NASCAR
Carson Hocevar Continues Winning Ways with Texas Trucks Throwdown
FORT WORTH, Texas – Only five days after earning his maiden NASCAR Cup Series win, ‘The Hurricane’ Carson Hocevar remains undefeated. Back at the site of his first Truck Series victory three years ago, Hocevar was the dominant force. Battling back in overtime, the No. 77 Chevrolet capped off a blistering run with another victory lane visit under The Lone Star State’s lights.
From the pole, Ben Rhodes led every lap of the opening Stage. The No. 99 was soon passed in Stage 2 by Talladega Cup winner Carson Hocevar. The Chili’s 77 from Spire Motorsports took command for the first time on lap 59 and hardly ever looked back. It was evident early on that Hocevar had a knack for gaining many spots on each restart. The black 77 often went three-wide to take back lost ground.
Hocevar restarted Stage 3 out front and looked dominant, until a slow final pit stop. An extended right front tire change set the 77 back in the pack. This gave the lead to TRICON Garage’s duo of Gio Ruggiero and Kaden Honeycutt. On a restart inside the final 20 laps, Hocevar retook the lead thanks to a bump from teammate Kyle Busch.
Following another two late yellows and restarts, Hocevar lined up second alongside Ruggiero. The Chili’s 77 shot out of a cannon in the high lane and was clear out front by turn two. With no other pressure, Hocevar took home a second career Texas triumph.
“I mean it’s unbelievable,” Hocevar said of his whirlwind week bookended by trips to victory lane. “Thank you everybody, it means a lot. I’m gonna go burn down a Chili’s. I can’t leave, so we gotta go burn down a Chili’s here somewhere. I don’t know where it’s going to be, but everyone on the fence thank you. Man what a fun race. We had the reverse order, obviously the 1-2 with Kyle [Busch]. I watched him win a lot of Truck races, it’s finally good to put an end to his Texas streak.”
“We were really good on restarts. These guys do a really, really good job. You know, it’s been a struggle on the Truck side. But so thankful to get it done here. Al Niece, I saw him, you know. Great to do it though with Spire and Jeff, to get a 1-2, but ultimately, you know, thank everybody for staying. I’m gonna go burn it down a little bit more.”
Hocevar concluded his winning celebration by doing victory donuts while hanging out of his truck, mirroring his epic celebration from Talladega.
Behind the Spire teammates duo of Hocevar and Busch were Texas native Kaden Honeycutt, Brandon Jones, and Ben Rhodes. Texas’ top-10 was rounded out by: Layne Riggs, Daniel Hemric, Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski, and Chandler Smith.
Thanks to his third-place finish, Honeycutt takes over the points lead in the Trucks, 14 markers ahead of Chandler Smith.
.@NASCAR_Trucks Chase standings after @TXMotorSpeedway and heading into @WGI. @KadenWHoneycutt leads the field by 14 points, the final top 10 berth is held by @JakeGarcia35 by 1 point over @Justin_Haley_ #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/yEg9M7j4CM
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) May 2, 2026
Texas marked the first of six-straight races for the Truckers. Their tour rolls on into the high speed road course at Watkins Glen. The Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at The Glen goes green Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, NRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
