{"id":44055,"date":"2023-10-21T15:50:31","date_gmt":"2023-10-21T20:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=44055"},"modified":"2023-10-29T17:05:35","modified_gmt":"2023-10-29T22:05:35","slug":"carson-hocevar-takes-the-checkered-flag-at-miami-joins-corey-heim-grant-enfinger-and-ben-rhodes-in-championship-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/21\/carson-hocevar-takes-the-checkered-flag-at-miami-joins-corey-heim-grant-enfinger-and-ben-rhodes-in-championship-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Carson Hocevar Takes the Checkered Flag at Miami; Joins, Corey Heim, Grant Enfinger and Ben Rhodes in Championship 4"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Holly Cain <\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

HOMESTEAD, Fla. \u2013 Carson Hocevar secured his first NASCAR CRATSMAN Truck Series Championship 4 appearance with a victory Saturday in the Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway earning all four of his career series wins this season \u2013 the trophy Saturday most impactful among them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Carson Hocevar, driver of the #42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 21, 2023 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Hocevar put his No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet into the lead with 11 laps remaining and held off the hard-charging Zane Smith by 2.705-seconds to claim the win over the reigning series champion, whose runner-up effort was disqualified by NASCAR after a post-race technical inspection found the defending series champion\u2019s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford was illegal \u2013 using an unapproved windshield support.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are disappointed in the disqualification,\u2019\u2019 Front Row Motorsports said in a statement after the NASCAR inspecition. \u201cWe will continue to work and discuss with NASCAR officials back at the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, N.C. before making any further comment.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The DQ moved ThorSport Racing\u2019s Ben Rhodes into runner-up on the afternoon helping him to advance to the Playoffs – prevailing in a tiebreaker with rookie Nick Sanchez; the polesitter who finished 17th after making contact with another truck coming to pit road for his final stop.<\/p>\n

Regular season champion, TRICON Garage\u2019s Corey Heim, GMS Racing\u2019s Grant Enfinger and Hocevar\u2019s Niece Motorsports teammate Bailey Curry rounded out the top five at Homestead.<\/p>\n

Heim, Hocevar, Enfinger and Rhodes will now race for the championship Nov. 3 at Phoenix Raceway.<\/p>\n

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Carson Hocevar, driver of the #42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, drives during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 21, 2023 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Hocevar celebrated the clutch win by climbing high atop the flag stand to claim the checkered flag in person. He threw it down to the cheering fans behind the fence then climbed back down on the grandstand side to high-five fans and celebrate the biggest win of his life \u2013 to date.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt kills me I can\u2019t do a burn-out but we have to take this truck to Phoenix,\u2019\u2019 a grinning Hocevar said. \u201cThis truck was so good. We just got behind on pit stops and just lost track position which was unfortunate, but man, it\u2019s so good to feel [like this]. I love it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought we could win today with our truck, even with all the setbacks from the debris and everything, we had a shot to win and we did just that.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The battle for that final Playoff position was as dramatic as the fight for the victory.<\/p>\n

Rhodes came into this final regular season race only five points behind Sanchez for the fourth championship-eligible transfer position. He finished 24th in the opening stage and 10th in the second stage. It still left him outside looking into the Championship 4, so Rhodes\u2019 ThorSport team opted to pit for fresh tires early and out of pit sequence. The move allowed his No. 99 ThorSport Ford to take the race lead as the other frontrunners pit later.<\/p>\n

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Corey Heim, driver of the #11 Chateau Elan\/Explore Braselton Toyota, drives during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 21, 2023 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

He held the point with 30 laps remaining only to have Hocevar and Smith chase him back down. Hocevar passed him with 11 laps remaining, Smith a lap later.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe failed Ben today, we didn\u2019t give him a very good truck and he bailed us out at the end there,\u2019\u2019 Rhodes\u2019 crew chief Rich Lushes said. \u201cIt was the only call we had. We had to do something different than everybody else and it all worked out so I guess we\u2019re going to [championship] again.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

It was a heartbreaking ending for the 22-year old Sanchez, who is from nearby Miami and raced often at Homestead-Miami Speedway as he was coming up the junior ranks. He won the pole and led the opening five laps, only to see his Playoff hopes in jeopardy after a miscue approaching his final pit stop with 34 laps remaining. His No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet hit the back of Tanner Gray\u2019s truck as the two were slowing to enter pit road causing noticeable damage to Sanchez\u2019 Chevrolet.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously I lost a lot of time there and just lost time in the pits trying to fix it,\u2019\u2019 Sanchez said. \u201cJust my fault, no two ways to it. I really didn\u2019t know the 15 was pitting and didn\u2019t slow down [enough]. So that\u2019s on me. I apologize to my team. They\u2019re going to support me. To miss by one-point is pretty rough, but all you can do it go to Phoenix and try to win.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Chase Purdy, driver of the #4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet, Carson Hocevar, driver of the #42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, Ben Rhodes, driver of the #99 Campers Inn RV Ford, and Tanner Gray, driver of the #15 Waterfront Properties Toyota, rduring the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 21, 2023 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Heim led a race best 57 of the 134 laps and swept both Stage victories. His third place finish marked the series best 15th-consecutive top-10 finish of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really thought we had them covered today, I mean we were smoking the first two stages and kind of waiting on the third stage and then it went out like a light switch so we\u2019ll look everything over,\u2019\u2019 Heim said, adding, \u201cWe\u2019ve got bigger things on the horizon so we\u2019ll focus on that.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton, Rajah Caruth, Ty Majeski and Chase Purdy rounded out the top 10 finishing order. Majeski joins Smith, Sanchez and Christian Eckes to be eliminated from Playoff contention.<\/p>\n

