Carson Hocevar’s journey in NASCAR so far has been anything but normal. His fiery and controversial image has already made him one of the sport’s most talked-about figures. But more than that, behind those headlines, his story is also one of frustration. Despite flashes of speed and leading laps, luck and circumstances have still left him searching for that first long-awaited Cup Series win, since his full-time debut in 2024. And the Bristol night race on Saturday, that frustrating long wait was extended yet again.

The Bristol Night Race seemed like it could finally deliver Hocevar’s long-awaited breakthrough as he showed pace and led 26 laps too, but it ended in yet another bitter disappointment. And now, in the aftermath of Bristol’s heartbreak, Hocevar opened up about just how crushing the near-miss felt.

Carson Hocevar frustrated with his luck

At Bristol, Hocevar started strong on the front, but a late caution and worn-out tires ultimately spoiled his evening as he finished 7th, marking his eighth top-10 of the season. When one of his crew members called out that the chequered flag waved, the #77 driver was just done with everything, as he grumbled on his radio, “Got ran up… That was clearly f—ked anyways.” 

The team confirmed that eventual race winner Christopher Bell snuck past. Bell, Hocevar, and Zane Smith were all contending strongly at the front. Carson Hocevar bemoaned, “Yep, it is what it is, whatever. Just had one go, did a good job on pit road. Just want to f–king light myself on fire.”

Despite the good run, the closing laps unraveled everything for Hocevar. He was leading 26 laps and closing in on Brad Keselowski with fresher tires, but a late caution just spoiled it for him. Hocevar was forced to stay out, and the restart after that made things worse.

Because he was on older, worn-out tires, Christopher Bell slipped through as both Hocevar and Zane Smith slid up the track, ultimately losing to his rivals on fresher tires. Had it not been for that caution, his frustration would have originally been a great winning strategy. He ultimately crossed the finish line 7th, still in the hunt for this maiden Cup Series victory.

The Bristol night race also became the 12th time for him to lead laps and not convert them into a win. Post the race, he told Frontstretch, “Yeah, I mean, there’s nothing we could’ve done. The winning strategy was if that stays green. We were out of tires, so we had to try, especially from the lead.”

He continued talking about his driving strategy for the lead, “I mean, I miss running the top. It would be nice if we could get tire wear where we could. Where it’s not like a lottery as much, and we could still go run the top. I enjoy running the top here, and you get to move around. It eliminates some of the bumper-tag cautions.” Though he prefers to race on the higher groove, the extreme tire wear at Bristol made it very difficult for him to do that. The racing turned in such a way that luck and “lottery” became more important than his skill.

He then also tried to glean on the positives, “But it was nice not complaining about dirty air. So, there’s a bright side to everything.” And the team agrees with that, too. By their assessment, Hocevar was in the lead battle all day and put himself in a prime position. It was just bad luck that Hocevar got shifted aside, but the team performed marvelously, and Hocevar couldn’t agree more, with his praise, “Good job there guys, everybody. Really good job.”

The Spire Motorsports star recently picked up a new hobby

Of late, the #77 driver had been making waves on social media. On his YouTube channel and on his Twitter, he has been busy flaunting an impressive car collection. Among his possessions is a Dale Earnhardt-inspired Chevrolet Silverado truck. Apparently, he bought it off Facebook Marketplace for a cool $19,850 off Facebook Marketplace. And the truck isn’t for show either, as Hocevar often takes it out for spins.

Additionally, he went and bought another classic NASCAR car, a #28 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass. Hocevar has proven to be a classic car aficionado, and he even gets messages from people who are interested in selling the cars to him. The 22-year-old recently revealed that one particular dream buy was a Kasey Kahne Cup car. But unfortunately, it was not for sale.

He isn’t stopping there, though, as he has designs to own even more classic NASCAR cars. “I’ve already got the Oldsmobile, and I’m trying to collect all the others, the Oldsmobile, the Monte Carlo, the Lumina, and hopefully the COT next,” he said. The idea might be to depict the progression of NASCAR’s lineage from the 1980s, all the way to the NASCAR Cup cars of the mid-to-late 2000s.

What’s unique is the way he plans to maintain them, which is far from the conventional ways. These cars will not be sitting idle and being content with merely being showpieces. Carson Hocevar plans to drive them frequently and keep them running smoothly. By embracing these iconic racing memorabilia, he plans to keep their history alive, letting fans enjoy seeing those cars up close.