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New York Times
a day ago
- Automotive
- New York Times
For Carson Hocevar, heartbreak on his home track as first Cup win stays elusive
BROOKLYN, Mich. — If Carson Hocevar allowed himself to dream of the possibility, it would've been understandable. Here he was, leading on his home track, Michigan International Speedway, and his first-career NASCAR Cup Series victory felt within reach. Hocevar knew better, though, so he held off thinking about what it would be like. The talented 22-year-old kept his attention focused forward on Sunday afternoon. Too much could still happen, even with so few laps remaining. He knew he was low on fuel and likely needed a caution to make it to the finish. And there was also the chance something beyond his control could prevent what would've been a popular win before his home state fans. Advertisement It's a good thing Hocevar didn't begin envisioning what that win would've felt like because it would've only compounded the disappointment he felt leaving the track after a flat tire suffered with 18 laps remaining derailed his bid. Instead of a euphoric victory, he finished 29th, a deflating result he admitted stung. 'We did everything right,' Hocevar said. 'We never lost the lead by our own doing. We lost it by a tire going away.' A flat tire forces @CarsonHocevar to pit road late 😱 #NASCARonPrime — Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) June 8, 2025 Hocevar may not have even made it to the end of the 400-mile race without needing another pit stop, with his Spire Motorsports team expecting his fuel tank to run dry with about four or five laps remaining. Still, the team was going to go for it. The team presented Hocevar with the option of either slowing down to conserve fuel or continuing to run hard and hoping for a caution that would've aided their cause, helping save fuel due to the slower speed. Without hesitation, he answered 'caution.' For a young driver like Hocevar, still coming into his own, an opportunity like this isn't common yet — even if he had one of the fastest cars on the track for a third consecutive race. Nor has Spire, though full of promise and certainly on the upswing, yet evolved into a powerhouse team contending for wins on a near-weekly basis. For both parties, this is still new territory. And this was the big takeaway crew chief Luke Lambert shared while dissecting the calls made over the final laps. 'It's hard on all of us, but we got to just step back a little bit and look at where we are, running consistently in the top three,' Lambert said. 'That, in and of itself, is an accomplishment. And if we keep doing that, our day is coming, and we just have to recognize that and focus on controlling what we can control.' Advertisement Because of the flat tire, we'll never know if Hocevar's gambit of pushing it on fuel would've worked. It's likely he would've had to pit, just as second-place William Byron and others were forced to do. There is a strong chance Hocevar would've lost either way. Still, a win was on the table and slipped away. And that this was Michigan, of all places, only added to the heartbreak. 'It's such a double-edged sword,' Hocevar said. 'There's nothing I could go back and just be like, we could be better in this moment to win the race or not. There are so many moments where we're just like, 'Man, I just wish we had that opportunity to see if we even would have had a fighting shot at the end at these races.' I'd much rather be in these spots and have these things happening than be slow.' When Hocevar stepped out of his car, he grabbed a snack, then walked around pit road, alone, to collect his thoughts. He then discarded the Uncrustable after only a few bites, obviously frustrated. This season has put Hocevar on a rollercoaster. Two weeks ago at Charlotte, he had an engine failure while running second. Last week at Nashville Superspeedway, he placed second, matching his career-best finish from earlier this year at Atlanta Motor Speedway. But Nashville, like Atlanta, also saw him immersed in controversy for exhibiting a level of aggressive driving many of his competitors felt crossed a line. All of which has made him a somewhat polarizing figure. Many young drivers go through these trials early in their careers. Hocevar, the 2024 Rookie of the Year, is just the latest example. And similar to those before him, he'll have to learn to navigate the delicate balance of not shying away from what makes him a special talent and knowing when to choose his spots to be aggressive. 'I certainly give him his fair share of s— on Mondays on my podcast, but that doesn't mean that I don't respect his talent,' said Michigan race-winner Denny Hamlin, who at age 44 is the oldest full-time driver in the series. 'Absolutely just a superstar when it comes to actual raw talent. When he figures out how to harness that, pick and choose the moments where he is aggressive, he's going to put it all together and just be the next whoever. Advertisement 'There are five to six elite drivers in this field. He can be one of those five or six very easily when he puts it all together.' Eventually, Hocevar will put it all together. And likely soon. His first-career win is very much on the horizon. If one or two things had unfolded differently in any of the past three races, and he'd be celebrating in victory lane. But he sure would've loved to have had it happen on Sunday. And after it didn't, there was only way to summarize what he was feeling. 'It's unfortunate,' Hocevar said. (Photo of Carson Hocevar leading the pack during Sunday's Cup Series race in Michigan: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
