What a race! In a battle against Cup Series competitor Erik Jones, and Super Late Model legend Bubba Pollard, Carson Hocevar emerged victorious at Berlin Raceway, a place that is close to his heart. The 21-year-old finally had something to celebrate for, after winning the prestigious Battle at the Berlin 250 for the first time in his career. Hocevar’s season has been a difficult one, as an incident involving Harrison Burton resulted in a $50,000 fine and 25 docked points.

However, all that is in the past, as Carson Hocevar was in a league of his own at the Battle at Berlin 250. By securing his maiden triumph at the event, the Spire Motorsports driver will now hope to use this victory to turn his fortunes around in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Carson Hocevar proves his doubters wrong

The race was far from straightforward for Carson Hocevar, despite his No. 71H Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet performing impeccably at Berlin Raceway. The 21-year-old was facing stiff competition from Bubba Pollard, while Erik Jones fought his way to take the lead with 50 laps to go.

The stakes were high in Hocevar and Pollard’s battle for second place, as competitors were breathing down their necks, and being relegated to third could have forced either one to slip further down the grid. Knowing that holding off Pollard was the only way he had a shot at winning, Hocevar did just that at the restart, and the rest was inevitable.

Speaking to Floracing after the race, an elated Carson Hocevar said, “It’s pretty special to win here, and the biggest win of them all.”

Further speaking highly of his competitors, Hocevar went on to add, “Racing with Erik and Bubba, obviously, those guys are super, super talented and their cars are really good. I thought I burned the right rear clean off of it there, and didn’t think we were going to get a shot I was just trying to hold off Bubba as long as I could to maybe keep myself on the front row for the last restart. When he gave me the bottom, I was shocked because I was like, ‘maybe if I could just slide up and take his line away, I might be able to clear him,’ and that’s exactly what happened.”

After holding off Bubba Pollard, Carson Hocevar went on to make an aggressive move on Erik Jones to take the lead, and he cleared himself in Turn 2 with just 15 laps remaining until the checkered flag. From that point on, it was smooth sailing for the 21-year-old, who went on to secure his first victory of the season.

Erik Jones finished runner-up, ahead of Bubba Pollard, while Michael Atwell and Kole Raz also made it to the top five. The victory at Battle at Berlin 250 didn’t just give Hocevar bragging rights, he also won $40,000 in prize money as well as $1000 for recording the fastest time in qualifying earlier in the day.

Life comes full circle as they say. Where he lost some, he has also gained some!

The victory at Berlin Raceway will instill Carson Hocevar with some much-needed confidence before the Cup Series resumes at Richmond Raceway. With just four races to go until the 2024 season ends, Hocevar is currently ranked 24th in the driver standings, having led only three laps and recorded two top-ten results in the season so far. The Spire Motorsports driver will hope to end the season on an average, if not high, and most importantly, rebuild his reputation in NASCAR’s highest tier.

While Erik Jones rues about the missed Berlin opportunity

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Having led 43 laps at Berlin Raceway, Erik Jones felt that the Battle at Berlin 250 was there for the taking. He wasn’t entirely wrong, as only Carson Hocevar led more laps than Jones during the race. The Legacy Motor Club driver was making his first appearance in the Battle at Berlin 250 since 2016 but constantly looked like he was fighting against his car to remain in contention for the victory. A similar fate awaited Bubba Pollard as well, as both drivers cited not keeping up with the adjustments on their cars as the reason why they fell short of Carson Hocevar.

Speaking after the race, Erik Jones mentioned, “I was just too tight. We were kind of third there all day to Bubba and Carson and needed to make an adjustment, just got too tight at the end. You know, I hate it didn’t work out. I got the lead there, and I was trying to hold it just to have the restart. Just didn’t work out. Yeah, close, and it’s hard to be that close but clean car, and that’s all you can ask for.”

With Cup Series action resuming at Richmond Raceway, the one-time Truck Series champion will now hope to use this momentum at the Federated Auto Parts 400. The 28-year-old is currently ranked 27th in the driver standings, with just one top-ten result and two DNFs in 22 races. While a spot in the playoffs is almost impossible, as he was forced to miss out on two races because of a compression fracture, he will hope to finish the remaining four races of the regular season strongly.

What are your thoughts on Carson Hocevar’s Battle at Berlin 250 victory? Do you think this win could help the rookie’s reputation in the Cup Series?