NASCAR’s end-of-year driver Awards are slowly being released, and Carson Hocevar won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Driver of the Year. However, was he truly the most deserving driver of this award?
Carson Hocevar had his breakout season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He tied with Christian Eckes for the series lead in wins. Hocevar also made it to the Championship 4, and this came after two full-time seasons with no wins.
He was a surprise, and he did so well, that he worked his way into the Cup Series. He was asked to substitute for both Legacy Motor Club and Spire Motorsports, and he performed well enough to work his way into a full-time ride with Spire Motorsports for 2024.
One thing is for certain, Hocevar was the biggest breakout star of the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series season. Coming into the season, he was not expected to be heading into the Cup Series in 2024, but he beat the odds. However, was this enough for Carson Hocevar to win “Driver of the Year”?
While Hocevar was good, he was not statistically the best driver of the season. Hocevar led the series in only one statistical category, wins. Even at that, he was tied with Christian Eckes. Corey Heim, despite missing a race, led the series in top-5s (12), top-10s (19), average start (7.0), average finish (6.8), and laps led (611) and Nick Sanchez led the series in poles (5).
On top of that, Hocevar made some enemies on the race track as well. He was penalized at Martinsville for two laps after attempting to wreck Taylor Gray (keyword: attempted), and Hocevar ended up wrecking himself in the process.
However, Hocevar also ended Corey Heim’s Championship chances at Phoenix thanks to an over-aggressive move at Phoenix. Hocevar showed a lot of remorse after the incident, but, there was a ton of backlash from those in the industry over this incident.
Not only was Hocevar arguably not even the best driver of the season, he made some enemies along the way. Is that really the caliber of being named “Driver of the Year”? Then again, the other driver who most likely could have won this award, Corey Heim, also retaliated against Hocevar.
As far as fan reaction, it was a bit mixed. Some fans offered their congratulations of Hocevar, but, others were not convinced he should have won this award.
Donald believes that Corey Heim should have been chosen for the award.
Tyler was not convinced.
Pulling for Ross is convinced that Hocevar deserved it.
Jon Iaccino is just here for the comments.
INeedMILKster is okay with the pick, but he admits it is controversial.
Adrian Martinez is excited.
ElitePrecision29 gives his vote to Corey Heim.
Erik believes that Grant Enfinger should have won the award.
Hocevar won four races and he worked his way into a Cup Series ride, however, was that enough to earn him driver of the year? Not everyone is convinced, but, some agree with it.
The NASCAR Truck Series breaks off from the main touring series schedule this weekend, but that doesn’t mean the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series aren’t racing. So, whether you are going to be at the track or home, what does the forecast look like for the race weekend in Austin, Texas?
Before the OAP Series Race (11:00 AM – 2:00 PM)
During the OAP Series Race (2:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
After the OAP Series Race (5:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
Before the Cup Series Race (11:00 AM – 2:00 PM)
During the Cup Series Race (2:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
After the Cup Series Race (5:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
When the three NASCAR National Series rolled into Austin for COTA’s first NASCAR race weekend in 2021, no one could have guessed the chaos that lay in wait. A major rain shower did not prevent the series from racing that day, as, though it was still somewhat foreign at the time, NASCAR sent the Cup Series out in the rain for a chaotic race, ultimately won by Chase Elliott.
Note: This article will be updated with a more accurate and detailed forecast as the race weekend nears.
After back-to-back drafting tracks, NASCAR’s three National Series split ways as the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series head for Circuit of the Americas, and the Truck Series makes its debut at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
This information will be available when NASCAR releases it on Monday afternoon.
Note: This article will be updated as more information about the weekend comes out.
Just like that, the first two weeks of the NASCAR season are in the books. After kicking the season off at Daytona, the sport headed up north to EchoPark Speedway for back-to-back superspeedway action. The Cup series saw a familiar face in victory lane, as Tyler Reddick went 2-for-2 to start the year.
In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Sheldon Creed finally got the monkey off his back, thanks to help from Ross Chastain, and won his first career O’Reilly Auto Parts race. In Trucks, Kyle Busch continued his EchoPark dominance, taking home the checkered flag in familiar Hendrick colors, well, familiar two decades ago.
Now, how was the racing as a whole? Where do the races stack up against each other? Let’s take a look at my Race Weekend Rankings and see where the EchoPark weekend ranks among the rest of the 2026 season!
Check out the latest episode of The Cutline, where Armany broke down the weekend at Atlanta, alongside NASCAR_Opinion.
You can follow along with Armany by creating your own Race Weekend Rankings Tier List. Make sure to tag Armany and The Daily Downforce on X, and we’ll share your list with the rest of the NASCAR Community.