Fox News
a day ago
- Automotive
- Fox News
Denny Hamlin wins Michigan, taunts crowd while awaiting third child
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Denny Hamlin could feel nerves during the race Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. His fiancée, Jordan Fish, was six days past due with their third child and Hamlin and his team had decided if they got past Lap 50 of the 200-lap race, he wouldn't be told if she went into labor. Things worked out for Hamlin. He won at Michigan and 90 minutes after the race, was still at the track doing media. He talked about why he needs to be at the birth, baby names … and fierce taunts of the crowd in Michigan. That's Hamlin, living amid chaos and then creating even more for himself. "I don't want to be so ho-hum with winning that it's boring because then I lose my drive," Hamlin said. Hamlin, who has a group of friends who are Ohio State fans, gave the "O" sign to the Michigan crowd and resurrected his line that he told his father he wouldn't use anymore as he crowed to the crowd: "I beat your favorite driver." The boos reigned and Hamlin chuckled. "I do thrive on it just simply because you feel like you've got 60,000 people that are rooting against you," Hamlin said. "When you have that, it just feels really, really good and gratifying to prove them wrong. "I love that feeling." Hamlin had spent Saturday night in Michigan as Fish had not had any labor symptoms. Fish posted an Instagram story late in the race that she was at home. "I felt decent enough about it," Hamlin said. "We had to set some sort of cutoff of whether I was going to finish or not. "So I was very nervous last night and then this morning to getting the call because I knew I had a race-winning car after yesterday." Hamlin is known to run well, even with outside distractions. And he has the additional drama of the race team he owns (but doesn't drive for) 23XI Racing embroiled in a lawsuit against NASCAR. Earlier in the week, the team was dealt a blow in the U.S Court of Appeals and faces the prospect of the 23XI Racing cars not being chartered in a few weeks. It seems that he has been able to focus when he's at the track since that lawsuit was filed last October. The worries about missing the birth of his child, though, seemed to weigh on him more. With JGR simulator driver Ryan Truex at the track, in case he needed to leave, Hamlin knew the team was prepared for him to leave if Fish went into labor. He knew he had a strong car and had a good feeling about the race. Granted, Hamlin didn't have the fastest car. Chris Buescher probably did, but his car wiggled as he tried to run down the leaders late in the race. This cost him valuable momentum and he ended up coming across the line a second after Hamlin. William Byron had a strong car, but like many others, he had to save gas near the end, relinquishing the lead with less than four laps to go and then running out with a little over a lap remaining. Hamlin's team made sure he had enough fuel on the final stop to be on the attack at the end. And he executed flawlessly to the finish. And his wife was still at home, posting on Instagram near the end of the race. "I was a little nervous just because we put the Lap 50 cutoff," Hamlin said. "If it happens before Lap 50, I just go ahead and get out, just because of the time. "If it was after, I thought that by the time she gets her s--- together and gets to the hospital, all that stuff? You just never how it all turns out. But I think I can make it, as long as I had a three-hour window." It marked the third win of the year for Hamlin and his 57th career victory in his 701st start. Now it's on to Mexico City, and Hamlin indicated he would be willing to stay home if Fish has not given birth by the weekend. Obviously, it is a much longer flight from there than it would have been from Michigan to his North Carolina home. NASCAR would grant Hamlin a waiver to miss a race and consider it for medical reasons, meaning he would still make the playoffs and get to keep playoff points earned during the season. "It's the bigger picture. You never know when you'll ever have another one," Hamlin said about wanting to be home for the birth of the child. "You may not. I've been really supportive of her, the way that she wants to have this play out, which is as natural as possible. "Everyone asks, 'Why don't you just schedule, schedule, schedule?' I don't know. You've just got to let her decide in these situations. If it causes me to miss a race, it's one of 701 races that I missed and it's just not that big of a deal." His team owner, Heather Gibbs, when asked earlier about whether she was nervous for Hamlin, quipped: "It's funny, because I have four [children]. They [husbands] don't really do anything. When he gets home, he'll be home. It was good." Hamlin's response: "Well, that is true. I've been in the room before, and she needs something really hard to grab onto, and my hand is perfect for it. I'm definitely going to be there this week — hopefully — to hold her hand." The same could have been said for the way Hamlin grabbed the lead just when he needed to and held on for the victory. "He kind of thrives in chaos, right?" Heather Gibbs said. "It was true, we wanted to get him in the car. ... He's as cool as they come, that's for sure." Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Washington Post
