Carson Hocevar's Pocono recovery dubbed 'save of the year' by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Carson Hocevar nearly took himself out after a spin at Pocono Raceway but managed to gather up his car and continued on. The move earned him high praise from Dale Earnhardt Jr., who hailed it as 'the best save of the year.'

On lap 19 of The Great American Getaway 400, Hocevar lost control of his rear and slid sideways, clipping the outside wall as a result. The slide was so severe that his roof flaps were deployed, but despite the chaos, the No. 77 driver regained control and managed to keep the car on track.

However, the near miss wasn't without consequences, as he dropped a spot from his third-place run. Earnhardt took notice of the incident and delivered a verdict from Prime Video's broadcasting booth.

"Just a really, really huge slide contact with the right rear. That is the best save of the year. I think it's got to be a contender. I mean, I know the wall straight him out, but seriously, man, this car is wrecked," he said via X/Sports on Prime.

Carson Hocevar would go on to lead the race at one point before dropping down the order after a pit stop on lap 86. He ultimately finished 18th, slipping one spot from his 17th-place run at the 'Tricky Triangle' last year.

Nonetheless, the result marked a positive shift after his two straight finishes outside the top 20 at Mexico (34th) and Michigan (29th).

---

"It sucks": Carson Hocevar on his strained relationship with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Ahead of Sunday's 400-mile event at Pocono Raceway, Carson Hocevar reflected on his run-in with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in Mexico. He spun out Stenhouse while being a lap down, which drew the wrath of the Hyak Motorsports driver post-race.

During Sunday's (June 22) race, Hocevar was yet again closing in on Stenhouse for third when his team had to radio in a word of caution. Fortunately, the two put on a clean race, while many predicted Stenhouse would take out Carson if given the chance.

Reflecting upon his current terms with Stenhouse, Hocevar said (via X/Jeff Gluck),

“I feel like we have a good relationship or had one. I was just running behind him, just kind of logging laps and just locked up in a very dumb spot. And it was just so dumb, really. Just a mistake that didn’t need to happen and didn’t want it to happen."

“But there’s nothing that I could do or say. You know, I can’t buy him a Hallmark card and, really make things better. So, it sucks," he added.

Carson Hocevar also shared that he'd have loved to talk sprint cars with Stenhouse, since the 37-year-old is the only NASCAR driver who owns a sprint car team.