Carson Hocevar is trying to keep the celebration going. Five days after he won his first Cup victory at Talladega Superspeedway, the 23-year-old won the truck race at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday night and then captured the pole for Sunday’s Cup race.
Hocevar said he is still thinking about the way he celebrated at Talladega and that he is “all in on doing it on Sundays” if he wins again. He said he would keep at it until he caught whatever the crowd threw at him, adding that he does not drink and is not worried about losing focus before race day.
The run has put Hocevar in eighth in the standings, a position that matters with the top-16 drivers having their points reset for the Chase after the regular season. He said racing means the most to him and that he is never going to throw away a race, even if he is having fun along the way.
Hocevar’s first Cup win at Talladega came with an epic celebration and a team party later that Sunday night at sponsor Chili’s. He said Spire Motorsports had not told him to stop enjoying the win and turn his attention to Texas, which helps explain why the mood around his breakout week has stayed loose rather than careful.
That is the tension now: Hocevar is trying to live in the moment while also protecting a spot that could matter when the standings reset. He said he expects to be aggressive, because in truck races he just wants the action to be fun and believes a driver should take what the track gives and win with it. He added that he is tall enough and uncoordinated enough that his head cannot get too big, because otherwise he cannot walk.
For Hocevar, the message is simple. He is in position to keep building momentum, and Sunday at Texas will show whether the Talladega celebration was the start of a streak or just the loudest night of his season so far.