Kyle Busch, who is enduring a winless spell in the Cup Series, secured his 68th Craftsman Truck Series win at the EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta on Saturday. The victory will surely serve as a confidence-booster for him ahead of Sunday’s Cup race. The one person that Busch has to thank the most for the victory is Carson Hocevar.
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Hocevar and Busch drove under the banner of Spire Motorsports. While Hocevar displayed his usual overtly aggressive style in the beginning stages, he controlled himself as time passed and began playing the role of a wingman for Busch.
The race had been shortened to 125 laps due to weather delaying the start of the event. The racing at the front of the pack became frantic toward the end. But the top-2 spots remained in the control of the Spire drivers.
Busch and Hocevar simply didn’t allow anyone to come between them. And the Cup Series star was left thoroughly impressed with the camaraderie that Hocevar displayed.
“It was nice to see that he’s got it in him. At the beginning of the race, it was kind of normal, Carson. All over the place,” Busch said in his post-race interview.
“Not all over the place, like, out of control, just dicing it up, right? Like cutting moves and making plays like I probably once was. Then in the second stage, I was able to kind of be his wingman for a minute. That worked really well for it,” he added.
Busch’s goal was to put one of the team’s trucks in Victory Lane. And he triumphed.
Busch and Hocevar prepare to compete with each other
Busch and Hocevar have less than 24 hours to change their race suits and get into their Cup Series cars. And while in the top-tier race, they will have to get rid of the mindset that they are on the track to help each other out.
Busch will drive the No. 8 Camaro for Richard Childress Racing and attempt to break his 94-race winless streak. Hocevar, meanwhile, will drive the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, trying to secure his maiden Cup Series victory.
Hocevar said in his post-race interview on Saturday that the choice to help Busch was purely a business decision. He did not have a shot at winning the race. So, he had decided to help his team reach Victory Lane. Rest assured, he won’t be offering such help in the Cup Series race.
