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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular and dirt track racer Carson Hocevar is set to be the newest driver to cut his teeth in the highest echelon of the sport this weekend.
The 20-year-old driver will be seen filling in for Corey LaJoie at Spire Motorsports. The latter announced his appearance behind the wheel of Chase Elliott's #9 Chevrolet at World Wide Technology Raceway this Sunday.
Hocevar will be promoted from his usual seat at Niece Motorsports driving the #42 Chevrolet Silverado. He will now be behind the wheel of LaJoie's full-time drive at Spire Motorsports, the #7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
The Portage, Michigan native recently spoke about how his fill-in for LaJoie came about in the Cup Series, on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. He elaborated on how he almost missed his chances to step up to the big stage.
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"I was in a post-race debrief for Charlotte for our truck team and I'm trying to prioritize and be zoned in on that. I had 6 missed calls because I was trying to prioritize my day job and I'm like, I hope they, I'm texting them like making sure, 'Hey, I'm not ignoring you!'"
Carson Hocevar also touched upon how often a young driver in the junior nationwide series is susceptible to self-doubt and criticism:
"I never would've imagined this working out the way it did and there's times when you don't even think you'll ever see Sunday."
Carson Hocevar elaborates on his mindset going into NASCAR Cup Series race at WWT Raceway
Often criticized for his on-track behaviour and questionable moves in the Craftsman Truck Series, Carson Hocevar recently addressed the media to clear the air.
Talking about how he is determined to change his mindset when going racing, Hocevar elaborated:
"Last year was really tough for me and that's really no excuse. I just was mentally wrong on a lot of things, had the wrong mindset. Wanted to win so badly that I thought I could out-work stuff and turn some people away.
"I was taking results too personal. I've been able to calm down and look myself in the mirror and have a lot of heart-to-heart conversations and said, 'Not everyone's against me, everyone wants me to be fixed' and fix myself."
Watch Carson Hocevar make his Cup Series debut this Sunday during the Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway.
