{"id":57438,"date":"2026-04-26T19:50:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T00:50:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=57438"},"modified":"2026-04-29T07:50:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T12:50:40","slug":"carson-hocevar-rises-at-talladega-for-emotional-first-nascar-cup-series-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/26\/carson-hocevar-rises-at-talladega-for-emotional-first-nascar-cup-series-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"Carson Hocevar rises at Talladega for emotional first NASCAR Cup Series victory"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em> <\/p>\n

TALLADEGA, Ala. \u2013 Fitting for his first career NASCAR Cup Series win, Carson Hocevar turned in an ultra-original victory celebration sitting on the window ledge of his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet while driving around the massive 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway soaking up the emotions that will forever define and reward his first victory lap.<\/p>\n

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TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The huge crowd loved the unique celebration and the 23-year old Michigan native deservedly soaked it all in after earning a .114-second victory over Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing veteran Chris Buescher in Sunday\u2019s Jack Link\u2019s 500 at the iconic Talladega track completing a solid, no-holds-barred three-lap run to the checkered flag for his first trophy in NASCAR\u2019s premier series.<\/p>\n

It marks the second time in the last three races a driver earned his first career victory \u2013 matching the work of Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Ty Gibbs two weeks ago at Bristol, Tenn.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had this thought up for a while,\u2019\u2019 Hocevar said of his winning salute. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve messed it up every which way to not be able to do it. And I don\u2019t care if I took me 20 minutes or whatever I was going to figure out how to do it.<\/p>\n

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TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just so thankful,\u2019\u2019 he said, the grandstand crowd roaring in approval. \u201cThis is the biggest dream I\u2019ve ever thought of. Thank you everybody. I couldn\u2019t have done it any better way. Hopefully my grandfather is watching. My grandmother died last year and I\u2019m just so thankful I can give my grandfather a trophy now.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cJust unbelievable, I\u2019m just so thankful,\u2019\u2019 he added. \u201cI knew we were going to win. I really did.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Over the three years he\u2019s competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, Hocevar has taken some criticism for his bold \u2013 at times imprudent \u2013 driving style. But on Sunday, Hocevar proved his metal in the big leagues leading 19 of the final 37 laps in the 188-lap classic and holding the field off on three late race restarts.<\/p>\n

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TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet, celebrates with the checkered flag after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cHe deserved it for sure and this is a perfect place for him to get it,\u2019\u2019 third place finisher, Hendrick Motorsports\u2019 Alex Bowman said of Hocevar.<\/p>\n

Buescher, who also scored his career-best finish at Talladega said, \u201cThat was a fun race all the way until the end.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, it was close. \u2026 awesome day and it was a good race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hendrick\u2019s Chase Elliott, a two-time Talladega winner, finished fourth in the No. 9 Chevrolet with Front Row Motorsports\u2019 Zane Smith rallying to an impressive fifth place finish in the No. 38 Ford, also setting the fastest lap of the race.<\/p>\n

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TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 Kroger\/Jack Link’s Ford, Carson Hocevar, driver of the #77 Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet, and Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Another former Talladega winner, Hyak Motorsports\u2019 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished sixth, followed by Trackhouse Racing\u2019s Ross Chastain, Team Penske\u2019s Austin Cindric, Front Row\u2019s Noah Gragson and two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, whose 10th place showing Sunday was the first top-10 of the season for the venerable Richard Childress Racing team.<\/p>\n

There were 16 leaders and 52 lead changes on the day, with JGR\u2019s Christopher Bell leading a race-high 31 laps despite finishing 17th. RFK Racing\u2019s Ryan Preece and Ross Chastain were the race\u2019s two stage winners.<\/p>\n

Half the field \u2013 literally \u2013 was eliminated from legitimate winning contention in a wild 26-car melee in Turn 3 on lap 115 that included championship leader Tyler Reddick among the two-dozen collected. And it all started up front.<\/p>\n

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TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 Rockstar Energy Drink Toyota, Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford, Josh Berry, driver of the #21 Motorcraft\/Quick Lane Ford, Austin Cindric, driver of the #2 Menards\/FrogTape Ford, Connor Zilisch, driver of the #88 Red Bull Chevrolet, and Bubba Wallace, driver of the #23 Xfinity Toyota, spin after an on-track incident during the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Contact between the front cars of leader Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain triggered the chain reaction incident and brought out a 10-minute red flag stoppage. A handful of those involved \u2013 including 23XI Racing\u2019s Wallace and fellow past Talladega winners and Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano – were no longer able to continue but a sizable number of those involved were able to return to the track.<\/p>\n

\u201cGot wrecked there, unfortunately,\u2019\u2019 Wallace offered in an understatement after leading three times on the day. \u201cOur Xfinity Toyota Camry was a little unstable getting pushed, but manageable. Maybe that hard of a hit was too much, so unfortunately, we wiped out a bunch of cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cGot to debrief, got to be better. Just kind of riding around, not doing much in the first stage \u2013 nothing to show for it at Talladega. Unfortunate, it is a place we come to with a lot of confidence, and it is what it is. We will put this one behind us and go on to Texas and have some fun.\u201d <\/p>\n

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TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: A general view of racing during the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Blaney was equally as frustrated, but like so many of those caught up in the incident, also philosophical about the close-quarter brand of speedway racing that has so often produced NASCAR\u2019s version of the \u201cthe big one.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we all just got pinballing off each other there,\u2019\u2019 Blaney said, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s not like there\u2019s any blame on anybody. It\u2019s what this thing is. We see each other. We all just kind of get bumping and banging and one guy eventually gets turned with the car being as unstable as it is. It definitely stinks to be out early.\u201d<\/p>\n

