Carson Hocevar

Racing career

Early career

Hocevar began competing in quarter midgets at the age of seven, winning 79 feature races and fifteen national championships. He started racing at Berlin Raceway in 2015 as a twelve year old and won the track's Outlaw Late Model championship. He won his first Super Late Model race at the track in 2016, but NASCAR stopped all drivers under fourteen from competing at sanctioned tracks. Hocevar returned in 2017 and won the track's Super Late Model championship.

ARCA Menards Series

Hocevar competed in eleven ARCA Menards Series races between 2018 and 2019, with nine top-ten finishes and two pole positions.

In 2019, Hocevar joined the Driver's Edge Development Program.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Hocevar made his NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series debut in the 2019 Eldora Dirt Derby driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Silverado for Jordan Anderson Racing. He qualified for the main event by finishing third in the third qualifying race. He returned to the series in November at the Lucas Oil 150, driving a No. 56 for JAR in a partnership with Hill Motorsports.

On December 20, 2019, Hocevar joined Niece Motorsports for a nine-race schedule in 2020.

On September 24, 2020, Hocevar and Niece announced a full-season schedule in 2021. During the season, Hocevar would have a very successful rookie season, nearly winning multiple races. He finished second at Charlotte and fourth at Las Vegas. He re-signed with Niece in 2022.

On June 4, 2022, Hocevar broke his right tibia at the ankle during the final lap of the Gateway race when his truck was T-boned by Tyler Hill. He underwent surgery prior to the Sonoma race. Hocevar took the pole position before wrecking in turn 10. On lap eleven, he was relieved by Daniel Suárez, who took the No. 42 to a sixth-place finish.

Hocevar started the 2023 season with a twelfth-place finish at Daytona. He scored his first career win at Texas in double-overtime after race leader Nick Sanchez made contact with Zane Smith on the final lap and Hocevar unintentionally spun Sanchez from behind. Hocevar also scored wins at Nashville and Richmond. He won at Homestead to make the Championship 4. During the race, he spun out Corey Heim, which also collected Stewart Friesen. After that, Heim retaliated on Hocevar so he finished 29th. After Heim slammed him on the turn 4 wall in retaliation for spinning him earlier in the race, he also finished fourth in the final points standings. After NASCAR penalized Heim 25 driver points for intentionally wrecking him, Hocevar was credited with a third-place points finish.

On April 18, 2025, it was announced that Hocevar would drive part-time for Spire Motorsports in their No. 7 truck in four races. In his second start with Spire, he would earn his fifth career win at Kansas.

On January 29, 2026, it was announced that Hocevar would run the season opening race at Daytona, running the No. 77 truck for Spire. He won his sixth career race at Texas.

NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series

On March 7, 2023, Spire Motorsports announced that they will expand their racing operations to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, with Hocevar running six races in their No. 77 car, making his debut in the series at Circuit of the Americas in the No. 07 for SS-Green Light Racing He was initially on the entry list for the race at Dover Motor Speedway, but was withdrawn due to the weather providing the risk of qualifying being canceled. His debut with the team was thus scheduled for the next race at Darlington Raceway. He would finish sixth at Darlington and eighth at Charlotte Motor Speedway but would DNF at Nashville Superspeedway.

On February 24, 2025, it was announced that Hocevar would drive for SS-Green Light Racing with BRK Racing, replacing Garrett Smithley at COTA. He was involved in an early wreck, earning a 38th place DNF. On July 30, shortly after Josh Williams was released by Kaulig Racing, it was announced that he would drive the No. 11 for the team at Iowa.

NASCAR Cup Series

On May 30, 2023, Hocevar was named the driver of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Camaro ZL1 for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway Motorsports Park after Spire's full-time driver Corey LaJoie would fill in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy while HMS driver Chase Elliott served a one-race suspension. He finished in 36th place after suffering a brake rotor explosion going into turn 1 in the second stage on lap 91 while running in 16th place. Hocevar drove the Legacy Motor Club No. 42 (originally driven by Noah Gragson, then by Josh Berry and Mike Rockenfeller on road courses after Gragson was suspended prior to the Michigan race) to a 17th-place finish at Darlington. He then scored a career-best 11th-place finish at the Bristol night race. On October 4, Hocevar was signed to drive the No. 42 for the remainder of the season, except at Homestead-Miami where the team's 2024 driver John Hunter Nemechek drove in the No. 42 car instead.

On October 10, 2023, Hocevar announced on NASCAR Race Hub that he would bypass competing full-time in the Xfinity Series to join Spire Motorsports in the Cup Series full-time for the 2024 season, driving the No. 77 car under a multi-year deal. Hocevar started the season with a 40th place DNF at the 2024 Daytona 500 after an early crash. He scored his first career top-ten finish at Texas. At Nashville, Hocevar spun out Harrison Burton during a caution lap; as a result, he was fined US$50,000 and docked 25 driver points. At Richmond, Hocevar would score his third top-ten finish of the season, tying his best finish of eighth. In qualifying for the regular season finale at Darlington, Hocevar put the 77 car on the front row, qualifying second. It was the best starting spot for Spire Motorsports in the team's history, along with Hocevar's best starting spot for his own Cup career. Unfortunately, Hocevar would crash on Lap 335 and would DNF in 33rd place. At Watkins Glen on September 15, Hocevar once again eclipsed his best career NCS finish for the third time in 2024 with a third-place finish, leading a triple top-ten for Spire Motorsports and even contending for the win in the final restarts. At the end of the season, he won the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award.

Hocevar started the 2025 season with a 30th-place DNF at the 2025 Daytona 500. The following week at Atlanta, Hocevar improved upon his career best finish with a second place in which he was battling three wide behind Christopher Bell and ahead of Kyle Larson when a caution flew coming to the checkered flag during an overtime restart. At Texas, he would earn his first career Cup Series pole. At Nashville, Hocevar again tied his best finish of second, losing to Ryan Blaney. Following the Mexico road race, Spire Motorsports fined Hocevar US$50,000 and ordered him to undergo cultural-sensitivity and bias-awareness training for making scathing comments regarding his experience in Mexico City during a livestream. During the Hollywood Casino 400, Hocevar spun, and after safety personnel had arrived at the crash scene, officials indicated that Hocevar revved and spun his tires in an attempt to rejoin the field while those safety workers attended to his car. On October 1, Hocevar was fined US$50,000 for member conduct violations.

Other racing

Hocevar has also run in Midgets, Micro Sprints, and Dirt Super Late Models on a part-time basis in addition to his full-time rides since 2015. On November 15, 2025, Hocevar and co-driver, Cleetus McFarland, won the fifth-annual 2.4 Hours of LeMullets at the Freedom Factory.

Driving style

Hocevar's very aggressive and somewhat reckless driving style has been met with polarized opinions from fellow drivers, sports journalists, and fans. He was given the nickname of "Hurricane Hocevar" by announcer Leigh Diffey.

Personal life

As a child, Hocevar raced Quarter Midgets and was exposed to many notable drivers through his father, Scott, who worked as a crew member and sponsor for various local teams. Through this connection, Carson was heavily mentored by Bryan Clauson, for whom Scott Hocevar served as a crew member. Later, he was also mentored by Johnny Benson, who was sponsored by Carson's father. This allowed Carson to work as a mechanic on Benson's racecars and later drive for him in his Outlaw Late Model program.

Hocevar is the son of Scott and Amy Hocevar. He graduated from Gull Lake High School in 2021. In 2026, he had been teasing that he had a celebrity crush with singer Sabrina Carpenter. He attended the 2026 Met Gala with E!. He also said that he hoped to run into Carpenter.

In media

In March 2025, Hocevar became a member of NASCAR on Fox's Cup driver-only broadcast team for the 2025 Baptist Health 200 at Homestead–Miami Speedway, working as a pit reporter. In 2026, Hocevar filled in for High Limit Racing as a pit reporter. He said he watches High Limit frequently. On June 23, he hosted The Dale Jr. Download.

Motorsports career results

Stock car career summary

† As Hocevar was running for points in the Truck Series, he was ineligible for championship points in the Cup and Xfinity Series.

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

* Season still in progress

1 Ineligible for series points

ARCA Menards Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

CARS Super Late Model Tour

(key)

CARS Pro Late Model Tour

(key)

ASA STARS National Tour

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)