Carson Hocevar Seeks to Fulfill the Promise of Last Year's Auspicious Gateway Debut
6 months agoCarson Hocevar made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Gateway last year and attracted a lot of attention when he outran his current teammate Corey LaJoie when LaJoie was substituting for Chase Elliott in his No. 9 Chevrolet after his suspension, while Hocevar drove LaJoie's usual No. 7 Spire Motorsports car. Although Hocevar crashed in the middle of Stage 2 after a mechanical failure, an impression was made, which helped springboard Hocevar into the Cup Series full-time for 2024. As a rookie, Hocevar has generally outperformed LaJoie this year, but LaJoie did outqualify him this weekend and will be starting 15th to Hocevar's 20th in the Enjoy Illinois 300. If last year is anything to go by, Hocevar should likely outperform LaJoie in the race.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference