“I didn’t really like it, but it’s a good sign”: Carson Hocevar offers unfiltered verdict on his trouble at NASCAR All-Star Open

Carson Hocevar let his feelings be known following the conclusion of the NASCAR All-Star Open race at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. Despite winning the qualifying race for the main All-Star Race at the same venue, Hocevar shared his candid thoughts about his car and did not shy away from vocalizing his displeasure.

Hocevar had an impressive outing in the Open race qualifying after he managed second place behind pole sitter Shane van Gisbergen. Despite starting from second place, the Spire driver held on to his place and moved to the race lead in the 55th lap.

In the end, the #77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver led 46 laps and crossed the finish line to win the All-Star Open. Hocevar came home ahead of Legacy Motor Club's John Hunter Nemechek. As a result, both Hocevar and Nemechek qualified for the All-Star Race later on Sunday.

Despite winning the Open race, the Spire man revealed that the team had to work on his car. Speaking to Frontstretch after the Open race in an unfiltered way, here's what Hocevar said:

"Yeah, super big for this group, this team. It's great to win, especially being challenged by tires there. I had my hands full. We definitely have to go to work here on our race car because I didn't really like it, but it's a good sign that we didn't like it and we were still pretty quick there."

"Hopefully, we can take advantage of it. I've seen Kasey Kahne win and Dale and others win from the Open and stuff. Maybe we can take that advantage of having this notebook and move forward early and be able to take this Indiana Fever and Gainbridge Chevy up front.," Hocevar further added.

Even though Carson Hocevar qualified for the All-Star Race, he failed to make use of it and bring home a decent result. The Spire Motorsports driver started the race from 21st place, behind Denny Hamlin and ahead of John Hunter Nemechek.

However, he came home in 11th place, behind RFK Racing's Chris Buescher and ahead of JGR's Denny Hamlin. Hamlin's teammate, Christopher Bell, went on to win the race as he crossed the line ahead of 2024 All-Star Race champion Joey Logano.

---

Carson Hocevar's statistics coming into 2024 Cup Series

Carson Hocevar (77) during NASCAR All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway - Source: Imagn

Carson Hocevar has been very impressive at the NASCAR Cup Series this season. Hocevar, who hails from Portage, Michigan, is the lead Spire Motorsports driver so far, who claimed 230 points after 12 races and is placed 19th in the driver standings.

The 22-year-old driver, who is under full-time obligation with Spire, claimed a pole position, a Top 5, two Top 10s, and led 36 laps. However, the #77 driver also faced three DNFs. His average start position has been 17.333, and his average finish position has been 22.167.

Carson Hocevar joined the Cup Series as a part-timer at Spire Motorsports in 2023. However, he also drove for Legacy Motor Club briefly before signing for full-time on a multi-year deal for Spire in 2024.