Carson Hocevar compares Spire Motors' performance to Rick Hendrick’s HMS despite a catastrophic end to his hometown NASCAR race

Leading 32 laps at Michigan International Speedway, Carson Hocevar seemed all set to win his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday. All he needed was a late caution, during which he would go down to the pit road to refuel. But that never happened.

Instead, the left rear tire on his No. 77 blew up, forcing him to settle for a disappointing P29 finish, one lap down. That being said, Hocevar was able to keep his ride from crashing out. Furthermore, at one point during the race, he was outrunning the Hendrick Motorsports drivers, which, to him, is an achievement on its own.

Detailing the same during a post-race interview with Frontstretch’s Stephen Stumpf, the Michigan native said (4:40),

“I'm sure if Jeff Dickerson (owner, Spire Motorsports) was down here, you know, we saw Mr. H earlier. You know, his little blank as he would say; we were outrunning two of Mr. H's cars... ultimately that's great for all of us, all three up there, but it's just crazy.”

“You step back in time, you know, everybody likes to say six years, five years... but step back a year or two years, where this team was at all those places,” Carson Hocevar added.

2025 is shaping up to be a stellar season for Carson Hocevar. The series' sophomore sits 18th in the championship standings with two top-fives, three top-10s, and 304 points to his name.

---

Denny Hamlin lauds Carson Hocevar following dismal Michigan outing

Carson Hocevar is still knocking on the door to his maiden Cup Series victory. The good thing is that he’s young and has a lot of time ahead of him to be successful. But not everyone does.

After winning Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway, Denny Hamlin said more on the same. He will turn 45 this year, and given that most drivers retire in their late 40s, the Tampa, Florida native might not be around for long either.

“Where I don't feel sorry for him is he actually is half my age and so I know he's got way more time to win those races," said the Joe Gibbs Racing driver (via Autoweek). "You can't run as fast as he's running, being up front as much as he's up front, without eventually winning.”

Denny Hamlin has been critical of Hocevar’s aggressive racing style on his Actions Detrimental podcast many times before. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t see the talent. To him, Carson Hocevar could be one of the five or six elite drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“He's got all the tools. He's got all the pieces to the puzzle right there in front of them. He's not missing anything. When he figures out how to put it all together, he's going to be a future star,” Hamlin added.

Next up for the drivers is the Viva Mexico 250 at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Scheduled for Sunday, June 15, the 100-lap event will mark the sport’s first time holding a points event outside of the USA since 1958. Fans can watch it on Amazon Prime Video, 3 pm ET onwards, or listen to live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.