Top Dog: Carson Hocevar
The last road course race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season brought about one of the most challenging tracks on the circuit: the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
Road courses have proven to be either feast or famine for the underdogs, with the ROVAL being no different.
In this year’s rendition of the Bank of America ROVAL 400 (Oct. 13), there wasn’t much feasting up front, but instead plenty of hunger to go around for NASCAR’s dark horses. At the head of the table was a familiar driver as the top dog, Carson Hocevar.
The rookie finished 12th, just shy of another top 10 on what has been a freshman campaign full of success.
Hocevar’s opening stage was fairly modest, gaining two spots from his 20th-place starting position to finish 18th. Aside from turning Brad Keselowski in turn 7, stage two was deja vu for the No. 77, as Hocevar finished the stage in 18th again.
Unfortunately, Hocevar’s incident with Keselowski wasn’t the only brush he had with over-aggression.
Shortly after the final stage began, Hocevar spun another car in turn 7, this time with Shane van Gisbergen while battling for 11th.
The moment didn’t phase Hocevar, who drove into the top 10. The Portage, Mich. native remained in that position for much of the final stage before losing spots to drivers with fresher tires, ultimately setting him up for the 12th-place result.
Hocevar’s run-ins certainly will spur questions of his style, but his results have been speaking louder. Quietly, the freshman has been one of the most consistent drivers in the field over the course of the second half of the year. In the last 18 races, Hocevar has finished 18th or better in 15 of those contests.
That has boosted his average finish to a solid 18.3, which is inside the top 20 for full-time drivers. His 20 top 20s also rank 14th in the field this season.
As the 21-year-old continues to come into his own, road courses have also been a sneaky good track type for him. In the five road course races this year, Hocevar averaged a finish of 15.6, recording a top five and three top 20s. That will prove vital in the future, especially with Mexico City being added to the schedule next year.
Notable Underdog Runs
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. came into the ROVAL with an extra pep in his step, and perhaps the least stress of most drivers after winning at Talladega Superspeedway last week. That confidence led to a solid 16th-place showing at the ROVAL, his best finish in seven starts on the course.
A look at Stenhouse’s start and finish recap throughout each stage may show little passing. After starting 24th, that’s exactly where he finished in both stages, due in part to short-pitting the stages. In the final stage, Stenhouse could be seen getting physical as the intensity picked up, muscling his way forward after restarting in 16th.
Following a caution with 30 laps remaining, Stenhouse’s JTG Daugherty Racing team opted to keep him on the track, allowing him to fire off inside the top 15. He relinquished only one spot by the finish, resulting in his first consecutive top 20s since Iowa Speedway-New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the summer.
Todd Gilliland continued his streak of top 20s on road courses with an 18th-place showing as a result of Alex Bowman being disqualified post-race. Gilliland was a fixture in the top 20 for much of the race, getting as high as ninth at one point during the event.
What makes the Sherrills Ford, N.C. native’s finish even more impressive is that he recovered from a spin during the final stage. On lap 70, Gilliland was turned by van Gisbergen in turn 7 while running 17th, pushing him outside the top 20. Gilliland used the final restart to cement himself in the top 20, earning his 17th top 20 of the year.
Another road course race, another Zane Smith top-20 finish. With a 19th-place result, Smith went a perfect five-for-five on scoring top 20s at road courses in 2024. With the exception of being forced off track during the race, Smith had a rather clean day, and he continues to improve as the season winds down.
Exemplifying that improvement is where Smith sat in points when the Cup Series visited Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600 on the oval in May. After that race, Smith sat 35th in points. Following his most recent visit to the home track for many teams, Smith is now 29th in points, scoring his fourth top 20 in the past five events.
Rounding out the top 20 was Harrison Burton, a driver who struggled to gain a handle on road courses this season. Burton’s race was a bit rocky at times, evidenced by the fact he had to serve two stop-and-go penalties for cutting the chicane. However, he was able to bounce back and land his first road course top 20 this season, and his first since a third-place finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2022.
Perhaps the most dramatic beef among the underdogs at a track known for chaos occurred between Kaz Grala and Erik Jones. During stage two, Grala and Jones entered the backstretch chicane in a three-wide battle with Gilliland. And in the words of semi-retired crew chief and current FOX Sports analyst Larry McReynolds, “That ain’t gonna work boys!”
Obviously, contact was made, resulting in several run-ins between the two drivers the remainder of the lap.
A typically upbeat Grala did not hold back on his frustration, telling Frontstretch post-race that “Everyone out there will sooner DNF than get passed by the No. 15 car. They won’t let it happen.”
Grala finished 28th while Jones suffered more damage later on, retiring from the race and finishing 33rd.
What They’re Saying
Daniel Hemric (25th): “Not the finish we wanted today. We had a really good No. 31 Cirkul Chevrolet, on top of a solid strategy by [crew chief] Trent Owens. Unfortunately, we got spun and never caught a caution to get new tires.”
Grala (28th):
Who’s Really the Top Dog?
As soon as Stenhouse equaled the score with his Talladega win, Hocevar wrestled the most gold medals away one week later. Stenhouse still scored his third silver showing of the year, while Gilliland is one bronze shy of being tied for the most in that category.
Gold: Hocevar (6x), Stenhouse Jr. (5x), Jones (4x), Smith (4x), John Hunter Nemechek (2x), AJ Allmendinger (2x), Gilliland (2x), Corey LaJoie (2x), Hemric (2x), Justin Haley, Joey Hand, Burton
Silver: Gilliland (8x), Haley (3x), Hocevar (3x), Stenhouse (3x), Allmendinger (2x), Hemric (2x), Nemechek (2x), Smith (2x), LaJoie (2x), Burton, Ty Dillon, Anthony Alfredo, Cody Ware, Jones
Bronze: Stenhouse (5x), LaJoie (4x), Gilliland (4x), Nemechek (3x), Hocevar (3x), Hemric (3x), Jones (2x), Haley (2x), Grala, van Gisbergen, Allmendinger, Smith, Burton, Parker Retzlaff
Small Team Scheme of the Week
New race team, same sponsor.
Despite switching over to Rick Ware Racing two weeks ago, Corey LaJoie brought the support of longtime supporter Schluter Systems with him. With the fall season officially in swing, LaJoie’s No. 51 was dressed for the occasion with the familiar bright orange of Schluter Systems.
The car stood out, but it was short lived. LaJoie exited the race three laps into the event with apparent engine issues.
Luken Glover joined the Frontstretch team in 2020 as a contributor, furthering a love for racing that traces back to his earliest memories. Glover inherited his passion for racing from his grandfather, who used to help former NASCAR team owner Junie Donlavey in his Richmond, Va. garage. A 2023 graduate from the University of the Cumberlands, Glover is the author of "The Underdog House," contributes to commentary pieces, and does occasional at-track reporting. Additionally, Glover enjoys working in ministry, coaching basketball, playing sports, and karting.