Racing in NASCAR Truck Series reminds Carson Hocevar why he loves racing

Anyone who knows anything about Carson Hocevar knows he absolutely loves racing. That much is clear as soon as you hear of him or meet him in person. 

Coming off his first career NASCAR Cup Series win at Talladega on April 26, Hocevar was just having fun while competing in Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Hocevar overcame a loose wheel and several late-race restarts to earn his sixth career Truck win and his second at Texas. 

The win is another trophy and check for Hocevar, but most importantly, it's a reminder to the 23-year-old from Portage, Michigan, that racing is fun — a reminder that can get lost in the grind of Cup racing.

"I was having so much fun out there," Hocevar said Friday after the race. "Sunday's [are] what's tough, and where we're judged and where all of us make our money. This is just fun. We get to remind ourselves that racing is the passion we all get to enjoy."

That doesn't mean Hocevar doesn't want to win. But he said he wouldn't have cried himself to sleep had he lost Friday's contest. 

"Ultimately, I think we are supposed to win this race, for sure," Hocevar said. "I might cry myself if we don't win Sunday for sure and think worse of myself. These truck races, I just hope it's a really, really fun race." 

A win in Sunday's Wurth 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1) certainly isn't out of the picture for Hocevar and the No. 77 Spire Motorsports group. Hocevar is eighth in the Cup standings through the first 10 races of 2026 and won the pole at Texas in 2025. 

Carson Hocevar's second Texas win was different from first

While Hocevar simply loves competing in Truck Series races, winning them makes them even more fun. 

Hocevar earned his first career Truck Series win at Texas in 2023, back when he was a hot prospect and Truck Series racing was the equivalent of the Cup Series grind to him. 

His first Texas triumph looked much different than his second. Hocevar led only one lap in his 2023 win, while he led 76 and won Stage 2 on Friday in a much more dominant showing. 

A very slow 24-second pit stop under green threatened to relegate Hocevar to a third-place result, but a barrage of late yellows allowed him to put his talent on full display. 

That doesn't mean Friday's win came easy. Hocevar relayed to his crew that he believed he had a loose wheel with 20 laps to go. 

The good news, at least in hindsight, was that Hocevar didn't really have the option of coming down pit road to fix the issue. His team had no sticker tires waiting in the pits, forcing Hocevar to tough things out and pray a tire didn't come off at speed. 

Hope isn't much of a strategy in racing, but it was the winning one for Hocevar. The loose wheel didn't cause any major issues for him down the stretch. 

"I felt like [the loose wheel] was limiting me," Hocevar said. "But I felt like on the restarts I kind of forgot about it. I still had my hands full for whatever reason. I was loose. But I thought we were still strong on restarts."

Hocevar was strong on restarts throughout Friday's race and was his usual aggressive self. Don't expect that aggression to cease on Sunday, where a red-hot Hocevar will chase his third NASCAR win in seven days.

Quotes provided by NASCAR Media.