NASCAR having three tiers of racing provides a ladder for young talents to showcase their potential, and the Truck Series exemplifies this best. But every once in a while, a driver gets a break to race full-time in the Cup Series and skip Xfinity altogether. Carson Hocevar — perhaps the best example of this — shed light on why the jump is so rare.
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The 22-year-old Michigan native debuted full-time in the Cup with Spire Motorsports in 2024. Getting the No. 77 Chevy ride was justified by his solid runs at the end of 2023 for Legacy Motorclub, where he recorded five top-20s in eight races.
At Kansas, Hocevar was asked whether the Truck Series can directly develop Cup drivers, provided the cars remained the same across all series. He was doubtful of it, replying, “I don’t think that’s going to be, like, the move… Xfinity’s so expensive and so tough.”
He went on to explain how Xfinity drivers do get sponsored opportunities to race in the top tier because of the similar costs. At the same time, he acknowledged that, while still rare, the overall likelihood of Truck racers going straight to Cup is higher now.
According to Hocevar, there are some factors to consider. He said, “It just all depends on the level of the team’s faith in you and everything. It’s just not going to be as shell-shocking when it happens. I think it’s still possible, but I think you have to go dominate Trucks or be really, really good.”
He also added that there is value in doing things right behind the scenes, like sim-driving a Cup car. This is one thing that might come more naturally to Truck racers than those in Xfinity.
Hocevar explains why Trucks handle more like Cup cars than Xfinity
Hocevar was asked whether he shared Corey Heim’s view that the Trucks and Cup cars are much more similar than the Xfinity cars. And he had no doubts over it.
He said, “Yeah, for sure. The power to downforce ratio, the on-throttle time, kind of what you do is really similar or way more similar than the Xfinity car, obviously.”
The driver narrated his own difference in experiences, saying, “I felt really comfortable the first time I got in a Cup car.
And the first time I got in a Xfinity car, it took me all race to get really used to it. So, yeah, it’s just different.”
Hocevar has shown signs of progress among NASCAR’s elite. While the pole at Texas proved he has the speed, it remains to be seen whether he can develop the racecraft to win his first Cup Series race.
