AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Carson Hocevar seems intent on driving as aggressive as ever.
After all, he was the runner-up in Atlanta for a career-best finish. It also prompted a week of criticism from some veteran drivers, and warnings not to make things harder on himself by making enemies on the track.
Spire Motorsports' 22-year-old driver has treated it all with a shrug and a promise to keep it going Sunday in NASCAR's first road race of the season at the Circuit of the Americas.
“I'm planning to race no differently,” Hocevar said Saturday before he qualified fourth to put him near the front again. He dismissed criticism that comes from outside his team and its suppliers as “noise.”
“You know I just like racing ... and I’m excited to have fast race cars.” Hocevar said. “So, I race for me, myself, and I, and you know, obviously a little bit for Spire Motorsports for sure. That’s what they pay me to do."
Spire co-owner Dan Towriss suggested Hocevar is just the latest young driver mixing things up on track.
“This happens every time there's a young aggressive driver that comes along. ... Are there things that Carson needs to learn? Yeah. This is his second year. He's not out there wrecking people, doing things like that,” Towriss said.
Hocevar even had some fun with all the drama.
Shortly after the race in Atlanta, when several drivers complained about him over the radio or confronted him in pit lane, Hocevar shot back: “We’re here to win races, not be a boy band and love each other and play in the playground together.”
By Friday, he was promoting “Wanna Join My Boy Band?” T-shirts on his social media accounts and website. The posts were briefly taken down Saturday, but Hocevar promised they would return and that all proceeds from the sales would go to the Drive For Life charitable foundation in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Hocevar's reputation as an aggressive driver dates to his racing in the truck series. His talent also has stood out. He earned top rookie honors in the Cup Series last year with six top-10 finishes.
Then Atlanta bubbled over. Ryan Blaney, who got turned by Hocevar in the final stage of the race, and Ross Chastain confronted him after it was over.
Chastain acknowledged Saturday he faced similar criticism from older drivers earlier in his career.
“I've had a line of people waiting on me at the car, as well,” Chastain said.
Aggressive moves take on different forms between super speedways like Atlanta and a road course like Austin, where cars bump and grind their way through sometimes sharp and slow-speed corners that bring them together.
“I can’t speak for other people, but in my experience, it’s all fine unless you make the same mistake again,” Chastain said. “Just don’t make the same people mad again.”
Series debutante
Connor Zilisch will start 14th in his Cup Series debut on Sunday with Trackhouse Racing. The 18-year-old said he's not setting any expectations other than win the respect of the veteran drivers.
“You don't want to go out there and make a fool of yourself because once you lose the respect of all the veterans, it's really tough to get it back," he said. "We want to race them the right way."
Zilisch has been pegged as a future star. He won 15 races across seven different series in 2024, and he started Saturday's Xfinity race from the pole.
“I want to try and become the youngest Cup Series winner,” Zilisch said. “And honestly, I don’t feel like there’s anything that tells me I’m not ready to race on a road course on Sunday."
Pole position
Tyler Reddick, the 2023 race winner, will start Sunday from pole position. And it will be a front row lockout for 23XI Racing with teammate Bubba Wallace starting second.
The team, which is is co-owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, is waging a legal fight with NASCAR over antitrust claims.
Road course, short course
New road, new rodeo is the theme for a new track layout at COTA.
The NASCAR race at a facility built for Formula 1 features a shorter, tighter layout than in past years. The new design slices about a mile off the track distance and takes out most of COTA's long straight.
It also cuts about a minute off lap times, allowing the race to be extended from 68 laps to 95.
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