun from behind entering turn one. Despite the spin, it was the first time Hocevar finished the Daytona 500 in three attempts. On April 26, he scored his first career win at Talladega. After doing a burnout in front of the start-finish line, Hocevar backtracked down the frontstretch and turned around to face the normal direction of traffic. After struggling to get in position, he popped the clutch to get the car rolling and climbed onto the door sill of the car where he proceeded to drive the car slowly while hanging out of the driver's window. Hocevar nearly hit the wall shortly after getting rolling while he reattached the steering wheel, but caught the car and maneuvered back onto the racing surface, celebrated with his upper body hanging out of the car, and nosed into the wall to do another burnout. When asked why he chose that celebration, Hocevar stated that he was inspired by Dale Earnhardt Jr's celebration at the 2014 Daytona 500 and wanted the fans to see that he was grateful for and enjoying their celebration, which would in turn make them more excited.

At San Diego, Hocevar was spun while battling eventual race winner Corey Heim, after which the two exchanged barbs on social media. Later in the season, after a race at Chicagoland Speedway in which the two were involved in an incident together, Zane Smith attacked Hocevar on the Racin' With the Boys podcast for his aggression and for being inconsistent in his personal conduct with other drivers. Smith claimed that Hocevar would at times act apologetic and amenable after incidents when directly interacting with other drivers, but contrarily act smug and arrogant on social media when amidst a controversy, a pattern of behavior Smith described as cowardly.

Driving style Hocevar's very aggressive and somewhat reckless driving style has been met with polarized opinions from fellow drivers, sports journalists, and fans. He was given the nickname of "Hurricane Hocevar" by announcer Leigh Diffey.

Personal life As a child, Hocevar raced Quarter Midgets and was exposed to many notable drivers through his father, Scott, who worked as a crew member and sponsor for various local teams. Through this connection, Carson was heavily mentored by Bryan Clauson, for whom Scott Hocevar served as a crew member. Later, he was also mentored by Johnny Benson, who was sponsored by Carson's father. This allowed Carson to work as a mechanic on Benson's racecars and later drive for him in his Outlaw Late Model program. Hocevar is the son of Scott and Amy Hocevar. He graduated from Gull Lake High School in 2021. In 2026, he had been teasing that he had a celebrity crush with singer Sabrina Carpenter. He attended the 2026 Met Gala with E!. He also said that he hoped to run into Carpenter.

In media In March 2025, Hocevar became a member of NASCAR on Fox Cup driver-only broadcast team for the 2025 Baptist Health 200 at Homestead–Miami Speedway, working as a pit reporter. In 2026, Hocevar filled in for High Limit Racing as a pit reporter. He said he watches High Limit frequently.

Motorsports career results

Stock car career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Points Position 2018 ARCA Racing Series KBR Development 3 0 2 2 645 31st 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Jordan Anderson Racing 2 0 0 0 29 62nd ARCA Menards Series KBR Development 12 0 4 10 2320 12th 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Niece Motorsports 7 0 0 0 125 37th 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Niece Motorsports 22 0 3 8 2204 10th ARCA Menards Series 1 0 1 1 40 72nd 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Niece Motorsports 23 0 7 12 2186 10th ARCA Menards Series West 1 0 0 0 44 65th 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Spire Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0 NC† Legacy Motor Club 8 0 0 0 NASCAR Xfinity Series SS-Green Light Racing 1 0 0 0 0 NC† Spire Motorsports 4 0 0 2 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Niece Motorsports 23 4 11 13 4008 3rd 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Spire Motorsports 36 0 1 6 686 21st 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Spire Motorsports 36 0 2 9 702 23rd NASCAR Xfinity Series SS-Green Light Racing with BRK Racing 1 0 0 0 0 NC† Kaulig Racing 1 0 0 1 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Spire Motorsports 4 1 1 1 0 NC† As Hocevar was running for points in the Truck Series, he was ineligible for championship points in the Cup and Xfinity Series.

NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series NASCAR Cup Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Pts Ref 2023 Spire Motorsports 7 Chevy DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH BRD MAR TAL DOV KAN DAR CLT GTW SON NSH CSC ATL NHA POC RCH MCH IRC GLN DAY 48th 0 Legacy Motor Club 42 Chevy DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 2024 Spire Motorsports 77 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO BRI COA RCH MAR TEX TAL DOV KAN DAR CLT GTW SON IOW NHA NSH CSC POC IND RCH MCH DAY DAR ATL GLN BRI KAN TAL ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 21st 686 2025 DAY ATL COA PHO LVS HOM MAR DAR BRI TAL TEX KAN CLT NSH MCH MXC POC ATL CSC SON DOV IND IOW GLN RCH DAY DAR GTW BRI NHA KAN ROV LVS TAL MAR PHO 23rd 702 2026 DAY ATL COA PHO LVS DAR MAR BRI KAN TAL TEX GLN CLT NSH MCH POC COR SON CHI ATL NWS IND IOW RCH NHA DAY DAR GTW BRI KAN LVS CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -*

Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 2024 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 9 40 2025 33 30 2026 6 18

O'Reilly Auto Parts Series NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Pts Ref 2023 SS-Green Light Racing 07 Chevy DAY CAL LVS PHO ATL COA RCH MAR TAL DOV 83rd 0 Spire Motorsports 77 Chevy DAR CLT PIR SON NSH CSC ATL NHA POC ROA MCH IRC GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX ROV LVS HOM MAR PHO 2025 SS-Green Light Racingwith BRK Racing 14 Chevy DAY ATL COA PHO LVS HOM MAR DAR BRI CAR TAL TEX CLT NSH MXC POC ATL CSC SON DOV IND 85th 0 Kaulig Racing 11 Chevy IOW GLN DAY PIR GTW BRI KAN ROV LVS TAL MAR PHO 2026 Young's Motorsports 42 Chevy DAY ATL COA PHO LVS DAR MAR CAR BRI KAN TAL TEX GLN DOV CLT NSH POC COR SON CHI ATL IND IOW DAY DAR GTW BRI LVS CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -*

Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Pts Ref 2019 Jordan Anderson Racing 3 Chevy DAY ATL LVS MAR TEX DOV KAN CLT TEX IOW GTW CHI KEN POC ELD MCH BRI MSP LVS TAL MAR 62nd 29 56 PHO HOM 2020 Niece Motorsports 40 Chevy DAY LVS CLT ATL HOM POC KEN TEX KAN KAN MCH DRC DOV GTW DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL KAN TEX 37th 125 42 MAR PHO 2021 DAY DRC LVS ATL BRD RCH KAN DAR COA CLT TEX NSH POC KNX GLN GTW DAR BRI LVS TAL MAR PHO 10th 2204 2022 DAY LVS ATL COA MAR BRD DAR KAN TEX CLT GTW SON KNX NSH MOH POC IRP RCH KAN BRI TAL HOM PHO 10th 2186 2023 DAY LVS ATL COA TEX BRD MAR KAN DAR NWS CLT GTW NSH MOH POC RCH IRP MLW KAN BRI TAL HOM PHO 3rd 4008 2025 Spire Motorsports 7 Chevy DAY ATL LVS HOM MAR BRI CAR TEX KAN NWS CLT NSH MCH POC LRP IRP GLN RCH DAR BRI NHA ROV TAL MAR PHO 78th 0 2026 77 DAY ATL STP DAR CAR BRI TEX GLN DOV CLT NSH MCH COR LRP NWS IRP RCH NHA BRI KAN CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM -* -*

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points

ARCA Menards Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Menards Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pts Ref 2018 KBR Development 35 Chevy DAY NSH SLM TAL TOL CLT POC MCH MAD GTW CHI IOW ELK BLN POC ISF DSF IRP SLM KAN 31st 645 2019 28 DAY FIF SLM TAL NSH TOL CLT POC MCH MAD GTW CHI ELK IOW POC ISF DSF SLM IRP KAN 12th 2320 2021 Niece Motorsports 50 Chevy DAY PHO TAL KAN TOL CLT MOH POC ELK BLN IOW WIN GLN MCH ISF MLW DSF BRI SLM KAN 72nd 40

ARCA Menards Series West ARCA Menards Series West results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts Ref 2022 Niece Motorsports 40 Chevy PHO IRW KCR PIR SON IRW EVG PIR AAS LVS PHO 44th 65

CARS Super Late Model Tour (key) CARS Super Late Model Tour results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Pts Ref 2018 N/A 14 Chevy MYB NSH ROU HCY BRI AND HCY ROU SBO N/A 0 2020 N/A 14H Chevy SNM HCY JEN HCY FCS BRI FLC NSH N/A 0

CARS Pro Late Model Tour (key) CARS Pro Late Model Tour results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pts Ref 2023 N/A 14 Chevy SNM HCY ACE NWS TCM DIL CRW WKS HCY TCM SBO TCM CRW 64th 16

ASA STARS National Tour (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.) ASA STARS National Tour results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts Ref 2023 Scott's Racing 14H Chevy FIF MAD HCY 16th 199 14 NWS MLW AND WIR TOL WIN NSV 2025 Ed VanMeter 77 Chevy NSM FIF DOM HCY NPS MAD SLG AND OWO TOL WIN NSV 58th 37 2026 Wauters Motorsports NSM FIF HCY SLG MAD NPS OWO TRI TOL WIN NSV NSM -* -*