“Are you sh*tting me?": Carson Hocevar berates himself before learning he topped the qualifying charts

The qualifying session for the COTA saw a hilarious moment between Carson Hocevar and his crew over the radio. The conversation over the radio started when the Spire Motorsports driver started berating his performance during the qualifying lap.

The qualifying session was conducted in a single round with drivers split into groups based on a four-variable formula. Two groups took the track, each getting a 20-minute session. The session consisted of one round where the fastest lap decided the starting line up. Tyler Reddick secured pole with a lap time of 1:38.08 followed by Bubba Wallace with 1:38.30, and Chase Elliott rounded up the top three with 1:38.36.

Before the Michigan native finished fourth in qualifying, Carson Hocevar led with his lap time. Initially frustrated with his performance, Hocevar berated himself over the radio to his crew. CBS Sports journalist Steven Taranto shared the hilarious interaction:

"I suck. I don't know. I could've gone faster, I just don't know where," Carson Hocevar said.

"You're P1 right now of everybody. So we'll see where it holds out." - crew

"Wait, what?" - Hocevar

"Yeah, you're top of the board." - crew

"Are you sh*tting me?" - Hocevar

The 22-year-old driver pilots the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro for Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. After standout performances in the 2023 Craftsman Truck Series, where he secured four wins and a Championship 4 appearance, Hocevar bypassed the Xfinity Series to join the Cup Series full-time in 2024.

In 2025, Carosn Hocevar achieved a career-best finish by securing second place at the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This impressive performance, however, was not without controversy, as his aggressive driving style left several competitors frustrated.

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Kyle Larson broke silence on Carson Hocevar’s antics in Atlanta

Kye Larson, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, acknowledged that while he personally had no major on-track issues with Carson Hocevar during the race, he advised the young driver to avoid ruffling feathers, especially with series veterans, as they "can make life tough on you." Via Kyle Dalton on X, he said:

"For me, in particular, in my race, I had no issue. Obviously, I could see the moves he was making and whatnot throughout the whole race. But I don't know, like it's hard for me to sit here and judge because I'm an aggressive driver."

"But in the beginning, I also didn't want to ruffle any feathers, especially the veterans of the series."

"They [NASCAR veterans] can make life tough on you. So, I think you just want as little enemies as you can get coming in."

He suggested that upsetting veterans early in a career could lead to challenges down the road, although he admitted to being an aggressive driver himself.