‘Hurricane’ Hocevar Comes Up Short on Elusive Cup Win in Atlanta

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer/Photographer

Love him or hate him. For better or worse, Carson Hocevar is one racer who can put on a chaotic show.

So chaotic, Mike Joy acknowledged the nickname “Hurricane Hocevar” during the FOX telecast.

Throughout Sunday’s Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta, the Spire Motorsports driver endured all the highs and lows a racer could imagine. From losing laps to change a flat tire to bulldozing his way to the front of the pack, Hocevar was relentless.

But when the dust settled, the quest for his maiden NASCAR Cup Series victory came up short once again.

A last-lap shuffle denied Hocevar the glory and ended up finishing fourth in a race won by Tyler Reddick, who scored his second win in as many races.

“I choked,” said Hocevar. “For our luck last year, well, I was like, if we just raced until the Busch Series length races, like stage two basically, we would be really good.

“Then it kind of goes to hell in a handbasket.

“Now I guess we’re really, really good this year at just getting to the white flag leading.”

"We're all going for spaces and runs."@CarsonHocevar rallied from two laps down to bring his No. 77 home in P4. pic.twitter.com/svDdzC3HrZ

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 23, 2026

In Stage 1, Hocevar had a strong car that could compete at the front of the pack, but while running in the top-five until a flat tire forced him to bring the No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet onto pit road for an unscheduled pit stop.

Consequently, Hocevar was no longer on the lead lap, but he fought aggressively to gain one of his laps back to wrap up the stage a lap behind stage winner Austin Cindric.

Suddenly, more chaos ensued as the right-side window popped off and had to come to pit road again to assess the issue. Once he got out, he was now two laps down.

Again, Hocevar will rectify the misfortune by gaining his laps back via the free pass as a result of the race having several multi-car collisions. As the second stage unfolded, Hocevar would see himself back in the top-10 and collected stage points after crossing the line in sixth.

There was no question up to that point, Hocevar was a contender. However, two instances saw drivers have their day go south due to incidents that can be perceived as either a bad move or a racing deal.

The first victim? Joey Logano.

On Lap 238, Hocevar ended up clipping Logano, sending him around into the quad-oval grass to bring out the eighth caution. The three-time Cup Series champion ended up finishing in 18th, out of contention for the win.

Joey Logano goes around after contact with Carson Hocevar late in Atlanta! pic.twitter.com/zKZeqMvCyd

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 22, 2026

From that point forward, a final pit stop for fresh tires kickstarted a crazy drive from the back towards the front for the 23-year-old driver. It didn’t matter who he came across, they were chump’s change as Hocevar zig-zagged his way to the front that could’ve spelt disaster if the move was done wrong.

Once the penultimate caution and subsequent red flag came out for a multi-car crash behind Hocevar, the motive was clear. Win or bust.

It led to the second victim of the night. Christopher Bell.

Hocevar restarted third on the outside second row with Bell only ahead of him in that lane. Without wasting any time, Hocevar tried going for the gap between Bell and race leader Bubba Wallace entering Turn 1.

All hell would break loose and it saw Bell veer right into the outside wall while Hocevar ended up rubbing fenders with Reddick down the apron. The 10th and final caution would come out as Bell’s shot at another Atlanta win was over, limping his way to a 21st place result.

Carson Hocevar went for it ASAP. pic.twitter.com/z0ogFRFXXJ

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 23, 2026

Now with Bell out of the picture, it was Hocevar who was now on the front row outside line. A strong restart, a superb push from Ross Chastain and aggressive blocking would’ve paid dividends for him, but it didn’t go that way.

Reddick’s push on his 23XI Racing teammate Wallace on the inside lane bested the outside line as the pack entered the backstretch. Wallace would go high to block Hocevar, but the latter quickly went to the middle, destroying Wallace’s drafting momentum and allowing Reddick to go three-wide for the lead.

With a push from Chastain, all Hocevar had to deal with was Reddick to get the victory coming to the white flag. The two would battle door-to-door, but it was advantage Reddick with the assist coming from Chase Briscoe, a Toyota driver, as a wobble from Hocevar bit him in the dust.

“I went over to Briscoe and just kind of laughed. I thought it was the right spot, being on top and everything. Then I look in my mirror,” Hocevar explained his battle with Briscoe.

“I’m like, ‘All right, perfect, he’s coming to me.’

“Then they start going left, and I was confused for a second. Then I looked to my left and realized it was another Toyota. I’m like, he’s not going to push me.”

"And Tyler Reddick drives off into the sunset with no right-front fender."

Breaking down the Atlanta finish.@KevinHarvick | @ClintBowyer | @mikejoy500 pic.twitter.com/3rfp9XCQ1b

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 23, 2026

Soon after, a huge run from Wallace led to an ill-fated block by Hocevar which damaged the right rear fender. Then a tap from Hocevar’s teammate Daniel Suarez ensued and it’s all the car wrote.

All Hocevar could do is see three other competitors ahead of him without getting the late charge to mix it up.

“I was really happy with this No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet. Our car was really fast to go from two laps down to getting stage points and finishing fourth,” said Hocevar.

“Overall, it was a good points day for us. I was taking every run I could. I’m sure I owe people apologies, but I think we’re all battling for spaces and runs.

“At the end, all four tires were straight. My toe was knocked out, but it was still pretty fast. Pretty excited about a strong start to the season.”

With two races completed, Hocevar will enter Circuit of the Americas (Sunday, March 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX) fourth in the championships standings, trailing Reddick by 51 points.