Carson Hocevar acknowledged on Saturday that the wreck that cost him dearly in last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway was the result of a miscalculation on his part.
On Lap 237, Hocevar ran Ryan Preece into the outside wall off Turn 2 in a crash that also collected Cody Ware. Preece fell out of the race in 29th place. Hocevar was able to continue and finished 24th.
The driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet discussed the incident with Preece earlier this week
“I thought it was very productive,” Hocevar said. “I thought he heard my point of view, and I heard his, right? I think we have a really good understanding to go forward. I just kind of explained my positioning of it.
“I (had) just passed the 17 (Chris Buescher) and I really didn’t expect the 60 (Preece) to be a factor in the equation. I started unwinding the wheel to get out of (Todd Gilliland’s) wake and try to be on offense. I found myself on defense, in the wake; crossing… and now (Preece is) on my door. It just shocked me.
“I just explained that I wasn’t trying to put him in a bad spot and be aggressive. I tried to unwind the wheel and track out to the wall, and I didn’t expect a car to be there. That’s on me for not predicting it and not expecting it.”
A day earlier, Hocevar had earned the first Cup Series pole position of his career. He led the first 22 laps and finished sixth in each of the first two stages.
The end result, however, was a learning experience.
“I wasn’t looking in my mirror when I felt like I should have been,” Hocevar said. “Knowing if you were to rewind the clock, if I knew the result, I would do something different. But at the time, I felt like I knew the situation, and I would probably do the same thing again.
“But knowing the result, (if) I get in that spot again, you’re going to be more cognizant and aware of that.”
