Carson Hocevar makes his ‘agenda’ clear for Texas after landmark NASCAR achievement 

Carson Hocevar is determined to stay ahead by making smart calls on pit road after earning his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series pole this Saturday. The Spire Motorsports driver is the youngest at just 22 years old to do so at Texas Motor Speedway.

Hocevar clocked a lap time of 28.174 seconds at 191.659 mph, edging out Hendrick Motorsport's William Byron by a razor-thin 0.014 seconds. The two will start in front for Sunday’s Würth 400, and Hocevar believes it will help his No. 77 Chevy gain track position on pit road.

"I think the most important for us is being able to determine our own fate a little bit more with pit road and how everybody's going to have different agendas at times of two, or none, or four, or whatever the case may be. Having to go all the way down pit road and have an open out is going to be super important for us of just trying to play that game and knowing that hopefully it clogs some other guys up and we could take advantage there," Carson Hocevar said (via NASCAR on Fox).

Carson Hocevar further said that pole position will also help him stay fast throughout the race, as the tires held up better during long runs in the practice and qualifying sessions. He was the fastest in practice earlier on Saturday and recorded a lap of 190.894 mph.

"I mean, the way the tires were in our long run, I hope so, definitely is going to be a lot more feasible. Having clean air, right, it shows up and able to run really fast lap times out of the get-go and hopefully qualify for 267 of them," Hocevar added.

Moreover, Hocevar, who registered his first Truck Series win at Texas Motor Speedway, also ran the Truck race Friday night. He was running high until a battery issue in the final stage cost him a shot at the win, and he ended up finishing 17th.

"The people wanted 77 back in Dallas" - Carson Hocevar's team after first Busch Light Pole award

Carson Hocevar joined Spire Motorsports for his rookie Cup Series season last year and had six top-10 finishes. His first top-10 in the Cup Series was also at Texas Motor Speedway in 2024.

"The people wanted 77 back in Dallas," Spire Motorsports wrote on Instagram.

So far this season, Carson Hocevar has had a runner-up finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway and a sixth-place finish at Talladega last week. The Portage, Michigan, native is ranked 20th in the points standings ahead of the 267-lap Würth 400, which begins at 3:30 pm ET on May 4.

The 1.5-mile track in Fort Worth, Texas, last saw Chase Elliott win the spring Cup race in 2024. Elliott will start the race from the 29th position. Kyle Larson, who won at Texas in 2021, qualified in fourth position, and Austin Cindric in third.