What a week it has been for Carson Hocevar - an impressive start to the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season and a new long-term contract.
On Wednesday in Winston-Salem, Hocevar began his year with a 15th-place finish in the No.77 car for Spire Motorsports.
Just 24 hours later, the team put its future in the hands of the 23-year-old from Portage, Michigan by handing him a new deal which runs ‘into the next decade’.
While Hocevar has ruffled a few famous feathers in the past year - he has had notable beef with the likes of Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ryan Blaney and Zane Smith.
Despite those controversies though you cannot deny two things about the man himself - he is a breath of fresh air for the sport and he is progressing in terms of talent and results.
After claiming Cup Series Rookie Of The Year honors in 2024, the man they now call ‘Hurricane’ improved again with a pair of top-five finishes and nine in the top 10 in 2025.
Now Spire clearly expects its star pupil to take another big leap, and are rewarding him by building a team around him. And Wednesday’s action at frigid Bowman Gray Stadium was a nice first repayment from Hocevar.
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Kyle Petty on Hocevar potential
One man who was super impressed by a performance which flew under the radar was NASCAR legend turned analyst Kyle Petty. He is high on Hocevar’s potential and not afraid to broadcast the fact.
He said: “I’m gonna tell you, I said it at the time and I’m gonna say it again here. Get used to Hocevar running up front.
“You other drivers, you can whine about it, you can complain about him - ‘he does this, he does that, he got into my door a little bit and he moved me out of the way’. He’s gonna be there, he’s gonna race you and he’s gonna beat you at some point in time so get used to it. And he did it again tonight.
“All I heard all night long was how Ryan Blaney drove from 16th to the front - what about Hocevar - did the same, he drove to the front.”
Promising start to 2026 for Spire Motorsports
It was a very promising night for Spire, which also had new boy Daniel Suarez finish in fourth position in his first start in the No. 7 Chevrolet.
Petty continued: “I give those guys huge kudos for coming out and putting two cars who could run consistently in the top five.
“Yeah they didn’t finish where they wanted to, they didn’t end up where they wanted to, but they proved they can race with these guys.”
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