Top Dog: Carson Hocevar
In the heart of country music’s playground, Sunday’s (June 1) Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway could have played to the tune of several country songs.
One driver that could have had multiple songs written about him from this particular race alone was Carson Hocevar. Classics such as “The Gambler,” “Fast As You,” “How Do You Like Me Now” and others could have easily conveyed the events of Hocevar’s night.
In the closing laps, “Fast As You” may have been the most fitting, as it looked as though Hocevar was going to run down Ryan Blaney for his first career win. Instead, Blaney rode off into the night with the trophy, while Hocevar settled for second, matching his career-best finish.
Track position was valuable throughout the race, proving true in the first stage when Hocevar turned in a neutral gain/loss scoring by finishing 26th after starting 26th.
The second stage didn’t start out on the right note either for Hocevar, where “The Gambler” application came into play for a young driver who is no stranger to controversy.
On lap 106, Hocevar tried to sneak under Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for 17th, but ended up tapping him instead, sending Stenhouse’s No. 47 Chevrolet into the outside wall and ultimately ending his race.
Aggression or not, Hocevar was not phased by the incident, dodging another incident on lap 127 to roar to seventh by the end of the second stage.
Hocevar flirted with the top five in the final stage before pitting on lap 244, a few laps earlier than the leaders. However, short pitting paid off, as the sophomore driver cycled out in the second position.
Over the next handful of laps, Hocevar began clicking off hot laps, trimming what was a five-second lead held by Blaney all the way to just over two seconds with 20 laps remaining. Ultimately, the older tires and dirty air from lapped cars came into play, halting the Portage, Mich. driver from grabbing his first checkered flag.
Blaney and Hocevar’s 1-2 finish is a redemption song itself, starring two drivers who have faced some of the worst fortunes on tour this season. Neither one finished the Coca-Cola 600 a week ago, which was setting up to be another promising night for Hocevar before a blown engine derailed his efforts.
In the face of four DNFs and plenty of other foiled performances, Hocevar is still in the thick of the playoff battle with the series past halfway on the regular season. Through 14 races, Hocevar sits in 17th on the playoff grid, a mere four points off the cut line.
The speed is evident, and the charisma is booming from the young talent. And even with the enemy list likely growing by one driver, it’s only a matter of time before Hocevar gets his first win.
Dare we say that he’s an underdog anymore?
Notable Underdog Runs
Hocevar stole the spotlight on a night where Erik Jones‘ star shone the brightest it has in some time. Slowly but surely, Legacy Motor Club’s efforts are paying off.
Jones brought his No. 43 Toyota home in seventh in the Music City, spending a good portion of the night in the top five. After a 12th-place stage one result, Jones weaved his way through multiple stage two accidents to score a fifth-place stage result and earn six bonus points.
In the final stage, Jones was threatening to challenge for the lead, filling up Joey Logano’s mirror for third at one point before settling into fourth.
Unfortunately, a mistake from earlier in the race came back to bite Jones. Crew chief Ben Beshore informed his driver that the team had not filled his fuel tank all the way in stage two, opting to sacrifice time during the final green flag pit stop cycle. The extra time mixed with older tires on the long run kept Jones out of the top five, but he still scored his second top 10 in four weeks.
It is the first time since 2023 that Jones has scored multiple top 10s on non-superspeedways in the same year.
Zane Smith topped the board for Front Row Motorsports with a 13th-place finish. Smith “walked the line” in the opening laps when he nudged Kyle Larson, sending the 2021 Cup champion outside the top 30.
The Huntington Beach, Calif., native drove into the top 10 during stage two, piecing together a solid frame to earn an eighth-place stage result. However, the final stage began with a landslide for Smith, who quickly fell outside the top 15 before regaining his footing. From there, Smith was able to charge back forward and score his eighth top 20 in the last 11 races.
Growing pains were expected for the newly re-branded Haas Factory Team, a remnant of Stewart-Haas Racing. Those pains were realized in the first few weeks of the season, but now, Cole Custer has slowly been chipping away at better results.
