On Friday night, Carson Hocevar powers to his second NASCAR Truck Series victory at Nashville Superspeedway in the Rackley Roofing 200.
LEBANON, Tenn. – Carson Hocevar took the lead with 40 laps remaining in Friday night’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway and held off every challenge necessary in the closing laps – including a frantic push from his competitors on a restart with three laps remaining – to earn his second career victory.
Carson Hocevar Powers to his Second NASCAR Truck Series Victory at Nashville
Hocevar held off reigning series champion, Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith, and Friday’s polesitter Nick Sanchez by a slight 0.271-second margin in a tightly-contested final push toward the finish line among the trio. The win for the 20-year-old driver of the No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet makes him the fourth multi-race winner of the season. And it’s an impressive fifth consecutive top-five for Hocevar.
Ironically, Hocevar’s first career win came after Smith and Sanchez wrecked at the front of the field on the final lap of double overtime at Texas Motor Speedway. This time, the only drama was the Michigan native’s impressive pace out front in the closing laps.
“I’m so excited I can finally put that other to rest,” Hocevar said of the circumstances of his first win, adding, “And hopefully I can win a lot more races for them (Neice Motorsports).”
Triple Truck Challenge Ends with a Carson Hocevar Win
Hocevar’s effort earned him the one-of-a-kind Nashville winner’s guitar and an extra $50,000 as part of the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Triple Truck Challenge program. He joins Ben Rhodes and Grant Enfinger as the three recipients of the three-race bonus money this season.
The Rackley Roofing 200 Results
Corey Heim and Bayley Currey rounded out the top five on Friday. Heim led the most laps – 57 of the 150 on the night – and won Stage 2 in the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota. He also leads the championship by 16 points over Smith.
The NASCAR Truck Series Point Standings
Although he missed out on his first trophy, it was still an amazing night for Sanchez, who earned his third pole position of the season.
What a Night for Rev Racing, Sanchez, and Caruth
In the opening laps, Sanchez and Rajah Caruth set the pace out front; the former ARCA competitors and NASCAR Drive for Diversity graduates ran nose-to-tail and door-to-door throughout the opening stage. Sanchez, 22, led the opening 35 laps in his No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet. And after multiple spirited duels between the two, the 21-year-old Caruth finally got around Sanchez on lap 36 to lead his first career lap in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competition – only to slow and have to pit his No. 24 GMS Chevrolet a lap later and relinquish the lead. He returned to the race many laps down and ultimately settled for a 32nd-place finish.
The opening stage concluded in similar drama when Smith got by Sanchez in the closing laps to claim his second stage win of the season.
“At the end of the day, it was a good points night, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed,’’ Sanchez said.
The Best of the Rest and a Tough Night for Friesen
Chase Purdy, Matt DiBenedetto, Tyler Ankrum, Ben Rhodes, and Jake Garcia rounded out the top ten.
It was a tough day for veteran Stewart Friesen, who was involved in two incidents that brought out caution periods. He dropped from ninth to 11th in the standings with only three regular-season races remaining to set the ten-driver Playoff field.
Sanchez’s effort at Nashville combined with Friesen’s tough-luck night moved the Miami rookie into that all-important tenth-place position with a six-point advantage on Friesen.
Next Up
The series takes a week off and resumes with some road course racing on July 8 – the O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course at 1:30 p.m. ET. Coverage is available at FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.