Austin, Texas (AP) – Carson Hocevar seems determined to drive as aggressive as ever.
After all, he was a finalist in Atlanta for a better career finish. This also awarded a week of criticism from certain veterans drivers and warnings not to make things more difficult by making enemies on the track.
The 22 -year -old Spire Motorsports pilot treated everything with an upper shoulder and a promise to continue on Sunday during the first road race of the Nascar season at the Americas circuit.
“I plan to run no differently,” said Hocevar on Saturday before qualifying fourth to put it near the front. He rejected criticism from the outside of his team and suppliers as “noise”.
“You know that I just like the race … and I’m delighted to have fast racing cars.” Said Hocevar. “So I run for myself, myself and me, and you know, obviously a little for Spire Motorsports for sure. That’s what they pay me to do. “”
Spire’s co -owner, Dan Towriss, suggested that Hocevar is only the last young driver mixing things on the right track.
“This happens whenever there is a young aggressive driver who arrives. … Are there any things that Carson needs to learn? Yeah. It’s his second year. He is not there in the process of destroying people, doing things like that, “said Towriss.
Hocevar even had fun with all the drama.
Shortly after the race in Atlanta, when several pilots complained about him on the radio or confronted him with Pit Lane, Hocevar retaliated: “We are here to win races, not to be a group of boys and love us and play in the playground together.”
Friday, he promoted “Do you want to join my group of boys?” T-shirts on its social media accounts and website. The positions were briefly removed on Saturday, but Hocevar promised that they would return and that all sales products would go to the Drive for Life charitable foundation in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The reputation of Hocevar as an aggressive driver dates back to his series Racing in the Truck. His talent also stood out. He won the best recruit honors in the Cup series last year with six TOP-10.
Then Atlanta completed. Ryan Blaney, who was shot by Hocevar in the last stage of the race, and Ross Chastain confronted him after the end.
Chastain admitted on Saturday that he was faced with similar criticisms from older drivers earlier in his career.
“I also had a line of people waiting for me to the car,” said Chastain.
Aggressive movements take different forms between speed supervisors like Atlanta and a road route like Austin, where cars look and make a way in the sometimes clear and slow speed that brings them together.
“I can’t speak for others, but according to my experience, everything is fine unless you make the same mistake again,” said Chastain. “Do not make the same people angry again.”
Beginner of the series
Connor Zilisch Beginning 14th in its start in the Cup series on Sunday with Trackhouse Racing. The 18 -year -old said he was set for no expectations other than gaining respect for veteran drivers.
“You don’t want to go there and ridicule yourself because once you lose respect for all the veterans, it is really difficult to recover it,” he said. “We want to run them in the right way.”
Zilisch was considered a future star. He won 15 races in seven different series in 2024, and he started the Xfinity race on Saturday from the post.
“I want to try to become the youngest winner in the Cup series,” said Zilisch. “And honestly, I do not have the impression that there is something that tells me that I am not ready to run on a road route on Sunday.”
Pole position
Tyler Reddick, winner of the race in 2023, will start on Sunday from pole position. And it will be a lockout in the front row for 23Xi with his teammate Bubba Wallace starting the second.
The team, which is co -owner by the NBA renowned temple Michael Jordan and the triple winner of Daytona 500, Denny Hamlin, Waging a legal fight With NASCAR on antitrust complaints.
Road class, short course
New Road, New Rodeo is the theme of a new track arrangement at Cota.
The NASCAR race in an installation built for Formula 1 has a shorter and tighter provision than in recent years. The new design contrasts about a mile from the distance from the track and eliminates most of the long lines of Cota.
It also reduces about a minute of time time, allowing the race to be extended from 68 laps to 95.
Ends
The Zilisch and Trackhouse Racing teammate, Shane Van Gisbergen, is listed as co-favorites (+525), by Betmgm Sportsbook … Chase Elliott’s Seven Road Road Race Victoires of active pilots, but he has not won a road race since 2021, when he won two, including Austin. He starts third.
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