Chase Elliott Leads Carson Hocevar’s Texas Pole Run
Carson Hocevar grabbed the pole for Sunday’s Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway after celebrating his first Cup victory at Talladega. The 23-year-old followed that with another fast stop in Texas, putting himself eighth in the standings and keeping the pressure on every point before the top-16 reset.
Hocevar spent Sunday night after Talladega at a team party at sponsor Chili’s, then went through a full week of interviews and appearances before arriving at Texas. He won the truck race there Friday night, five days after his Cup breakthrough, and then backed it up Saturday with the pole for Sunday’s Cup race.
Hocevar’s Talladega week
He did not treat Talladega like a one-day story. Hocevar said, “They know me well enough [to know], I don't drink, so they don’t worry about me being hungover walking into the track,” and added, “So they were all good there. But they know that racing means the most to me, and I'm never going to throw away a race.”
That showed up again at Texas, where he said, “I’m not going to do the whole ordeal,... but it’s so fresh that I feel like I would have disappointed people if I didn't at least do something remotely to that nature,” after the truck win. He also said, “I've been thinking about it, and I was like, ‘Man, I'm going to have to do this every time,’ and I'm all in on doing it on Sundays.”
Texas Motor Speedway pace
Saturday’s pole added another strong result to a stretch that began with the Talladega win and stayed sharp through Texas. Hocevar said before the truck race, “And if I make 1,000 moves, I might make one wrong, but I'm just glad I've made 1,000 moves.... There is no excuse. If you’re a hero, you should take whatever they give you and win with it.”
He also laid out the points side plainly, saying every point is pivotal as he tries to be as high in points as possible before the top-16 drivers have their points reset for the Chase after the regular season. Sitting eighth in the standings, he is racing with enough margin to celebrate and enough urgency to keep pushing.
Carson Hocevar’s points push
Hocevar said he expected the truck race to be really fun and said he might make 1,000 moves, then won it. He followed that with the Cup pole, a sign that the Talladega celebration has not slowed the run he wants to carry into the rest of the regular season.
For now, the immediate test is simple: keep turning speed into points. Hocevar said he is all in on doing the Sunday celebration again, but the standings and the reset sitting ahead of him make each start feel less like a victory lap than a race to keep his position as high as he can get it.
