Progress isn’t always linear.
That is effectively the approach Spire Motorsports team co-owner Jeff Dickerson is taking with Carson Hocevar in their second full-time season together in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Hocevar matched his career best result (second) from earlier in the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway but needed to be talked off a figurative ledge afterwards at Nashville Superspeedway. In the moment, losing sight of the development gains, Hocevar was frustrated that he didn’t win.
Visibly.
“I just know that we’re running out of opportunities this year to win in the regular season,” Hocevar told a scrum to a question asked by The Sporting News after the race. “We’re not going to have this opportunity every week, to run up front, we don’t have that luxury.
“You don’t know how long it’s going to be between every opportunity to run up front.”
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To be fair, caked into his emotion was a degree of consecutive disappointment given that Hocevar was also racing for the lead in the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 last weekend when his engine expired.
In his mind, these were two races he could have won but circumstantially did not and he is in the prove it stage of his young career.
“My dream and expectation is to be here, win races and run up front,” Hocevar said. “I’m disappointed because I feel like if I wasn’t disappointed, I don’t deserve this seat. It’s tough to live by when you’re constantly not winning but I’m proud of the execution.
“I don’t think we were better than (Ryan Blaney) or anything I could have done differently but you still want to win.”
And that point is something Dickerson wants to hit home. He believes that his driver did his part and that finishing second to the 2023 Cup Series champion right now is something worth celebrating.
“That’s the thing I always try to like, remind myself and remind my team, is that we’re in the second year with him,” Dickerson told The Sporting News of Hocevar. “Who gets plucked right out the Truck Series into the Cup Series for Spire and does that?
“I told him, what would you have done differently, because that’s Ryan Blaney who drives for Roger Penske. You’re driving for my dumb ass.”
Dickerson walked with Hocevar back to the hauler after his media availability and the body language from afar told the story. Hocevar was a little slumped over but Dickerson stood taller and was animated and excited.
This was a good night for Spire Motorsports and the No. 77 team.
“He was probably down because he didn’t win right,” Dickerson said. “So, I just kind of told him, ‘hey, we’re not owed anything.’ Like, we’re not guaranteed a win. This isn’t linear. It’s not like, ‘hey, we were fast like week so we have to win this week.’
“That is not remotely how this sport works so that’s what I have to coach against. I have to tell him that it’s okay to be happy. It’s like what the shit man? Why not be fucking happy running second against them?”
“I get that he is still young but like we should be happy right now running second. Look how young and inexperienced he is and we ran second to that team.”
There is a reason Hocevar was plucked out of the Truck Series and dropped right into Cup for Spire Motorsports. Dickerson, who for years as a former driver, agent, spotter and talent scout, knows a blue chip when he sees one.
He anticipated the highs and lows.
Sunday at Nashville was the full Carson Hocevar Experience in that the No. 77 had speed, drew the ire of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. due to a second stage crash, while also running top five for most of the race.
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Hocevar says he is a race fan first and foremost and never understood his favorite childhood drivers being happy with second or third and he isn’t going to be that guy either.
“It’s tough to live by when you’re not winning but I am proud of the execution and how we performed,” Hocevar said. “We were the second best today but I just really wanted to win.”
And again, Dickerson appreciates that, as long as they can celebrate the development milestone too.
“This was like a mature legitimate second place finish,” Dickerson said. “We didn’t have the outright speed like we did last week. We had to work for it. Carson had to work for it. He passed 10 cars on a restart. Luke called a great race and the pit crew executed so I am just really proud of that.
“That’s why I say we need to have fun with this tonight.”
