Young, brash and almost unapologetic, NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar is back to take on all competitors once again. Matter of fact, after a recent contract extension, the 23-year-old driver will be around for a long time.
Driving the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, Hocevar signed an agreement sealing him to race for them into the next decade. Confidence in himself is now backed by ownership’s value in their young driver.
Carson Hocevar Says He’ll Win a Championship
During the annual Media Day to kick off Daytona Speedweek at Daytona International Speedway, Hocevar talked about what the contract meant to him. Using that kind of backing, he feels a NCS championship is achievable. Despite being winless in 81 series starts, the native of Portage, MI is looking forward and not backwards.
“Yeah I think we can do it, I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that,” Hocevar shared. “I think we realistically, over the next 10 years, we can build this into a championship threat. I think we can get our cars there and I think I can get there.
“I think we have all the pieces with Jeff (Dickerson, owner of Spire) and everyone on the management side. They have championships and a ton of wins throughout all of them combined.
“So, I’m excited and the talented people just keep coming in through the door and not leaving, so they are just going to get us faster.”
Monster Contracts was Appropriate Move
The aforementioned contract extends his current agreement with Spire for five more years. When it came to negotiating with Dickerson and management, it just kept getting better and better for both parties.
“I don’t know who was more excited, me or Jeff (Dickerson) or all my guys,” Hocevar said. “I didn’t feel like fielding any calls and I felt like declining all of them and I think Jeff and I just looked at each other and said ‘I don’t really feel like leaving anytime soon.’ And he said, “Well, I don’t want you leaving anytime soon either.’
“So we just started adding years and more years. So, its joyful for that. It’s good on their marketing side, as well, because I think we have a car full for the next how many years, which is great. It just helps on all things, if we’re all locked in and bought in, let’s just be official about it.”
For this week’s Daytona 500 events, Hocevar will carry Spectrum on his No. 77 ride.
Hocevar Knows How to Win
Still searching for that first NCS win, the brash driver has earned three top-five and 15 top-10 finishes in the past two seasons. Also of note, he’s led 138 laps during that timeframe.
His biggest success has come in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series where he garnered five wins, 22 top five and 34 top-10 finishes in three full-time seasons. This weekend, he’ll climb back into a Truck racing Spire’s No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado.
One of the competitors he’ll be up against is three-time NCS Champion and Hall of Fame driver Tony Stewart. “Smoke” is making his first NASCAR start in 10 years and has never raced a Truck at Daytona.
“I haven’t met him yet, but he seems excited, which is cool,” Hocevar said of Stewart. “I don’t know that any of us had on the bingo card that Tony Stweart would be excited to run a Truck race, and a Truck race at a superspeedway.”
That race will take place on Friday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. on FS1-TV, MRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
Carson Hocevar Sees a Championship in Future