NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar (77) has to pit with a flat tire after leading much of the final stage of the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The late pit stop dropped Hocevar to a 29th-place finish. Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Flat tire dooms Carson Hocevar's bid for Michigan victory

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jun 8, 2025 6:22 PM ET

A week after he tied his career-best finish with a runner-up finish at Nashville, it looked like everything was coming together for Carson Hocevar to score his first NASCAR Cup Series victory at his home track in Michigan International Speedway.

Fuel mileage didn't appear to be in Hocevar's favor, as while those behind him were in a position to save enough gas to make it to the finish, Hocevar was not. It was going to take a miracle in order for Hocevar to make it to the checkered flag on gas.

Any chance of that miracle working out vanished when Hocevar cut down a tire with 19 laps to go. The No. 77 was forced to crawl down pit road, and Hocevar was relegated to a 29th-place finish.

"There's nothing I could go back and be like, 'we could be better' in this moment to win the race," Hocevar told NBC Sports' Dustin Long. "Just wish we would've had that opportunity to see if we would've had a fighting shot at the end."

#NASCAR … Carson Hocevar finished 29th after leading late in the race, another gut punch for team that has been fast and close to wins. Hocevar on what was going through his mind after the race. pic.twitter.com/qWY5SiISTe
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) June 8, 2025

Despite the unfortunate result, it's the third week in a row where Hocevar and the No. 77 team have had a legitimate winning pace. That's a good sign as Hocevar continues his push towards his first career playoff berth.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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