DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a Daytona 500 that had a race record 25 different leaders, there were three lead changes on the final lap alone. It all began with Carson Hocevar out front.
For the first time in his young Cup Series career, Hocevar took the white flag as the leader during Sunday’s “Great American Race.” Before the lead pack made it to Turn 1, the No. 77 Chevrolet was turned sideways off the front bumper of Erik Jones, triggering the first of two multi-car pileups on the final circuit.
“I think they were offset a little right and they were all shoving really hard,” Hocevar told Jayski.com after the race. “With me being offset a little bit, it got me turned into the wall. There was no way to hold on to it. Once I bounced off that, it’s along for the ride.”
Prior to the field seeing the green flag for the final time with four laps remaining, Hocevar relayed to his Spire Motorsports teammate Michael McDowell – who was trying to stretch his fuel tank – that he would remain glued to the No. 71 car. Ultimately, Hocevar got a draft he couldn’t pass up coming to the white flag and darted for the lead.
It was short-lived as the No. 77 car was turned, though Hocevar was in position to win his first Cup race.
“Leading at the white is important because they could crash and end the race,” he stated. “Just proud of our effort to get there.”
Hocevar had his best Speedweeks to date — which included being the only driver to compete in all three national touring series events — in his third full-time season. He finished runner-up in the second America 250 Florida Duel on Thursday evening, trailing only Chase Elliott. During a chaotic opening stage where a 10-car pack banked enough fuel to get to the end of the stage without pitting a second time, the No. 77 car ranked fourth.
In the second stage, Hocevar avoided a 17-car pileup, the race’s biggest incident. He ended the stage in 24th before making a dash to the finish in Stage 3.
Amid the final cycle of green-flag pit stops that stretched seven laps, Hocevar pitted at Lap 187 with fellow Chevrolet drivers Ross Chastain, Cody Ware and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. After the field cycled back together, he was towards the front of the lead pack, with the exception of McDowell.
With constant team radio issues throughout the race, Hocevar said he didn’t realize it was the white-flag lap when taking the one-to-go sign. He was just over two miles shy of becoming the first driver since Austin Cindric in 2022 to score their first race win at the Daytona 500.
“We were making a lot of moves; it was all positive moves,” Hocevar said, proud of the No. 77 team’s effort. “We moved forward a lot and we were able to keep it a lot, so that was great.”
Knowing he was in position to win the Daytona 500, Hocevar believes he did everything in his might to win the race, but was credited with an 18th-place finish.
Hocevar said: “That’s probably how I will go to bed tonight knowing that.”
After opening weekend, Hocevar is tied with Riley Herbst for ninth in the regular-season championship standings.