04/26/26 06:19:00
Printable Page
04/26 18:17 CDT Carson Hocevar earns 1st NASCAR Cup victory with last-lap pass
at Talladega Superspeedway
Carson Hocevar earns 1st NASCAR Cup victory with last-lap pass at Talladega
Superspeedway
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) --- Carson Hocevar earned the first victory of his NASCAR
Cup Series career, outdueling Chris Buescher with a last-lap pass at Talladega
Superspeedway on Sunday.
Hocevar, who drives the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, joined Ty Gibbs
(who won two weeks ago at Bristol Motor Speedway), as the second first-time
winner this season.
Hocevar, who has made headlines for angering veterans with aggressive moves,
won in his 91st start in NASCAR's premier series. The 23-year-old from Portage,
Michigan, used a drafting push from Alex Bowman's No. 48 Chevrolet to edge past
Buescher's No. 17 Ford by 0.114 seconds.
Hocevar celebrated by taking a victory lap while sitting on his car's doorsill,
making contact with the outside wall while doing an unconventional burnout and
then hopping on his roof to encourage the crowd.
Bowman finished third (his best finish since missing four races with vertigo),
followed by Chase Elliott and Zane Smith.
Hocevar capped a weekend of first-time NASCAR winners at the 2.66-mile oval. In
the lower circuits on Saturday at Talladega, Corey Day (O'Reilly Auto Parts
Series) and Andy Jankowiak (ARCA Menards Series) made their first trips to
victory lane.
Up next
The NASCAR Cup Series will race May 3 at Texas Motor Speedway, the lone stop
this season at the 1.5-mile oval near Fort Worth. Joey Logano won at Texas last
year, the most recent Cup victory for the three-time series champion.
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
|
