Carson Hocevar starts his triple-duty weekend in a spin cycle

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The only driver attempting all three national series events opened his weekend with wildly mixed results.

Carson Hocevar started his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series portion of the weekend with fantastic speed. He rocketed his truck to fourth on the grid for the Fresh from Florida 250 during qualifying session.

The Michigander made his mark early in the race after a decisive move to the bottom early in stage one to take control of the race lead. He led the rest of the stage and held off a charging Tanner Gray to collect the stage win.

Little did Hocevar know at the time, that was the only winning in store for the night.

His trouble began midway through Stage 2. While leading, the engine stumbled and stalled for nearly ten seconds.

The lead pack swerved around him, and the engine finally refired. He caught the draft at the tail end of the lead group, then charged back through the field. With a fast truck and his trademark aggression, he reclaimed the lead on lap 53.

He had the speed to retake the lead, that part felt inevitable, but what happened next didn’t.

Hocevar lasted five laps out front before his left-rear gave way. This sent him spinning and the caution called out soon after.

All hope was not lost for him yet as he sat firmly in the lucky dog position. One caution in the final 40 laps would send him back on the lead lap.

On lap 80 the caution came back out. Unfortunately for Carson, that caution he wanted was his own. For the second time in the race his left-rear goes flat resulting in a spin.

Now three laps down and needing carnage to save his race he ran up front until he suffered another spin ten laps later for his third of the night.

Three times for Dale in the spin cycle was all Hocevar needed to call it a night. He parked his truck behind the wall for good shortly after, finishing 12 laps down in 35th.

The weekend still has much to left to yield for Carson. He will race in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event Saturday afternoon and will start sixth in the 68th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

MORE:

• The Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona Recap
• NASCAR TV schedule this weekend: 2026 Daytona 500