Carson Hocevar has never been one to shy away from a tough conversation. NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge has added a fun twist to the usual Cup Series routine.
Hocevar, who wasn’t a top seed in the bracket, has found himself right in the mix. And after last weekend’s wild race in Atlanta, he gave us one of the most honest takes yet. And as he suggested, it didn’t go as smoothly as the box score might suggest.
Mental Slip for Carson Hocevar at the Quaker State 400
Heading into the first round of the In-Season Challenge, most fans had Ryan Blaney knocking out Hocevar in their predictions. Blaney performs much better than Hocevar on a normal day. Whereas Hocevar is still chasing his first Cup Series win. But NASCAR always has a history of being unpredictable.
During the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway), Blaney got caught in a crash around Lap 57. That led to Blaney’s race ending early and losing the matchup against Hocevar. However, Hocevar soon ended up spinning himself just a short while after. For a moment, even Hocevar thought his race was over, but he still ended up defeating Blaney.
“I remember at Atlanta, when Blaney wrecked, it was just like, oh, okay, well I guess we’re moving on no matter how this race goes,” Hocevar told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. ” And then we wrecked. I was like, well, at least we’re moving on. And then we got back to tenth. But for a minute there in that wreck, I thought we were done. I was like, well, at least we’re moving on.”
We’ll take it. pic.twitter.com/UOyDVMCBc5
— Spire Motorsports (@SpireMotorsport) June 29, 2025
Despite the spin, Hocevar somehow pulled off a 10th-place finish. He admitted that this $1 million adds a different element to the races. Drivers won’t be disappointed if they have a bad race, but end up winning in their In-Season Challenge match-up.
He admitted, “It could get to where you might be disappointed finishing eighth or even fifteenth or whatever it is, but then you’re like, oh, well, at least we moved on. So, it kind of can raise your spirits a little bit, I guess.”
Next Up for Hocevar Is Chicago and Tyler Reddick
Hocevar’s next opponent in the Challenge is Tyler Reddick, a driver with great skills on road course races. The two will go head-to-head on the streets of Chicago this weekend. And while Hocevar is the underdog again, he’s not backing down yet.
Last year in Chicago, Hocevar was having a decent race before falling to 24th after a slight contact. But with the help of crew chief Luke Lambert, he’s planning to win the race and defeat Reddick at the same time.
Hocevar said, “Ultimately, we want to do everything to try and win the race. If we win the race, make the playoffs, that’s huge. You automatically beat the 45 car in the tournament, right? But yeah, it’s good to, number one, move on.”
But he also wished that he could have raced Blaney in this matchup and admitted to having fun in this tournament. In his second full-time Cup Series season, Hocevar has already grabbed two second-place finishes. He also grabbed a Truck Series win at Kansas in May.
Although he has a reputation for driving very aggressively, he has still shown plenty of progress. He is currently 14th in the points standings and looking forward to winning his match-up against Reddick in Chicago.
