On Saturday’s Race at Atlanta: “These kind of races just happen. The Worldwide Express team put together a really great truck. We ran top-ten all day but it was just a difficult decision to decide lanes late in the race. At the end, we got a tire-rub and the tire went down instantly; but, that’s just part of it.”
After a seventh-place run two weeks ago in Las Vegas, Carson Hocevar was looking to make strides to build on his impressive start to the season. Unfortunately, a top-ten run throughout most of the race wouldn’t last as the No. 42 team had a tire go down, slamming the outside fence with under 15 laps to go.
From his fifth-place starting position, Hocevar was able to battle up front as the field ran a majority of the first stage in single-file formation. A caution on lap 23 would put a halt in the action and mix up strategy calls amongst the teams on pit road. Under the caution, Phil Gould would bring Hocevar down pit road for two tires and a small adjustment. This would put Hocevar mid-pack on the restart, leading to his 14th-place finish in the first stage.
As the second stage began, a handful of cautions would fly but the No. 42 team would remain on the racetrack and not visit pit road until the stage was over. Hocevar would secure a 17th-place finish in the second stage and would begin saving fuel to make it to the end on one more stop.
The final stage brought an abundance of cautions, including the final two cautions of the race which included Hocevar. A tire rub on the No. 42 Silverado cut the right-rear tire with just 11 laps remaining in the event. But, the repairs wouldn’t be enough as Hocevar was the cause of the next caution as well; getting into the wall once more which would end his day in 31st.
Niece Motorsports PR