Texas Motor Speedway (Fort Worth, Texas) — Carson Hocevar has had the best week.
Celebrating his first Cup victory, Hocevar enjoyed an epic celebration Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, a team party that night at sponsor Chili’s and a full week of interviews and appearances. Then he went out Friday night five days later and won the truck race at Texas Motor Speedway.
At no point has anyone at Spire Motorsports told him it was time to stop enjoying the win and focus on Texas.
Hocevar even tried to duplicate his Talladega celebration Friday night by sitting on the window sill and using his long legs to hit the throttle and drive the truck.
“I’m not going to do the whole ordeal, … but it’s so fresh that I feel like I would have disappointed people if I didn’t at least do something remotely to that nature,” Hocevar said in his post-race news conference.
Hocevar continued to build on his first Cup win by capturing the pole Saturday for the Cup race Sunday at Texas. And the 23-year-old Hocevar said he will continue to replicate what he did at Talladega — at least until he catches a beer thrown from the crowd.
Carson Hocevar got his first win in Cup at Talladega, then won the race in the Trucks Series five days later.
“I’ve been thinking about it, and I was like, ‘Man, I’m going to have to do this every time,’ and I’m all in on doing it on Sundays,” Hocevar said. “I’m all in until I catch whatever they throw at me, and then I’m done with it.
“Because it’s not finished, and I think that would just be super fun. … Throw whatever you want, I’ll be prepared for it. At least be creative about it. Don’t line up and do a chant of 5-4-3-2-1 like it’s a ring toss.”
At eighth in the standings, Hocevar knows every point is pivotal as he tries to be as high in points as possible so he can have more points for when the top-16 drivers in the standings have their points reset for the Chase after the regular season.
He mentioned that, despite all the fun he’s had this week, he has worked on Texas and is prepared for the race.
“They know me well enough [to know], I do not drink, so that they don’t fear about me being hungover strolling into the observe,” Hocevar mentioned. “In order that they have been all good there. However they know that racing means essentially the most to me, and I am by no means going to throw away a race.
Hocevar adopted up his win within the Truck Sequence at Texas by capturing the pole for the Cup Würth 400.
“I am tall sufficient and uncoordinated sufficient that my head cannot get too massive. In any other case, I am unable to stroll. Assume I am doing OK proper now.”
By racing in vans, he had the enjoyable and freedom to make aggressive strikes and never fear about factors.
“I feel we’re purported to win this race for certain, however on the identical time, I am not going to cry myself to sleep if we do not,” Hocevar mentioned. “I’d cry myself to sleep if we do not win Sunday and assume worse of myself.
“However these truck races, I simply hope it is a actually, actually enjoyable race and I get to take pleasure in it. And if I make 1,000 strikes, I’d make one unsuitable, however I am simply glad I’ve made 1,000 strikes. … There isn’t a excuse. When you’re a hero, it is best to take no matter they offer you and win with it.”
Profitable in a truck meant one thing to Hocevar along with the enjoyable.
“I have a look at myself loads completely different,” Hocevar defined. “I decide myself loads otherwise, however on the identical time, this implies loads to me, too, as a result of I feel the heroes that I grew up watching, they simply win all the things. … In the end, I simply take pleasure in each little little bit of this.”
