"Glad we didn't tear up": Carson Hocevar finds silver lining amid flat tire setback at Michigan

Leading a career-high 32 laps at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, Carson Hocevar was poised for the win. But the Chevy star knew he would fall short on fuel with about four laps to go. All he needed was a late-race caution, during which he would have committed to the pit road for a refill.

Instead, Hocevar got a flat tire with 18 to go, which had him surrender the lead to William Byron and forced him to settle for a P29 finish, one lap down. Needless to say, it wasn’t the finish that the Michigan native was hoping for. However, he was happy that he was able to keep his car from crashing out. During a post-race interview Carson Hocevar told journalist Bob Pockrass,

“I’m just, I’m obviously really thankful it happened down the backstretch off two because it had a moment in the late exit of two, 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.”(00:30)

“So, I’m glad I got that feeling without it hurting, you know, or just being a big moment, especially for how good that car was, I’m glad we didn’t tear it up,” he added.

Hocevar will wheel the No. 77 Chevy Camaro ZL1 again next week at the Viva Mexico 250. The race has been scheduled for Sunday, June 15, at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. This is going to be the first time for the NASCAR Cup Series to host a point-paying race outside of the US since 1958.

William Byron remains the leader in points, although a P28 finish nerfed what could have been a strong points day for the Hendrick Motorsports ace. Carson Hocevar sits 18th on that list with 304 points, two top-fives, and three top-10s to his name.

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Denny Hamlin doesn’t feel sorry about Carson Hocevar’s lackluster Michigan outing

Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, won the FireKeepers Casino at Michigan, marking his 57th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. That being said, the Florida native knew it could have been Carson Hocevar for the win had the latter not blown up his tire.

But Hamlin didn’t feel sorry for the 22-year-old speedster. Carson Hocevar has plenty of time ahead of him to be successful. Detailing the same, Hamlin said in a statement (quoted by Autoweek),

“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. You can't run as fast as he's running, being up front as much as he's up front, without eventually winning.”

“He’s with a team that's on the rise, he is on the rise. It's just a matter of time. None of us will be shocked if it's next week, a month from now or whenever it is,” he added.

Denny Hamlin will turn 45 this year in November, and given that most drivers retire before 50, one could assume that the man isn’t going to be around for long. Last week in Nashville, he recorded his 700th career start in the series. As per reports, he is the 10th driver to win a race following their 700th start.