Denny Hamlin wins at Michigan for his 3rd NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Denny Hamlin is pulling off quite a juggling act. Hamlin outlasted the competition at Michigan International Speedway for his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and 57th of his career, juggling his roles as a driver, expectant father and co-owner of a racing team that's suing NASCAR. 'The tackle box is full,' Hamlin said Sunday. 'There's all kinds of stuff going on.' Hamlin, in the No. 11 Toyota, went low to pass William Byron on the 197th of 200 laps and pulled away from the pack to win by more than a second over Chris Buescher. 'Just worked over the guys one by one, giving them different looks,' he said. Ty Gibbs finished third, matching a season best, followed by Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson. The 44-year-old Hamlin was prepared to leave his team to join his fiancée, Jordan Fish, who is due to give birth to their third child, a boy. If she was in labor by Lap 50 or sooner at Michigan, he was prepared to leave the track. Hamlin said he would skip next week's race in Mexico City if necessary to witness the birth. To add something else to Hamlin's plate, he is also co-owner of 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, which is involved in a lawsuit against NASCAR. He drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, which hadn't won at Michigan in a decade. 'I think it's the most underrated track that we go to,' said Hamlin, who has won three times on the 2-mile oval. Hamlin became JGR's winningest driver, surpassing Kyle Busch's 56 victories, and the 10th driver in NASCAR history to win after his 700th start. 'It feels good because I'm going to hate it when I'm not at the level I'm at now,' he said. 'I will certainly retire very quicky after that.' Hamlin's team set him up with enough fuel to win while many drivers, including Byron, ran out of gas late in the race. 'It really stings,' said Byron, the points leader, who was a season-worst 28th. 'We just burned more (fuel) and not able to do much about that.' Hamlin, meanwhile, wasn't on empty until his celebratory burnout was cut short. Pole-sitter Chase Briscoe was out front until Byron passed him on Lap 12. Buescher pulled ahead on Lap 36 and stayed up front to win his first stage this season. Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott took turns with the lead before a crash involving Alex Bowman brought out the red flag on Lap 67. Byron took the lead again after a restart on Lap 78 as part of his strong start and surged to the front again to win the second stage. Carson Hocevar took the lead on Lap 152 and was informed soon thereafter that he didn't have enough fuel to finish, but that became moot because a flat tire forced him into the pits with 18 laps to go. Hocevar faded to a 29th-place finish, a week after he was second to match a career best at Nashville, where he created a buzz with an aggressive move that knocked Ricky Stenhouse Jr. out of the race. Bowman hit a wall with the front end of his No. 48 Chevrolet as part of a multi-car crash in his latest setback. 'That hurt a lot,' he said after passing a medical evaluation. 'That was probably top of the board on hits I've taken.' Bowman, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports, came to Michigan 12th in points and will leave lower in the standings. He has finished 27th or worse in seven of his last nine starts and didn't finish for a third time during the tough stretch. Defending race champion Tyler Reddick qualified 12th, but started last in the 36-car field because of unapproved adjustments and rallied to finish 13th. NASCAR shifts to Mexico City for its first points-paying international race in modern history on June 15. ___ AP auto racing:
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Michigan delivers another heartbreaking finish for Carson Hocevar
BROOKLYN, Mich. —While other drivers climbed from their cars after Sunday's 400-mile race at Michigan International Speedway, Carson Hocevar sat in his vehicle on pit road. When he finally emerged from his No. 77 Chevrolet, Hocevar walked around the car and briefly looked off to the distance toward Denny Hamlin's victory celebration. It was another gut punch for the 22-year-old Michigan native. Advertisement The caution Hocevar needed to stretch fuel to the end of the race never came and a flat tire forced him to pit from the lead 19 laps from the finish. The result was a 29th-place finish that most will forget but not Hocevar. 'It's just like (reliving) the Truck days,' Hocevar said on pit road. 