"I never would've thought I'd get stage points in a Cup car in my fourth-ever start" - Carson Hocevar on his career-best finish at Bristol

Carson Hocevar, behind the wheel of the No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Silverado, secured a fourth-place finish at the Bristol Motor Speedway race of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. This win came despite challenging traffic conditions and track manoeuvrability struggles.

This result not only bolstered his position in the playoff standings but also marked his 10th top-five finish of the season. Hocevar expressed his desire for track layout changes to offer more options for drivers and now looks forward to the demanding superspeedway race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Despite the difficulties faced during the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway, which included numerous cautions in the first two stages, Hocevar managed to finish fourth. Many competitors encountered similar obstacles, ultimately benefiting Hocevar by helping him maintain his position above the NASCAR Playoffs cutline.

According to Kickinthetires.net, Carson Hocevar said:

"We finished second in stage one, had a little slow pit stop, got as good as we could in stage two and finished fourth. It’s still tough to get past some trucks, but honestly, I never would've thought I'd get stage points in a Cup car in my fourth-ever start.

"I mean, Grant (Enfinger) even said he’s like you were way faster than me. He’s like all I had to do was just hit the bottom. And I was stuck. I (tried) to go around the top and I would just be no man’s land. We just don’t have enough power.”

His cushion in the playoffs was further expanded by his strong performance in the first two stages of the 200-lap race. Carson Hocevar secured second place in the first stage and strategically climbed to seventh in the second stage, accumulating an additional 13 points throughout the night.

"He ran a really good lap for that truck and made a mistake" - Carson Hocevar on Kaden Honeycutt

The positive moments at 'The Last Great Colosseum' began several hours before the race began. During qualifying, Honeycutt had a close encounter with the wall and spun out in an unsponsored Young's Motorsports truck.

Despite this incident, Honeycutt briefly claimed the top spot on the speed charts before ultimately starting from the 17th position.

Hocevar spoke on the incident:

"I just said (to Kaden), ‘Hey, don’t let this get you too far down, don’t ruin anything you have already. He ran a really good lap for that truck and made a mistake. But that’s going to happen when you’re pushing that hard and in that caliber equipment, your box and window are bigger."

Following Honeycutt's spin, Hocevar caught up with the fellow up-and-coming driver as he made his way to the infield care center. Not too long ago, Hocevar was in a situation similar to Honeycutt, striving to extract the utmost performance from his equipment while honing his racing skills in the Truck Series.

Now, as a contender for the championship, he's offering guidance to other drivers facing challenges he has personally experienced. This includes winning the pole position before crashing at Sonoma Raceway last year.

Carson Hocevar achieved his 10th top-five finish of the season, along with his 12th top-10, equalling his best single-season record. Additionally, this fourth-place finish marked his 20th career top-five finish at just 20 years old.

You can catch the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Talladega, airing on Fox Sports 1 at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 30th.