Carson Hocevar earned his third victory of the season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, crossing the finish line first in the Worldwide Express 250 at Richmond Raceway after a late-race pass.
“It’s so special to be able to win the Worldwide Express 250 in the Worldwide Express Chevrolet,” said Hocevar. “Their support means so much to me and to Niece Motorsports. To be able to celebrate with them and their carrier partners in Victory Lane is so special. Historically, Richmond has not been our best track, so to be able to come here and win is a huge deal for our team and Al Niece. I’m looking forward to carrying this momentum into the Playoffs. I feel like we’ve shown that we can contend at every type of track this season.”
The win comes in Hocevar’s 70th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start. It marks Hocevar’s third win of the 2023 season; his other two wins coming at Texas Motor Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway. It is the seventh win for Niece Motorsports in only its seventh full-time season.
Hocevar is the first driver to win three races this season. With the win, Hocevar will enter round one of the Playoffs third in the driver point standings, only nine points out of first.
“I’m so proud of everyone at this organization,” said Niece Motorsports General Manager Cody Efaw. “Carson drove a great race, Phil [Gould] made a great pit call, and the whole team built a great truck. We really wanted to win that Worldwide Express 250 trophy – it meant the world to be able to celebrate with them all in Victory Lane. We’re happy to get Al [Niece] another win this season. We’re excited to get the Playoffs started at IRP in a couple of weeks.”
After posting the third fastest lap in practice on Friday, Hocevar qualified his No. 42 Worldwide Express Chevrolet in 17th for the 250-lap race at Richmond Raceway. A flat tire during pace laps forced Hocevar down pit road before the drop of the green flag, putting Hocevar shotgun on the field to start the race.
The young driver methodically worked his way through the field, taking the lead for the first time on Lap 150, and pacing the field for the next 60 laps. Crew Chief Phil Gould called Hocevar down pit road for a green flag pit stop to put fresh tires on the No. 42 Chevrolet Silverado – a call that would ultimately win the race, as Hocevar passed the leader on older tires with just a handful of laps remaining.
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will return to action on Friday, August 11 at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP).
The TSport 200 at IRP will air live on FS1, The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Aug. 11 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Niece Motorsports PR