Eckes finished 20th after what looked like a sure-bet top-10 finish was hampered by penalties and miscues on the afternoon. He was called for moving lanes on a restart and another time for speeding on his pit road exit late in the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a truck able to advance and just kept making mistakes,\u2019\u2019 Eckes said. \u201cJust wasn\u2019t good enough today.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

IndyCar star Marco Andretti finished 18h in his second series start in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. He\u2019s scheduled to race at Phoenix in two weeks.<\/p>\n

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series concludes the season with the Craftsman 150 at the one-mile Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 3 (10:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race – Baptist Health Cancer Care 200<\/strong><\/p>\n

Homestead-Miami Speedway<\/strong><\/p>\n

Homestead, Florida<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday, October 21, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

                    1. (2)  Carson Hocevar (P), Chevrolet, 134.<\/p>\n

                    2. (21)  Ben Rhodes (P), Ford, 134.<\/p>\n

                    3. (8)  Corey Heim (P), Toyota, 134.<\/p>\n

                    4. (3)  Grant Enfinger (P), Chevrolet, 134.<\/p>\n

                    5. (17)  Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 134.<\/p>\n

                    6. (9)  Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 134.<\/p>\n

                    7. (22)  Matt Crafton, Ford, 134.<\/p>\n

                    8. (13)  Rajah Caruth #, Chevrolet, 134.<\/p>\n

                    9. (4)  Ty Majeski (P), Ford, 134.<\/p>\n

                    10. (14)  Chase Purdy, Chevrolet, 134.<\/p>\n

                    11. (6)  Tanner Gray, Toyota, 134.<\/p>\n

                    12. (11)  Jack Wood, Chevrolet, 134.<\/p>\n

                    13. (12)  Taylor Gray #, Toyota, 134.<\/p>\n

                    14. (32)  Trevor Bayne(i), Chevrolet, 134.<\/p>\n

                    15. (15)  Jake Garcia #, Chevrolet, 133.<\/p>\n

                    16. (5)  Dean Thompson, Toyota, 133.<\/p>\n

                    17. (1)  Nick Sanchez # (P), Chevrolet, 133.<\/p>\n

                    18. (27)  Marco Andretti, Chevrolet, 133.<\/p>\n

                    19. (23)  Lawless Alan, Chevrolet, 133.<\/p>\n

                    20. (10)  Christian Eckes (P), Chevrolet, 133.<\/p>\n

                    21. (19)  Daniel Dye #, Chevrolet, 133.<\/p>\n

                    22. (26)  Tyler Hill, Toyota, 133.<\/p>\n

                    23. (25)  Nick Leitz, Chevrolet, 133.<\/p>\n

                    24. (18)  Brad Perez(i), Chevrolet, 133.<\/p>\n

                    25. (16)  Tyler Ankrum, Toyota, 133.<\/p>\n

                    26. (33)  Jonathan Shafer, Toyota, 132.<\/p>\n

                    27. (29)  Mason Maggio, Ford, 131.<\/p>\n

                    28. (20)  Hailie Deegan, Ford, 131.<\/p>\n

                    29. (31)  Memphis Villarreal, Ford, 131.<\/p>\n

                    30. (24)  Colby Howard, Chevrolet, 129.<\/p>\n

                    31. (34)  Armani Williams, Toyota, 121.<\/p>\n

                    32. (28)  Spencer Davis, Ford, Electrical, 65.<\/p>\n

                    33. (30)  Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, Electrical, 50.<\/p>\n

                    34. (7)  Zane Smith (P), Ford, 134.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  110.965 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 48 Mins, 41 Secs. Margin of Victory:  2.705 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  5 for 29 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  8 among 7 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   N. Sanchez # (P) 1-5;C. Heim (P) 6-33;T. Majeski (P) 34;C. Heim (P) 35-54;T. Gray 55-58;C. Heim (P) 59-67;Z. Smith (P) 68-101;B. Rhodes (P) 102-123;C. Hocevar (P) 124-134.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Corey Heim (P) 3 times for 57 laps; Zane Smith (P) 1 time for 34 laps; Ben Rhodes (P) 1 time for 22 laps; Carson Hocevar (P) 1 time for 11 laps; Nick Sanchez # (P) 1 time for 5 laps; Tanner Gray 1 time for 4 laps; Ty Majeski (P) 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,98,42,23,52,19,2,88,4,16<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 11,41,2,52,98,88,4,42,99,24<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain  NASCAR Wire Service HOMESTEAD, Fla. \u2013 Carson Hocevar secured his first NASCAR CRATSMAN Truck Series Championship 4 appearance with a victory Saturday in the Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway earning all four of his career series wins this season \u2013 the trophy Saturday most impactful among them. Hocevar put […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":44047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[894,527,16,160],"class_list":["post-44055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-carson-hocevar","tag-homestead-miami-speedway","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-camping-world-truck-series"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/GettyImages-1748690761-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1765","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-bsz","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44055"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44059,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44055\/revisions\/44059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}