Hurricane Carson made landfall at EchoPark Speedway on Sunday. The National Weather Service has yet to comment, but several race cars are filing complaints.
Carson Hocevar very nearly pulled off his first NASCAR Cup Series victory. Instead, he settled for fourth — which sounds calm and respectable until you realize he spent 271 laps treating traffic like a mild suggestion.
The driver some have nicknamed “Hurricane Hocevar” was once again the afternoon’s chief disruptor, slicing forward after a flat tire put him a lap down and a loose window required repairs. By the end, he was in the thick of it, throwing his Chevrolet into holes that technically existed for about half a second.
He ran near the front most of the day, and when overtime arrived, it felt less like a possibility and more like destiny. On the first attempt, Hocevar saw a sliver of daylight up the middle just past the line and went for it. The gap snapped shut. Christopher Bell found the outside wall. Cue another restart.
That reset everything. Chevrolets lined up against Toyotas like it was a Detroit-versus-Japan trade summit. Bubba Wallace led the field to green, but a block on Hocevar stalled both of their momentum. Tyler Reddick slipped clear and disappeared. Wallace faded to eighth. Hocevar, who had been flirting with glory all afternoon, had to accept fourth — one year after finishing runner-up at the same track back when it was still called Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Afterward, Hocevar sounded like a man who had just sprinted through a tornado he may or may not have created.
“Yeah, I mean, I choked,” he admitted. “For our luck last year, well, I was like, if we just raced until the Busch Series length races, like stage two basically, we would be really good. Then it kind of goes to hell in a handbasket.
“Now I guess we’re really, really good this year at just getting to the white flag leading. Yeah, I went over to Briscoe and just kind of laughed. I thought it was the right spot, being on top and everything. Then I look in my mirror.
“I’m like, All right, perfect, he’s coming to me.
“Then they start going left, and I was confused for a second. Then I looked to my left and realized it was another Toyota. I’m like, he’s not going to push me.”
There’s something wonderfully honest about that moment — the split-second realization that brand loyalty outweighs optimism.
Hocevar knew he’d been aggressive.
“Yeah, I mean, I was taking every run. I don’t know — I’m sure I owe people apologies, but I think we’re all going for spaces and runs and everything.”
His No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet, he insisted, was worthy of the gamble.
“I was really happy with this No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet. Our car was really fast to go from two laps down to getting stage points and finishing fourth. Overall, it was a good points day for us. I was taking every run I could. I’m sure I owe people apologies, but I think we’re all battling for spaces and runs. At the end, all four tires were straight. My toe was knocked out, but it was still pretty fast. Pretty excited about a strong start to the season.”
All four tires straight. Toe knocked out. Fourth place.
For most drivers, that’s survival. For Hurricane Carson, it’s just another near miss — and a warning to anyone who thinks the next gap won’t be filled.
Greg was a writer for DriveTribe supporting Amazon's The Grand Tour and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, and a Masters degree in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek and a regular contributor to Forbes.
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