Carson Hocevar lets his feelings flow after ‘disappointing’ two days delivers Michigan heartbreak

Carson Hocevar made his feelings known about Sunday's NASCAR Cup race at Michigan International Speedway (June 8), where a flat tire ruined what could have been a dream finish on home turf.

Following a second place finish at Nashville, Hocevar was leading the FireKeepers Casino 400 with just 18 laps to go when the left rear tire of his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet gave out. He had to pit and ultimately finished 29th. The 22-year-old saw a similar disappointment on Saturday, during the Truck race in Spire Motorsports' No. 7 truck. Hocevar started second but a tire issue and penalty dropped him to 11th.

In a post on X, the Portage, Michigan native mentioned the race weekend and wrote:

"Two days in a row with a flat LR leading.. today is a little more disappointing. Thankful to be upfront all weekend at home. headed home with our heads held high. 👍"

Carson Hocevar

@CarsonHocevar

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two days in a row with a flat LR leading.. today is a little more disappointing. thankful to be upfront all weekend at home. headed home with our heads held high. 👍

Hocevar, who qualified in 14th place, quickly moved up the field. He finished the first stage in 10th position and was in the top three by the end of Stage 2. The No. 77 team opted for an aggressive fuel strategy. Hocevar stayed out front hoping for a late caution to save fuel and hold onto the lead.

He took the lead on Lap 152 and was about four laps short on fuel but the team's decision to conserve fuel and control the race fell apart when the flat tire left them with no chance to recover.

In a post-race interview with Bob Pockrass, he explained that they wanted the best chance to stay competitive if a yellow flag came.

"It was going to be near impossible to save four laps around this place for how fast we were going. So you kind of knew that, but you wanted to save a little bit and the only reason we're saving wasn't to save to make, it was obviously saved just trying to keep our pit stop short," Hocevar said.

Hocevar's left rear tire went flat on Lap 182 of the 200-lap race, which forced him to pit, lose the lead and any chance of winning.

"I'm like that's not right" - Carson Hocevar on early tire warning

During the same interview with Bob Pockrass, Carson Hocevar mentioned his relief about getting his first flat on a high-speed track with no major incident. He also elaborated on feeling something was wrong just before his tire went flat.

"I'm obviously really thankful it happened down the back stretch of two because I had a moment in late exit of 2, and I'm like that's not right. And then it sat down. I've never really had a flat at these high-speed tracks. I'm glad I got that feeling without it hurting or just being a big moment," Carson Hocevar said (00:30).

Carson Hocevar earned 17 points last weekend and dropped one spot in the Cup points standings to 18th place.