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TALLADEGA, ALABAMA – APRIL 26: A general view of the NASCAR team spotters during the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26, 2026 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

A five-time race winner this season, Reddick was also among those whose cars suffered damage in the massive mid-race incident. Hoping to win his fifth race from pole position this season, instead the Californian had to recover from damage in both the big accidents and then again after his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota clipped the wall with 27 to go.<\/p>\n

He stayed on the lead lap and managed a 14th place finish in the 40-car field and maintains a commanding lead atop the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, 110 points over Joe Gibbs Racing\u2019s Denny Hamlin \u2013 one of Reddick\u2019s 23XI Racing team owners. <\/p>\n

The NASCAR Cup Series moves west for its annual stop at Texas Motor Speedway for next Sunday\u2019s W\u00fcrth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Joey Logano is the defending race winner.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n

NCS Race Winner – Carson Hocevar (No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet) – <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jeff Dickerson (Owner, Spire Motorsports) and Luke Lambert (Crew Chief, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet), winning team –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/NCSTSSDickersonLambert042626.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Jack Link’s 500<\/b><\/p>\n

Talladega Superspeedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Talladega, Alabama<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday, April 26, 2026<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    1. (12)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    2. (10)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    3. (20)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    4. (8)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    5. (30)  Zane Smith, Ford, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    6. (22)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    7. (24)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    8. (13)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    9. (29)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    10. (34)  Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    11. (19)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    12. (16)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    13. (35)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    14. (1)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    15. (3)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    16. (28)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    17. (14)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    18. (11)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    19. (18)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    20. (33)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    21. (36)  Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 188.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    22. (23)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 187.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    23. (21)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 187.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    24. (40)  Daniel Dye(i), Chevrolet, 186.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    25. (17)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, 186.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    26. (32)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 185.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    27. (37)  Jesse Love(i), Chevrolet, 185.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    28. (38)  Chad Finchum(i), Ford, 182.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    29. (5)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 180.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    30. (39)  Joey Gase(i), Chevrolet, 177.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    31. (6)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 166.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    32. (31)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 149.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    33. (26)  Josh Berry, Ford, Accident, 124.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    34. (9)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, Accident, 122.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    35. (7)  William Byron, Chevrolet, Accident, 119.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    36. (4)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Accident, 114.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    37. (15)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, Accident, 114.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    38. (27)  Cole Custer, Chevrolet, Accident, 114.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    39. (25)  Joey Logano, Ford, Accident, 114.<\/p>\n

\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002    40. (2)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Accident, 114.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  147.504 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 23 Mins, 25 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.114 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  6 for 30 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  52 among 16 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   T. Reddick 0;D. Hamlin 1-2;A. Dillon 3;C. Briscoe 4-5;D. Hamlin 6-7;C. Briscoe 8;D. Hamlin 9;*. Finchum(i) 10-17;D. Hamlin 18-40;R. Preece 41-46;T. Reddick 47-48;T. Gibbs 49-60;M. McDowell 61;T. Gibbs 62-63;A. Dillon 64;T. Gibbs 65-67;A. Dillon 68-69;C. Bell 70-87;R. Preece 88-100;R. Stenhouse Jr. 101-102;B. Wallace 103;R. Chastain 104-105;B. Wallace 106;R. Chastain 107-110;J. Logano 111-113;B. Wallace 114;R. Preece 115-116;C. Bell 117-121;R. Chastain 122-131;C. Bell 132-135;R. Chastain 136-137;C. Bell 138;R. Chastain 139;C. Bell 140-142;R. Chastain 143-145;N. Gragson 146-147;C. Buescher 148-150;C. Hocevar 151-155;C. Buescher 156;C. Hocevar 157-160;C. Buescher 161-165;C. Hocevar 166;C. Buescher 167-172;C. Hocevar 173-174;C. Buescher 175;C. Hocevar 176-177;C. Buescher 178;C. Hocevar 179-180;C. Buescher 181-184;C. Hocevar 185-186;C. Buescher 187;C. Hocevar 188;A. Dillon 189.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Christopher Bell 5 times for 31 laps; Denny Hamlin 4 times for 28 laps; Chris Buescher 8 times for 22 laps; Ross Chastain 6 times for 22 laps; Ryan Preece 3 times for 21 laps; Carson Hocevar 8 times for 19 laps; Ty Gibbs 3 times for 17 laps; * Chad Finchum(i) 1 time for 8 laps; Austin Dillon 4 times for 5 laps; Chase Briscoe 2 times for 3 laps; Joey Logano 1 time for 3 laps; Bubba Wallace 3 times for 3 laps; Noah Gragson 1 time for 2 laps; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 2 laps; Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1 time for 2 laps; Michael McDowell 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 60,6,22,17,12,21,45,4,34,1<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 1,20,17,47,34,60,51,48,9,38<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service  TALLADEGA, Ala. \u2013 Fitting for his first career NASCAR Cup Series win, Carson Hocevar turned in an ultra-original victory celebration sitting on the window ledge of his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet while driving around the massive 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway soaking up the emotions that will forever […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":57446,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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}},"categories":[11],"tags":[894,16,208],"class_list":["post-57438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-carson-hocevar","tag-nascar","tag-talladega-superspeedway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2273289823-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-eWq","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57438"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57462,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57438\/revisions\/57462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}