Any NASCAR fans who were left surprised to see Carson Hocevar in New York when the rest of the NASCAR grid was getting ready to take to the North Wilkesboro track, don’t fret. 

The Spire 77 Chevrolet driver was in New York for two events, the TIME100 Sports Gala as well as the coinciding Fanatics Fest. Both events saw a massive number of superstar athletes and celebrities.

Being on the list of the Time 100 most influential people in sports in the leaders category, Carson Hocevar got the chance to interact with several athletes and personalities, including LeBron James and Prince Harry. 

Asked by a journalist during the pre-race presser in North Wilkesboro about what his interaction with Prince Harry was like, in his media interaction uploaded to YouTube by Cup Scene, Hocevar revealed the entire conversation he had with the British Royal. 

Hocevar said. “I went over to him… and we said about three words. I was like, ‘Man, you’re gonna make my mom’s day if I get a photo with you.’He laughed.” Hocevar said that after he got the picture, Prince Harry told him, “Hopefully I did your mom proud or whatever and made her day.”

Hocevar, who has become one of the most popular drivers outside of the traditional NASCAR fans, revealed that his mother was a big fan of Princess Diana and has always had an interest in the Royal Family.

Apart from Prince Harry, Hocevar revealed that he met and had a long conversation with LeBron James and met the likes of NBA winner Jalen Brunson as well as NFL star Fernando Mendoza. 

While he said he enjoyed the treatment, he got being flown in and out of New York and being chauffeured around town while he was there, his focus is already back on track. 

Hocevar looking to build momentum for the Chase

Carson Hocevar is currently 8th in the championship leaderboard with 6 races to go before the table resets for the Chase. While 228 points is an almost impossible gap to cover up to Denny Hamlin in the lead, Hocevar will hope he has strong races to finish around 4th if possible. 

Hocevar is one of two drivers in the top 10 who haven’t had a DNF, and he will hope that is the case for the remaining 6 races. But what he will look at is his finish in Atlanta and hope to replicate that for the six races to come. 

The Spire 77 driver finished 3rd in Atlanta despite not getting a push from the drivers around him, but it’s his only top 10 finish since his home race in Michigan last month, where he finished 5th. 

While Hocevar clearly has the raw pace, it's putting together consistent finishes where he struggles, and that is what he will hope to rectify. 

If he can carry the momentum forward from Atlanta and get another top five or a top 10 finish, Hocevar will know that he can finish much higher in contention for the Chase. 

It will be interesting to see how Hocevar fares at North Wilkesboro, where he finished 11th in the All-Star race last year. 

How high do you think Hocevar can get on the points table before the Chase? Let us know.

Read more at RFK Racing Digest.

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi