Carson Hocevar joins Spire Motorsports with multiyear deal
Carson Hocevar will move to the NASCAR Cup Series full time in 2024, becoming the driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet with a multiyear deal, the team announced Tuesday on FS1‘s “NASCAR Race Hub.”
The 20-year-old Michigan native branched into the Cup Series this year, registering an average finish of 22.5 in six starts — one for Spire Motorsports at World Wide Technology Raceway and five in the No. 42 Chevrolet for Legacy Motor Club, netting a best finish of 11th at Bristol Motor Speedway.
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Hocevar is currently competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs as the third-year driver of Niece Motorsports‘ No. 42 Chevrolet. The first of his three career wins came in April 2023 at Texas Motor Speedway, his breakthrough after four previous runner-up finishes.
His success in his full-time job continued through the regular season, and he scored wins at Nashville Superspeedway and Richmond Raceway before the postseason began. While he has yet to win through four playoff races this year, Hocevar has netted nine top-five finishes in his last 13 races, including a second-place finish in August at the Milwaukee Mile.
As a part-time driver in Cup, Hocevar has impressed in the No. 42 Chevrolet for Legacy Motor Club with four top 20s in five starts, the only exception coming at Talladega Superspeedway where he was involved in a late crash. The No. 42 car — piloted by Noah Gragson, Josh Berry and Mike Rockenfeller at various times — collected just three top-20 finishes this year in 26 races before Hocevar‘s arrival.
Hocevar correlates his on-track success to his extensive off-track work as a simulation driver for Chevrolet teams as the Next Gen vehicle entered Cup Series competition — his services utilized by Hendrick Motorsports and Trackhouse Racing ahead of his arrival at Legacy Motor Club.
“It’s similar to the truck,” Hocevar said Sept. 9 at Kansas Speedway. “That helps, but it’s more (that) I just have a lot of sim time in this thing. I started sim when the car was first introduced and I’ve been driving sim since, so I’ve seen how these cars build and develop and I bring a little bit of knowledge of what a real winning car should feel like.
“And when I ran Spire, they gave me the full access to rebuild that car and Legacy has given me the same thing. So I don’t want to toot my own horn — I’m not smart or anything and know the springs and shocks and all the everything — but I know what it’s supposed to feel like and I feel like for me to come in and elevate programs and help, it is more rewarding than just driving.”
Hocevar becomes teammates at Spire Motorsports with Corey LaJoie, who earlier this year signed a multiyear extension to remain driver of the team‘s No. 7 Chevrolet.
After Rockenfeller wheeled the car at the Charlotte road course, Hocevar will drive the No. 42 Chevrolet in each of the remaining four races of 2023, beginning on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
