MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Carson Hocevar turned a tough begin into one of the vital spectacular drives of the day Sunday at Darlington Raceway, charging from the rear of the sector to a fourth-place end.
Hocevar was despatched to the rear earlier than the inexperienced flag because of unapproved changes after brushing the wall in follow, negating a Sixteenth-place qualifying effort. From there, the Spire Motorsports driver confronted an uphill battle at one among NASCAR’s most demanding tracks.
Regardless of the early setback, Hocevar rapidly started working ahead, climbing to thirtieth by Lap 7. Nevertheless, a protracted green-flag run in Stage 1 trapped him a lap down, leaving him twenty fourth on the finish of the opening stage.
The race started to show in Stage 2. Following a spin by Erik Jones, Hocevar and his staff elected to take the wave-around, placing the No. 77 Chevrolet again on the lead lap. By Lap 148, he had cracked the highest 20 for the primary time all afternoon and continued his regular march ahead, ending Stage 2 in Sixteenth.
Hocevar restarted the ultimate stage in nineteenth with 100 laps remaining and wasted little time persevering with his cost. With 67 laps to go, he had labored his means into the highest 10, and just some laps later discovered himself battling Ryan Blaney for seventh.
A strategic choice to remain out longer allowed Hocevar to steer two laps earlier than making his closing pit cease with 47 laps remaining. The cycle dropped him again to seventeenth, however he rapidly regained momentum within the closing run.
Over the ultimate green-flag stretch, Hocevar sliced by the sector, finishing a exceptional comeback drive. After working a mean place of 18th and passing greater than 120 automobiles below green-flag circumstances, he finally secured a fourth-place end — his greatest results of the 2026 season.
With the robust run, Hocevar now sits thirteenth within the NASCAR Cup Collection standings, -174 factors behind chief Tyler Reddick and +12 factors above the playoff cutline.
For Hocevar, the consequence was greater than only a top-five end — it was a press release drive, showcasing each resilience and racecraft at a observe identified for testing even the game’s greatest.
