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Mar 27, 2024

Carson Hocevar Comes Up Short at Milwaukee, Throws Shade at the No. 98 Team

Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography Carson Hocevar was by no means the fastest truck of the day in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Milwaukee Mile Speedway on Sunday (Aug. 27), but he almost

Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography

Carson Hocevar was by no means the fastest truck of the day in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Milwaukee Mile Speedway on Sunday (Aug. 27), but he almost stole one from the driver who was.

Hocevar found himself with the lead after clearing Christian Eckes on the penultimate restart. Meanwhile, Grant Enfinger, the dominant truck of the day, was mired back in traffic after making a pit stop while Hocevar, Eckes and others stayed out.

That didn’t stop Enfinger from clawing his way back through the field, eventually taking the lead from Hocevar with 17 laps to go. Hocevar ended up settling for second, but he was a little more content with a second-place finish now that he has three wins under his belt.

“Just kind of a bummer to run second,” Hocevar told FS1 after the race. “I haven’t done this in quite a while. Luckily, we’ve been fortunate enough to win some races.”

Hocevar wouldn’t let Enfinger slip away easily, and he even sent his No. 42 so deep into turn 3 that the two drivers made contact and got loose before eventually saving it. Hocevar said it was nothing intentional.

“We’re good buddies, and I didn’t mean to get into him,” Hocevar said. “I’m really thankful he didn’t spin, or I didn’t spin. I just tried to get in deep and that black stuff (the new pavement on the bottom of the corners) is pretty slick.”

At the end of his TV interview, Hocevar took the time to share his two cents on one of the biggest storylines of the Truck Series weekend.

“The No. 98 [team] finally got their superpower taken away and now we can all race again.”

Hocevar was referencing the inspection issues that plagued the No. 98 team of Ty Majeski prior to the start of the race. Majeski failed pre-qualifying inspection several times to the point where it didn’t clear until the morning of the race. Joe Shear Jr., Majeski’s crew chief, was ejected from the track, while Majeski was forced to start from the rear and serve a pass-through penalty on the first lap.

In addition, NASCAR confiscated a right-rear tire from the No. 98 team to return it to the R&D center for further assessment. There are reports that the team messed with the tires, and further penalties could be handed out later this week.

Hocevar later clarified his TV comments to Frontstretch.

“There’s certain tricks you can do to make yourself way faster,” Hocevar told Frontstretch. “It’s not springs and shocks that make you almost lap the field at Richmond and haul ass. He was the best truck all day in practice [at Milwaukee], and they took that away, and I never saw him all day.

“We all push the envelope, right? But that was just blatant.”

Majeski was the class of the field at Richmond Raceway before late pit strategy and fresher tires allowed Hocevar to pass the No. 98 with four laps to go and win. Despite a mid-race speeding penalty, Majeski had led 168 of the race’s 250 laps.

The No. 98 team then went to the next race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and dominated, sweeping the stages and leading 179 of the 200 laps en route to his first win of the season.

After his IRP win, Majeski said that the truck he ran was the same one from Richmond. It also won last year at Bristol Motor Speedway and was the truck Majeski used in the championship race at Phoenix Raceway.

He also said the team was planning on bringing a new truck to Milwaukee.

Majeski finished seventh at the Mile but is still locked into the Round of 8 with his win at IRP. Hocevar, meanwhile, is 56 points above the cutoff line, and barring total collapse, will lock into the Round of 8 after stage one in the next race at Kansas Speedway.

The Kansas Lottery 200 will take place on Friday, Sept. 8 at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. He co-authors Only Yesterday (Wednesdays) and Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the site's primary Truck Series reporter and writer, and contributes to SRX coverage, too. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is currently pursuing his master of journalism at Temple University. He is a theatre actor and fight choreographer-in-training outside of Frontstretch. He is a loyal fan of the Cincinnati Reds and Carolina Panthers, still hopeful for a championship at some point in his lifetime.

You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on Twitter.

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