'But you're doing it in front of a big stage. The difference is I felt like I was throwing them away. Now, they're getting taken away … things out of our control.' NASCAR: NASCAR Cup Series Race at Michigan Denny Hamlin wins fuel-mileage battle at Michigan International Speedway The Joe Gibbs Racing star took the lead from William Byron on Lap 197 of 200. Advertisement While Hocevar seems poised to score his first Cup career win, heartbreak has hounded him this season. Sunday just added to a growing list. Consider: His engine blew while he ran second in the final stage of last month's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. At Texas last month, he pitted from sixth in the final stage. The caution came two laps later, putting him a lap down and forcing him to take a wave around to get back on the lead lap. If he had pitted a lap later, he likely would have been in a prime spot to win. Instead, he finished 24th. At Bristol in April, he was running third when his team had a 22-second pit stop, ending any chance at victory. Hocevar finished 11th. Advertisement That doesn't include last week's runner-up finish at Nashville that was clouded by his controversial contact that wrecked Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and led to the drivers and their crew chiefs having conversations during the week. Alex Bowman Michigan Alex Bowman on Michigan crash: 'That hurt a lot' Alex Bowman walked away from a vicious crash in Sunday's crash at Michigan. Sunday's pain was evident in Hocevar's downbeat voice on the radio after the race when he told the team in a soft voice: 'Good job everybody.' Crew chief Luke Lambert quickly added: 'Great work guys. I know that's heartbreaking. Great work. We're putting ourselves in position. We'll keep working. We'll get us there. We'll get us one soon.' Advertisement Lifting up the team becomes one of Lambert's key roles right now. 'It's hard on all of us,' Lambert said of the recent disappointments. 'We got to just step back a little bit and look at here we are … running constantly in the top three. That in it of itself is an accomplishment. If we keep doing that, our day is coming.' Hamlin agrees. NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 Denny Hamlin is back to being the villain, provoking Michigan crowd after win Denny Hamlin told fans he beat their favorite driver and did part of an Ohio State cheer in front a crowd that featured many University of Michigan fans. 'You can't run as fast as he's running, being up front as much as he's up front, without eventually winning,' Hamlin said. 'I know that panic sometimes can set in. It's like, 'God, we lost this opportunity.' Advertisement 'But he's with a team that is on the rise. He is on the rise. It's just a matter of time. None of us would be shocked if it's next week or a month from now or whenever it is. 'I certainly give him his fair share of (grief) on Mondays on my podcast, but that doesn't mean that I don't respect his talent. 'Absolutely just a superstar when it comes to actual raw talent. When he figures out how to harness that, pick and choose the moments where he is aggressive, he's going to put it all together and just be the next whoever. There's five to six elite drivers in this field. He can be one of those five or six very easily when he puts it all together.'
National Post
2 days ago
- Automotive
- National Post
Denny Hamlin wins at Michigan for his 3rd NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season
BROOKLYN, Mich. — Denny Hamlin outlasted the competition at Michigan International Speedway, winning his third NASCAR Cup Series race this season and the 57th of his career on Sunday. Article content Hamlin, in the No. 11 Toyota, went low to pass William Byron on the 197th of 200 laps and pulled away from the pack. Article content Article content The 44-year-old was prepared to leave his team to join his fiancee, Jordan Fish, who is due to give birth to their third child, a boy. Article content Hamlin said he would skip next week's race in Mexico City if necessary to witness the birth. He's also co-owner of 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, which is involved in a lawsuit against NASCAR. Article content Chris Buescher finished second, followed by Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson. Article content Pole-sitter Chase Briscoe was out front until Byron passed him on lap 12. Buescher pulled ahead on lap 36 and stayed up front to win his first stage this season. Article content Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott took turns with the lead before a crash involving Alex Bowman brought out the red flag on lap 67. Article content Byron took the lead again after a restart on lap 78 as part of his strong start and surged to the front again to win the second stage. Article content Carson Hocevar took the lead on lap 152 and was informed soon thereafter that he didn't have enough fuel to finish, but that became moot because a flat tire forced him into the pits with 18 laps to go. Article content Rough times for Bowman Article content Bowman hit a wall with the front end of his No. 48 Chevrolet as part of a multi-car crash in his latest setback. Article content 'That hurt a lot,' he said after passing a medical evaluation. Article content Bowman, who drives for Hendrick Motorsports, came to Michigan 12th in points and will leave lower in the standings. He has finished 27th or worse in seven of his last nine starts and didn't finish for a third time during the tough stretch. Article content Reddick rallies Article content
