'I Screwed Us a Little Bit': Carson Hocevar Reflects on Michigan Heartbreak After Cup Win Pursuit Falls Short Again

It turned into a heartbreak-filled afternoon as William Byron, ready for a win, surrendered the lead to conserve fuel with four laps remaining, only to run dry with a lap and a half to go, handing the win to Denny Hamlin. Meanwhile, Carson Hocevar, who showed both pace and skills, suffered a deflating end when a flat left-rear tire derailed his charge to the front in the closing laps.

With 20 laps left, the race shaped into a two-man duel between Byron and Hocevar. But misfortune came calling — fuel woes for Byron and tire trouble for Hocevar pulled both contenders out of the hunt.

Riding the wave of a career-best runner-up finish at Nashville, Hocevar led a personal-best 32 laps at his home track in Michigan. The No. 77 crew knew the final stint was tight on fuel, estimating they would run dry with about four laps remaining.

That scenario never had a chance to play out, as the flat tire sent Hocevar to pit road with 18 to go, extinguishing hopes of a maiden Cup win on home soil.

“I felt like I screwed us a little bit by going a little early to put us in that fuel number,” Hocevar said after the race. “You lose the race both ways, right? You either run out (or this).

“But they should probably go to bed a little bit (easier) that somehow, some way we ran something over or something in the universe wanted a left-rear flat.”

He nursed the wounded Chevrolet to the checkered flag, but limped to a 29th-place finish, just behind Byron, who ran out of gas with less than two laps left.

The script felt eerily familiar. Just a day earlier in the Craftsman Truck Series race, Hocevar led with eight to go before a flat left-rear tire forced him to pit. He shook off the frustration and rallied on Sunday, only to suffer the same cruel twist of fate.

Hocevar also aired his feelings online but made it clear he wasn’t hanging his head. He posted, “Two days in a row with a flat LR leading… Today is a little more disappointing. Thankful to be upfront all weekend at home. Headed home with our heads held high.”