Carson Hocevar's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series outing did not go as planned, as the Spire Motorsports driver got involved in a late race wreck. With that, his charge for the win at the Bully Hill Vineyards 176 came to an end, as Kaden Honeycutt graced victory lane for the first time.

Speaking to the media after the race, Hocevar explained how his race came undone in the final stage.

"I mean, it looks like the next restart, everybody's still getting loose on the right side," the 23-year-old said (via NASCAR.com). "Brent got loose, and I tried to just get to his left rear, but he kept coming up, so I had to lift, and I'm sure AJ didn't plan on me lifting, and you know just tracked out normally, and just got me in the right rear when I checked up."

With 11 laps to go, AJ Allmendinger made contact with his right rear, coming out on the main straight. As a result, Carson Hocevar hit the inside wall on the Frontstretch, ended up facing the wrong way, and came home with a DNF.

"So, I was loose trying to avoid Brent anyway. Yeah, I mean, just unfortunate that I was just trying to avoid Brent getting loose, but yeah, it was fun. It was just a good time to go hang out, and you know just go run laps and be better for yeah, the next two days, but I | still enjoyed getting my b*** kicked a little bit by the teenagers," the Spire driver further added.

Having won the previous Truck race at Texas last week, Carson Hocevar arrived at Watkins Glen with sheer optimism. After starting from 10th place, he moved down to 11th by the end of Stage 1. In Stage 2, he recovered brilliantly to second place, behind Connor Zilisch, a two-time O'Reilly winner at the track.

However, the wreck left him without a fulfilling result. But no matter the outcome, Hocevar is becoming one of the most sought-after names in NASCAR in recent times, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. has also acknowledged it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Carson Hocevar's rising popularity

From being compared to the great Dale Earnhardt in terms of courage at the race track to Chase Elliott when it comes to popularity, the rise of Carson Hocevar this season has been astonishing. So much so that Dale Earnhardt Jr., former driver, co-owner, and analyst, had to address it.

"There will always be stars that come and go, and Hocevar is in a position to really take advantage of this moment," Dale Jr. said about Hocevar. "He’s the kind of guy who’s ready to do it. He’s happy to have fun on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and show that to the world. We should embrace that."

Besides his growing popularity, the Spire Motorsports driver has also delivered results on track to justify it. The Truck Series win at Texas last weekend and his maiden Cup Series victory at Talladega on his 91st start the week before that are befitting examples.

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Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Yask Kotak