Carson Hocevar has been on an uptick over the last month and change in the NASCAR Cup Series, and Kevin Harvick is delivering him some flowers.
Over the course of his first full-time Cup Series campaign in 2024, the Spire Motorsports wheelman has amassed an average finish of 20.059, while adding two top-ten finishes, which is good enough for P23 in the point standings at the moment.
Those numbers don’t exactly fly off the page, but Hocevar has been running near the top ten over the last couple of races, punctuated by a P14 finish at Iowa over the weekend. During the latest episode of his Harvick’s Happy Hour show, the former Cup Series champion made sure to praise Hocevar for his improvement.
“I think it was interesting to start that race, you talk about [Carson] Hocevar, and he got loose under Zane Smith and wiped out, hit Zane and then Zane got hit and wiped out Corey [LaJoie]. So, all three Spire cars were not on good footing right off the bat. But Hocevar is, he’s good. He’s been very fast, he’s been very fast in everything that he’s driven,” Harvick said, regarding the Spire Motorsports wheelman. “The thing I like about Carson Hocevar is, he’s learning and finishing. He’s not spinning out and driving over his head, which I think a lot of people thought he was going to do, me being one of them, on much more of an occasion than he has.
“He’s done a great job, in kind of tempering his speed, with making sure that the car is going in the right direction, and finishing races. He’s consistently positioning himself inside the top 15 now.”
Continuing, Harvick’s co-host Mamba Smith also gave Hocevar some love, pointing out the respect he’s accumulated from his team and his peers throughout the 2024 Cup Series campaign.
“He works really hard, and his team really loves their driver, and he loves the team,” Smith explained. “So like, that continuity is really — that’s really good for all things and results.”
Coming into the season, many believed Corey LaJoie would be the flag bearer for Spire Motorsports in the Cup Series, but Hocevar has quickly overtaken that position with the way he’s been racing throughout 2024.
First Denny Hamlin commented on the young wheelman’s improvement, and now Kevin Harvick is impressed with Carson Hocevar. It’s evident the sky is the limit for the No. 77 as he continues to wet his feet in the NASCAR Cup Series.
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