The 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion finished 19th overall, closing out a night that saw him run inside the top 15 for much of the final two stages. Custer got as high as 11th before sliding to 18th prior to the last set of pit stops, grinding it out to secure a top 20. A 21st-place run in the Daytona 500 stood as his best result in the first nine races, but in the last five events, he has accrued three finishes of 19th or better.
Rounding out the top 20 was AJ Allmendinger, who fought an uphill battle before the race even started. A 20th-place result was not necessarily ideal for the 43-year-old in his hunt for a playoff spot, but it could have been much worse.
Prior to qualifying, NASCAR discovered that the No. 16 team had made unapproved adjustments to Allmendinger’s car. Though they let him attempt a qualifying run, the penalty was certainly felt. Allmendinger was sent to the rear of the field, had to perform a stop-and-go penalty at the beginning of the race, and his car chief Jaron Antley was ejected along with revocation of his hard card.
Despite this, Allmendinger was able to fight his way back for a top 20, salvaging valuable points. He now sits seven points below the playoff cut line.
Underdog Power Rankings
1. Hocevar (+3): When Hocevar has finished races this year, they’ve typically been strong runs. That’s why a runner-up finish takes him from just inside the top five of these rankings to the top spot, especially after looking capable of winning the past two weeks. He will get another shot at his home track of Michigan International Speedway this weekend, where he finished 10th in his debut there a year ago.
2. Stenhouse (-1): The driver Hocevar unseated? One who’s probably not going to be sending Christmas cards to him anytime soon. The bad news for Stenhouse is that he dropped below the playoff cut line and received his first DNF of the season, but the good news is that he is only six points off the cut line. A good race at Michigan could get him back in, but his track record isn’t the most promising, with only one top 10 in 20 starts in the Irish Hills.
3. Allmendinger (NR): Allmendinger stays put this weekend with a downer of a trip to Nashville, but he remains very much alive in his pursuit of a playoff spot. He will look to turn around his Michigan fortunes as well, with no top 10s in 23 attempts.
4. Michael McDowell (-2): The mysterious case of McDowell and the No. 71 team’s 2025 season continues. A week after finally grabbing his first top 10 of the season, McDowell did not show up in Nashville despite qualifying inside the top 10, finishing 21st. That has been the theme of the season so far, though he too is within striking distance of the playoffs. Michigan has not been too kind to underdogs, and McDowell continues that trend in these rankings, still in search of his first top 15 at the track.
5. Smith: It’s tempting to slot Jones into the top five, but Smith’s consistency wins out. A 19.9 average finish is easily on pace for a career-best, and the FRM has been a top 20 machine as of late. He’ll look to keep it rolling in Michigan, where he finished in his lone start thus far.
Honorable Mentions: Jones, Todd Gilliland, John Hunter Nemechek
Top Dog Bracket Challenge
The first week of the bracket challenge was nearly rock chalk across the board. And as for Stenhouse, this was the perfect week to have a slip-up considering he had a bye.
(2) Allmendinger (20th) defeats (15) Cody Ware (33rd)
(14) Custer (19th) defeats (3) McDowell (21st)
(13) Riley Herbst (24th) defeats (4) Nemechek (27th)
(5) Hocevar (second) defeats (12) Shane van Gisbergen (25th)
(6) Gilliland (22nd) defeats (11) Ty Dillon (26th)
(7) Smith (13th) defeats (10) Justin Haley (32nd)
(8) Jones (seventh) defeats (9) Noah Gragson (38th)
Small Team Scheme of the Week
Drive Value returned to Nemechek’s No. 42 this weekend featuring a scheme that transitioned through multiple colors across the car.
The yellow bumper made the car pop on track, resulting in a scheme that played to the sweet music of Nashville.
Entering his fifth year with Frontstretch, Luken Glover is the author of The Underdog House, shedding light on the motivation and performance of NASCAR's dark horse teams as they strive to fight to the top. Additionally, Glover reports for the site at various events, and he contributes in the video editing department.
A 2023 graduate of the University of the Cumberlands, Glover is a middle school math and PE teacher, as well as a basketball coach. He is passionate about serving in his church, playing/coaching a wide variety of sports, and researching motorsports history.