Ross Chastain made historic headlines in the NASCAR Cup Series' Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, by coming from the rear of the field to grab the win in a thrilling late duel with William Byron.
What will be lost to the record books, however, is that had it not been for some late misfortune, it might have been a different driver accomplishing a similar feat.
Carson Hocevar started 39th in the longest race of the Cup Series season, right alongside Chastain, and had just restarted on the front row to begin the fourth and final 100-lap stage when his engine went sour, taking him out of the running. Yet despite the heartbreaking result, it was just the breakout performance that the second-year driver and his Spire Motorsports team needed.
Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports slowly proving their place among the Cup Series elites
Spire has been a mainstay on the Cup Series grid since 2019, and even quickly registered a win to their name during the organization's debut season with Justin Haley, although it might have been the most fortuitous win in NASCAR history. Overall, the team struggled to find competitive speed for several years, as well as a long-term face of the future to build around.
Enter Hocevar. At World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in 2023, the Michigan native earned a chance to make his Cup Series debut when Corey LaJoie, Spire Motorsports' normal driver, got the nod to substitute for a suspended Chase Elliott at Hendrick Motorsports. At only age 20, Hocevar had nearly driven into the top 15 before a mechanical failure ended his race, and it was enough to parlay into a full-time rookie campaign the following season.
As a rookie, Hocevar finished 21st in points, giving Spire Motorsports their best ever points finish as an organization while beating Stewart-Haas Racing's Josh Berry for Rookie of the Year honors in what many considered an upset victory due to SHR's perceived organizational advantage.
Spire Motorsports went on to build upon that success with Hocevar by adding veteran Michael McDowell and bringing Haley back into the fold for 2025, and they have shown a noticeable uptick in speed, particularly in qualifying.
Hocevar and McDowell have both captured pole positions already through 13 races in 2025, but Spire Motorsports' race pace still wasn't quite there with the cream of the crop.
That changed on Sunday when, after a spin in qualifying, Hocevar methodically marched through the field and seemed to only get faster throughout the night. For a driver often criticized for his aggressive style of driving that has been known to border on recklessness, this was a massive step in the right direction.
Of course, through no fault of his own, Hocevar still couldn't capture the finish he deserved. But if he and Spire Motorsports can build upon what they accomplished in the first 300 laps of NASCAR's marathon event, it's not a question of "if" he can score his first career Cup Series win without departing for a more established organization, but rather "when".
And, make no mistake: it will be the first of many.