HAMPTON, Ga. — Immediately after exiting his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Carson Hocevar walked toward the frontstretch and conversed with Ross Chastain in a multi-minute conversation. Following the discussion, the 22-year-old swiftly met up with Ryan Blaney for another one-on-one dialogue.
The fruits from both conversations, which included a handshake with Chastain, stemmed from Hocevar‘s utilization of aggressive — and controversial — bumps and maneuvers to clinch a runner-up finish in Sunday‘s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
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“We’re here to win races, not be a boy band and love each other and play on the playground together,” Hocevar said after the race. “So obviously, there’s learning lessons. You don’t want to piss anybody off or frustrate anybody, and there’s things I would clean up for sure. But it‘s just going to come with learning that it’s the first time I’ve ever again, I’m normally 40th, waiting for them to crash and hoping they crash, and I finish in the teens.
“So, to be up front and get stage points in both stages and have a shot to win is something to hold my (head) high, real, real much. And I’ve always said I’m a really bad superspeedway racer, so this at least gives me a little bit more confidence.”
Hocevar, racing in his sophomore Cup Series campaign, started the 266-lap affair in 26th. The Michigan native began his maneuvers early and often, eventually culminating with ninth- and seventh-place finishes in Stages 1 and 2, respectively.
However, these bumps quickly drew the ire of several drivers, including Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney, who made their frustrations regarding the No. 77 known on their respective team radios. Blaney and Busch finished fourth and seventh, respectively.
In the case of Blaney, in-race contact between the pair reached a head on Lap 234 when Hocevar bumped into the No. 12‘s right-rear quarter panel, resulting in Blaney spinning out.
WATCH: Blaney goes for slide after Hocevar push | Blaney: ‘He‘s just a moron‘
“I wasn‘t slowing,” Blaney said after the race. “He was drafting to me, and he didn‘t lift and just gave me a shot when I‘m turning into [Turn] 1, and it spun me out. I was just happy I didn‘t hook a right back into everybody and was able to stay on the apron.”
“He’s been around enough now that you know he’s going to, you know, be the aggressor,” Atlanta race winner Christopher Bell said in his press conference. “If there’s a hole, he’s going to take it. If there’s not a hole, he’s going to make one, and he ultimately gave me the shove to pass or break through to lead the side-draft tandem with myself and Kyle down the back straightaway, and then I didn’t realize Kyle had opened up the bottom like he did, getting into (Turn) 3 and allowed Carson to sneak middle of three-wide.”
Hocevar said he apologized to Blaney during their conversation, saying there are areas he could probably clean up.
Chastain, whose No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet finished eighth, battled up front with Hocevar‘s No. 77 during the waning portions of Sunday‘s contest. Hocevar declined to delve into the conversation specifics, instead quipping that the conversation was about the Chili‘s Triple Dipper.
“Sometimes you agree and disagree at things,” Hocevar said regarding Chastain, who has been a mentor for the young driver. “Ultimately, I felt like I made the decision that was to win the race, and I think we‘ll be able to continue to talk about it because, obviously, we have each other‘s phone numbers.”
Hocevar tallied his best finish in the Cup Series to date, eclipsing his third-place result at Watkins Glen International in September 2024.
The finish marked a building block for Hocevar on superspeedway-style tracks, an area he has struggled through the early portion of his Cup Series career. Hocevar finished 30th in the 2025 Daytona 500 last weekend.
“I called Jeff Dickerson (Spire Motorsports co-owner) right after Monday, and I was like, man, well, I told my team I was not riding at all after the 500 … I said I wasn’t riding,” Hocevar explained. “And I called Jeff, and I said, ‘Hey, man, like, what do you think I do?‘ And he’s like, ‘Well, you just ride. You do what you normally do.‘ And I said, I think I’m just gonna go race, and I’m just gonna go see what happens.
“So, they have full faith in me on the riding thing, and they have full faith in me going forward, and I felt like our car was capable enough to do what we just did. Last year, I still probably ride because I think we weren’t there yet, but now I felt like I was racing the race car. I was racing again, so lots of hold our head high on.”
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Aggression, frustration and post-race discussion were the themes from the No. 77 team‘s Atlanta performance, with Hocevar next trekking to Circuit of The Americas on March 2 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Hocevar sits 15th in the driver standings heading to the Texas road course.
To Hocevar, the goal will be continuing to learn as a driver looking to find his footing in NASCAR‘s premier series.
“Again, there’s things I would clean up,” Hocevar said. “But you’re not gonna make the right decisions every time, especially with how fast we’re going and how many runs is happening, and I can only apologize and say I’m gonna get better.”
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