Carson Hocevar dropping to rear in Goodyear 400 at Darlington with issue on No. 77 Chevrolet

Carson Hocevar will start from the rear in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, per Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. Hocevar’s team changed an upper control arm on his No. 77 Chevrolet, an unapproved adjustment.

Hocevar was set to start from Row 8 alongside Justin Allgaier. He’ll now look to make his way to the front from the back in what could be a memorable race at Darlington.

This will be the first race at Darlington to use the new short track package, which features 750-horsepower, a three-inch rear spoiler, and fewer diffuser strakes. Tires will be a big story on the day, with it now being 18 years since the last repave at Darlington. Teams will be permitted 12 sets of Goodyear tires for their weekend allotment. The left-side tire was used at Darlington last season, while the right-side tire debuted this past September at Kansas Speedway.

Some drivers, such as Denny Hamlin, have predicted tire falloff in the neighborhood of four seconds. How it all plays out remains to be seen.

Carson Hocevar turning back the clock at Darlington

Darlington, typically home to Throwback Weekend, is a little different this season. NASCAR did not ask teams to run throwback paint schemes, but that didn’t stop the No. 77 team from doing so. Hocevar is running a Dale Earnhardt paint scheme which draws inspiration from the iconic blue and yellow car that Earnhardt drove during the 1981 season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. approves of the design. In fact, he called it his favorite ever paint scheme that his dad used throughout his Hall of Fame career.

“This is my favorite Dale Earnhardt paint scheme,” Earnhardt said last week on Dale Jr. Download. “It’s the 1981 car and it gets no love because ’81 was a lost year. The car is underrated. That yellow nose with those old vintage stripes is just, in my opinion, straight badass vintage.”