NASCAR Truck Series: Carson Hocevar talks road course debut

Carson Hocevar made his 2020 NASCAR Truck Series season debut at the Daytona Road Course. He talked with Beyond the Flag about his Sunoco 159 race.

The NASCAR Truck Series competed at the Daytona Road Course for the first time this past weekend, and among the drivers racing in the Sunoco 159 was 17-year-old Carson Hocevar. After competing twice last season, Hocevar is driving the #40 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet part-time this season.

Hocevar started the Sunoco 159 in 27th place. Although he ran inside the top 20 for part of the race, he spun early in the third and final stage. He continued racing, but after receiving contact, he brought out a caution on lap 44 and finished with a DNF in 28th, having completed 41 of the 46 laps around the 14-turn, 3.61-mile (5.810-kilometer) road course in Daytona Beach, Florida.

After the inaugural Truck Series race at the track and his road course debut, Hocevar spoke with Beyond the Flag about the race, the road course itself, and his upcoming Truck Series races.

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Mark Kristl, Beyond the Flag (BTF): How did your race on the Daytona Road Course go?

Carson Hocevar: It was a tough race. We had a good race but didn’t capitalize on the result. After starting 27th, we drove up to 14th place on pure speed. [Crew chief] Cody [Efaw] then made a great pit call to get us up to sixth place at the beginning of the final stage. I then drove the #40 Chevrolet too fast, wheel hopped it and spun. I tried too hard in the end. I spun a few times and became overheated. Finally, on lap 44, the truck stalled and my race was over.

BTF: Yes, you looked overheated when you exited the #40 Chevrolet. First of all, are you okay? Second, how did running laps in the heat of the summer pose a challenge?

Hocevar: Yep, I got overheated there at the end. Even with air conditioning in the truck, I got hot real quick. It spiked up as a surprise to me! I’ve never been that hot before. When I got out of the car and sun, into some air conditioning, received IV fluids, I feel good now.

It’s easier on road courses to become dehydrated and overheated because there isn’t a moment to relax. On oval tracks, you get the straightaways where you can focus on cooling yourself down for a short distance. On road courses, you’re constantly working in the car from the drop of the green flag. Working the brakes throughout the course, absorbing the G-forces on your body, shifting, dealing with the banking, etc. takes a toll on your body. Add in the hot temperatures and it affected me.

BTF: How did the lack of practice (and qualifying) affect you?

Hocevar: Nobody’s been to this course so it affected everyone. Niece Motorsports didn’t necessarily know what to expect because this was new. However, I spent time on the simulator so I got up to speed. I became comfortable with the layout of the track pretty quick off the get-go.

BTF: How challenging was the Daytona Road Course?

Hocevar: I became accustomed to it fairly quickly as I said. I spent time on the simulator, I watched the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series races. No practice was beneficial to me. It leveled the playing field because veterans have raced on road courses before, so they’re better at asking for adjustments on those tracks. Some corners were troublesome, but I thought it was less technical than Sonoma Raceway.

http://twitter.com/NieceMotorsport/status/1295001683337060352

BTF: What did you learn in your first road course race?

Hocevar: I thought I was good on the restarts. My biggest struggle during the race was being on pit road. There are fewer live pit stops in late models, so I don’t get as much practice with those. The last time I raced where there were live pit stops was the Truck Series race at Phoenix [Raceway] last year. What I learned about pit road is I need to be more aggressive without speeding.

(Hocevar finished one lap down in 23rd place after starting in 17th in the 2019 race at Phoenix.)

BTF: You’re racing at Dover International Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. What are your goals for those races?

Hocevar: Keep progressing to finish clean. As far as finishing position, I’d like to finish in the top 15, maybe shoot for a top 10. I’ve never been to Dover. With this new algorithm to set the starting lineups, I’ll likely start at the back. Track position will be key. I’ll talk to Ross [Chastain, who drove full-time for Niece Motorsports last year] beforehand about what he learned racing there. He had the best race of any Niece driver.

(Chastain started that race in 16th place and finished in 10th.)

Fortunately, I have some experience at Gateway. Hopefully that, along with more seat time, will translate into me running well there.

(In the 2019 ARCA race at Gateway, Hocevar started in 12th place and finished in fifth.)

BTF: You’ll, therefore, compete in three straight races. How does that consistency of racing regularly benefit you?

Hocevar: It’s huge! The crazy part about this COVID-19 pandemic is now NASCAR has rescheduled my races. I’m racing those races in a closer timespan than originally planned. I like racing regularly rather than scattered throughout the season. It’ll give me a chance to work with the guys on the team, improve upon my mistakes, and build on the results. Plus, I’ll have a better feel for the next race because I’ll be fresh out of the truck instead of looking back at film and a notebook from the past.

BTF: How has this pandemic affected you, as a part-time driver, racing in the Truck Series?

Hocevar: It’s different for every state and race track. Dealing with the protocols is different – I’m unsure about Dover. I’m not allowed to be with the guys on my team until race time. Normally, I like to be in the garage with them during the race weekend. I would talk with them, ask questions, build team morale, etc.  Now, it’s harder to build relationships with them because of the protocols. Because I’m only 17, I cannot compete at big tracks, so I’m only racing in eight races this season. Unfortunately, I cannot learn as a driver as easily during the race weekend. But I know Cody and the guys on the team will give me a fast car, so I need to complete every lap of the race and keep getting better.

Carson Hocevar and the rest of the NASCAR Truck Series field are scheduled to compete in the KDI Office Technology 200 at Dover International Speedway on Friday, August 21. This race is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET.