“I’m Not Looking at Laptops”: Carson Hocevar Sums Up Why He Enjoys ‘Real Racing’ in Grassroots Motorsports

Every off-season gives NASCAR drivers a chance to circle back to their roots, and Carson Hocevar wasted no time diving headfirst into that ritual. Instead of chasing pavement at Pensacola like many of his peers prepping for the Snowball Derby, the Spire Motorsports driver took his talents to the Gateway Dirt Nationals, trading asphalt for clay and throwing his car sideways in one of the winter’s most anticipated dirt showcases.

Hocevar ran the event once before, finishing twelfth in 2022, and he returned this year with the same wide-eyed enthusiasm. He noted immediately how much he enjoyed being surrounded by familiar faces, describing the garage as a reunion of sorts.

“These are a lot of my NASCAR guys or guys in the shop that grew up doing this that they get to go have fun with Jeff and then Tim Kloss,” he said, adding that the environment makes the workload feel more like a holiday than a hustle.

To him, the Gateway scene is a place where drivers can roll up their sleeves, sling some dirt, and rediscover the basics. Hocevar even called dirt racing the “real racing” he craves in the off-season, explaining what separates it from the data-heavy, aero-sensitive world of the Cup garage.

“Just having real racing or just not a lot of aero or engineering, I’m not looking at laptops and data, and you’re looking at flow, try to figure out what lane works everything,” he said.

The stripped-down nature of dirt track competition appeals to his instincts; it invites drivers to drive on feel, not formulas, and rewards those who can read a track surface like a second language.

 

He left Gateway with an eleventh-place finish this time around. Hocevar judged the run as “okay,” admitting he didn’t execute the way he hoped, but he wasn’t discouraged. More than anything, he seemed relieved that he wasn’t out of his depth and could still hold his own against seasoned dirt racers. The outing only fueled his desire to return.

When asked about adding more dirt starts, Hocevar said the logistics hinge on finding mid-week opportunities that won’t clash with his NASCAR commitments. He has his eye on Eldora Speedway in particular. Still, he knows running multiple dirt shows means asking Spire’s leadership to play along and occasionally flying in and out on tight turnarounds.

Still, the 22-year-old believes he could turn these appearances into something meaningful, both competitively and commercially. Running well, he said, might even help the “franchise” sell better. In the long run, Hocevar hopes to carve out a dirt schedule that becomes a permanent fixture of his racing life.