Carson Hocevar earns first NASCAR Cup pole, William Byron 2nd in Texas
Setting a fast time of 28.174s, Carson Hocevar was able to hang on for his first career pole in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet on Saturday. It's a front row lockout for Team Chevy with William Byron putting the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in second, just 0.014s behind Hocevar's pole lap. Hocevar was also the fastest driver in the practice session that immediately preceded qualifying.
"It's really big," smiled Hocevar. "It's really big for these guys. It's super impressive for what they've been able to do. This is the same group on pit road, off pit road, at the shop -- everyone working on the No. 77 is exactly the same as when I started here. It's just huge where we've been able to bring this team."
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Hocevar admitted that he can be hard on himself at times, and didn't think he "nailed that lap," despite going to the top of the board. "Super proud of this team," he continued. "I've never been number one pit stall and I've had a lot of issue s on pit road. We've had a lot of bad luck, so I finally get the number one pit stall and I'm pumped about that."
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
James Gilbert / Getty Images
James Gilbert / Getty Images
Last weekend's Talladega race winner Austin Cindric timed in third, leading the Ford camp. Kyle Larson was fourth and Hocevar's Spire Motorsports teammate Michael McDowell was fifth. Ty Gibbs led the Toyotas in sixth, followed by Josh Berry, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, and AJ Allmendinger.
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Defending Texas winner Chase Elliott will start deep in the field, only going fast enough for 29th. The good news is that he came from 24th on the grid to win here last year. He's not the only notable driver with some work to do on Sunday either with Ryan Blaney 24th, Kyle Busch 26th, Joey Logano 27th, Brad Keselowski 30th, and Ross Chastain 31st.
There were no incidents during the qualifying session. History shows that the pole-sitter has not been able to translate that into a Cup win at Texas in three years of the Nex Gen era, which is something Hocevar will surely be hoping to change tomorrow. Perhaps the practice here is paying off: Hocevar has already been on track racing this weekend, as the only Cup driver to also run the Truck race on Friday night. He was solidly in second place when a battery issue derailed his night.
Photos from Texas - Practice
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Ford
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Ford
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Noah Gragson, Front Row Motorsports Ford
Noah Gragson, Front Row Motorsports Ford
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota
Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Todd Gilliland, Front Row Motorsports Ford
Todd Gilliland, Front Row Motorsports Ford
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing Toyota
Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing Toyota
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota
Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota
James Gilbert / Getty Images
James Gilbert / Getty Images
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Austin Cindric, Team Penske Ford
Austin Cindric, Team Penske Ford
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Cody Ware, Rick Ware Racing Ford
Cody Ware, Rick Ware Racing Ford
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Riley Herbst, 23XI Racing Toyota
Riley Herbst, 23XI Racing Toyota
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
James Gilbert / Getty Images
James Gilbert / Getty Images
Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota
Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Ty Dillon, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Ty Dillon, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Justin Haley, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Justin Haley, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Noah Gragson, Front Row Motorsports Ford
Noah Gragson, Front Row Motorsports Ford
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Chevrolet
Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Chevrolet
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Logan Riely / Getty Images
Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images
Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images
Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Chris Graythen - Getty Images
Chris Graythen - Getty Images
Austin Cindric, Team Penske Ford
Austin Cindric, Team Penske Ford
Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images
Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
James Gilbert / Getty Images
James Gilbert / Getty Images
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