Carson Hocevar moves a step closer to taming NASCAR Cup Series with Nashville result
LEBANON, Tenn. — Carson Hocevar apologized. No, not for the contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., a matter Hocevar said he needed to review. And Hocevar didn't apologize for being a bull in a china shop, at least that's how some competitors see him.
After matching his career-best finish of second Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway, Hocevar apologized — for cutting an interview short.
'I'm about to throw up,' he said.
The 22-year-old turned and walked over to the infield grass and did just that. He felt better afterward and resumed talking to reporters.
Nothing is ordinary with Hocevar, who reminds one of a bucking bronco yet to be quite fully tamed, full of energy and able to force others to react to what they do.
Even Nashville winner Ryan Blaney acknowledged what Hocevar has done with Spire Motorsports this season.
'Spire has been really, really fast this year,' Blaney said after his first victory of the season. 'Mainly the 77 (Hocevar). He's been really, really good and had a great shot to win that race last week and ran really good tonight.'
Nate Ryan,
Hocevar seems to be closing on his first career Cup victory, provided he can harness his talent and his team can execute a clean race. It all almost came together Sunday.
Then again, that victory might have come the previous week in the Coca-Cola 600 had his engine not blown while he was running second with less than 100 laps to go.
'We're right on the doorstep,' Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson told NBC Sports after Sunday's race at Nashville Superspeedway. 'That was different from (the Coca-Cola 600) where we had a bunch of speed early and often. This was more of a workmanlike, mature finish for the group. I'm proud of (Hocevar).
'We still had our drama there. I wish he would have just cut Ricky a break more than anything. I don't know if that was entirely on Carson, but I do expect him to cut a guy a break like that. That's all part of the building block. I'd rather be having that discussion with him after a second-place run than 32nd.'
Hocevar has noted that he's continuing to learn but also ready to win, saying this weekend: 'I feel like I know how to win. It's just being able to be detailed enough to have it work out.'
And avoiding issues with competitors.
After he finished runner-up at Atlanta in February, the second-year Cup driver had multiple drivers upset with him. Blaney and Ross Chastain talked to him after the race about his driving.
While acknowledging he had room to grow on the track, he remained confident in what he was doing.
'We're here to win races and not be a boy band and love each other and play on the playground together,' Hocevar said at the time.
Dustin Long,
Hocevar is the third young driver that Luke Lambert has been paired with throughout his 13-year Cup career as a crew chief and those experiences are helping him connect with Hocevar more.
'I think what I've learned in working with different rookies and now with Carson is so much about managing expectations and building the mental toughness to be a Cup driver, which you really can't develop without the experience of driving in this series. … The mental toughness required to manage these Cup races is really where the difference is made.'
So how does Lambert help Hocevar with that?
'It's a 24/7 focus on discipline,' Lamber said. 'Our focus is to develop the right amount of discipline for him without killing his creativity. That requires conversations about everything that happens on the track but also conversations that happen about everything in your life in between races.'
Lambert calls Hocevar 'one of the most creative race car drivers I've ever been around in that he finds ways to do things with the car that other guys wouldn't have thought of or he may not have seen another guy do before.'
Hocevar's finish moved him to within four points of Kyle Busch, who holds the final playoff spot with 12 races left in the regular season. After starting 26th, it made the accomplishment even more meaningful.
'Super proud of our group and what we're doing right now,' Lambert said on the team's radio after the race. 'We are proving that we are heading in the right direction. We're going to keep it up. The fact that we rallied and got this finish tonight is just another example of we're heading in the right direction.
'Good magic for next week. Let's have some fun.'
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