Alex Palou famously rejected a contract renewal announcement via social media; Hocevar made a near identical statement but with acceptance of his new contract
Carson Hocevar is currently in a battle for the 2023 NASCAR Truck Series championship. And, now he had a deal lined up for the 2024 season.
The 20-year-old has been signed by Spire Motorsports. He’ll run full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series after the team recently paid an estimated $40,000,000 for a third NASCAR charter.
NASCAR charter sold for $40M to Spire Motorsports; New record
The buying spree hasn’t stopped with a charter. The team also purchased Kyle Busch Motorsports as well as the building. Spire will soon relocate from Concord, NC to Mooresville, NC.
Earlier this season, Hocevar made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at World Wide Technology Raceway. He’s since run several races for Legacy Motor Club.
On Tuesday night, after the announcement, Hocevar posted on X. His post was a mirror of Alex Palou’s tweet from 2022. Palou was re-signed to Chip Ganassi Racing, without his knowledge leading to a tweet of denial. Hocevar’s tweet featured similar wording yet with acceptance of the contract, instead of denial.
Carson Hocevar comments on his new team
“I mean, anybody in my position wants to be a Cup Series driver,” said Carson Hocevar.
“That’s what you dream about when you’re young. You want to race on Sundays. So, my opportunity to run a few times this year, to run on Sunday and get ready, I feel more than prepared to get in the No. 77 car with Spire. That team is growing exponentially and I’m just excited for everything.”
“I have a unique opportunity to build something and grow with it, while growing myself at the same time. For what we’ve been able to do from the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series to Cup is pretty crazy.”
“I know it seems like a big jump. With all the tools and resources, and everybody at Spire Motorsports, they have put a lot of faith in me, and I have a lot of faith in them. We all have faith in the whole program. I feel like we can come out of the gate like we’ve done this for years.”
“I’ve always been super easy going and I just kind of let things do what they need to do,” offered Hocevar. “If it was anything other than racing, I’d be overwhelmed and stressed and worried but, once I’m in a race car and put a helmet on, I forget anything (else) is happening.”
Hocevar made his NASCAR Truck Series debut in 2019.
Hocevar details relationships with new teammates
Hocevar will join Corey LaJoie at Spire Motorsports. Zane Smith was signed by Trackhouse Racing but he’ll drive a car fielded by Spire in 2024.
“Corey and I have a great relationship,” said Hocevar.
“Obviously, that’s going to exponentially grow when we spend day-to-day and week-on-week together, talking in the same meetings, working with the same people and same group, trying to pull the rope in the same direction.”
“We’ve already started. He seems to have a lot of interest in what I’m doing, what my cars are driving like, and vice versa. We’ve started to compare driving notes a little bit. We talk about what each other is doing. I’m sure we’ll constantly be making ourselves go faster. There’s not a race within the shop, but we’ll work to make each other better.
“Me and Zane have talked a little bit and compared driver notes, too, at the Cup race at Texas a couple weeks ago. Obviously, he’s coming in for a year at Spire so we talked a little bit. But, at the same time, we’re racing each other for a Truck Series championship so we compared Cup notes but stopped right there.”
Carson Hocevar trolls while announcing new contract
Carson Hocevar posted the following on social media after the announcement:
“I understand that, with my agreement, Spire Motorsports have put out a press release late this evening that I am driving for them next year. This is correct and I have signed a contract with Spire for 2024. I will be driving for Spire next year.”
Hocevar’s comment is a mirror of the tweet from Alex Palou
The above comment from Hocevar was a reference to Alex Palou’s post on X in 2022. Chip Ganassi Racing announced a contract extension with the Indycar driver. The driver did not approve the release and thought he would be moving to McLaren. However, he did even up remaining with CGR after a lengthy court battle.
Alex Palou said in 2022, “I have recently learned from the media that this afternoon, without my approval, Chip Ganassi Racing issued a press release announcing that I would be driving with CGR in 2023. Even more surprising was that CGR’s release included a ‘quote’ which did not come from me.”
“I did not approve that press release, and I did not author or approve that quote. As I have recently informed CGR, for personal reasons, I do not intend to continue with the team after 2022.”
Palou added, “This evening’s unfortunate events aside, I have great respect for the CGR team, and look forward to finishing this season strongly together.”
Palou went on to claim the 2023 Indycar Series title.
