Carson Hocevar throws manufacturers under bus with blunt NASCAR verdict

Sian Jones Sun, September 6, 2026 at 12:10 PM UTC

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Carson Hocevar took aim at his manufacturer (Image: Getty)

Carson Hocevar has delivered a blunt assessment of Chevrolet, lowering expectations for the manufacturer as he looks ahead to the remainder of the NASCAR season.

The Spire Motorsports driver entered the championship fight fifth in the Cup Series standings, ahead of Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet stars Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott as the manufacturer's highest-ranked driver.

However, Hocevar is now less confident that the No. 77 can maintain that position, pointing to Chevrolet's lack of speed as a key reason for his concern. "I don't plan on really looking at the points. I'll see at the end of it where we stack up" said Hocevar.

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"Our cars aren't the fastest. Our manufacturers aren't the fastest. So it's tough to say you're gonna all of a sudden find speed in the last ten. You know, everybody kind of ramps up at the end.

"So for us, we're just going to enjoy it, see where it stacks up, and maybe the other guys come back to us, or, you know, we put together really good strong races. But I think they'll have to come to us rather than us go to them."

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July had been a strong month for Hocevar, but August proved to be a major setback for the No. 77 team. He finished 31st at Iowa Speedway, 37th at Richmond Raceway, 19th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and 38th at Daytona International Speedway, recording just one top-20 finish across the four races.

Hocevar also suffered two DNFs, with his Daytona race ending after contact with Ryan Preece on Lap 155. He was classified 38th after completing 154 laps, although the points reset for the Chase helped limit the damage. Hocevar had been 354 points behind Denny Hamlin before Daytona but entered the Chase just 80 points behind the No. 1 seed.

The reset, however, could not erase the concerns raised by the No. 77's struggles during the final month of the regular season. Hocevar does have reasons to believe he can turn things around, having finished fourth at Darlington in March after charging through the field from the rear. Talladega also returns later in the postseason, where Hocevar claimed his first Cup Series victory.

Spire Motorsports can also draw on experience within its team. Crew chief Luke Lambert and competition director Matt McCall were part of Ryan Newman's Richard Childress Racing team during the 2014 Chase, when Newman finished runner-up to Kevin Harvick in the championship.

That experience means Spire is not treating Hocevar's No. 12 seed as a final verdict on his title hopes. Hocevar appears to share that belief, despite the setbacks he endured during the closing weeks of the regular season.

"I think our team morale-ish or motto is more so we're playing with house money." the 23-year-old added.

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Source: “AOL Sports”