Carson Hocevar to Hendrick Motorsports? NASCAR phenom responds

Carson Hocevar News Thursday, February 26, 2026 at 6:57 PM ET •By Graham Shaw

Carson Hocevar is a relative baby in NASCAR terms but already he is being tabbed as the future of the sport.

The brilliantly talented 23-year-old from Portage, Michigan has quickly become a fan favorite with his aggressive style of racing on the track, and his personality off it.

Hocevar - nicknamed ‘Hurricane’ - has been the biggest talking point in the sport this week after his controversial overtime move wrecked Christopher Bell at Atlanta on Sunday.

The Spire Motorsports prodigy came in for heavy criticism from current stars of the grid, including Joe Gibbs Racing great Denny Hamlin.

But as well as the controversy, there is also a significant amount of ability with Hocevar showing at both Daytona and Atlanta already this season that he is ready to fight for Cup Series wins in the No. 77 car.

Hocevar on Spire contract

Despite his relative lack of experience, one prevailing narrative in the sport is that the mighty Hendrick Motorsports will pretty soon swoop in to add Hocevar to its powerful roster.

Hocevar was asked about that possibility by Kenny Wallace, and it led to a fascinating response.

Wallace said: “The joke always is that Rick Hendrick is letting Carson Hocevar learn at Spire, and then you are going to be the main Cup driver over at Hendrick. What’s your thoughts on that?”

Hocevar was pretty categorical in his response - he is contracted longterm to Spire Motorsports (for a decade no less) and he is going absolutely nowhere.

He said: “I mean I signed a very longterm paper at Spire. I am there for the next decade. I asked in the contract negotiations basically if it could not even just say year, ‘oh if I have a pulse I’ll race for Jeff Dickerson’.”

Hocevar will continue his Cup Series season at COTA this weekend with the DuraMax Texas Grand Prix slated for a 3.30pm ET start on Sunday (FOX).