JOLIET, Ill. — To say Carson Hocevar hasn‘t been focused on the In-Season Challenge is putting it mildly.
Last Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, the driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet finished 11th to Zane Smith‘s 18th, eliminating Smith in the opening round of the tournament.
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Asked after Friday‘s practice about his second-round matchup Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway (6 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Hocevar responded, “Who is it?”
In fact, Hocevar will face Todd Gilliland, who eliminated Daniel Suárez in the first round at Sonoma.
“Oh, it‘s Todd?” said Hocevar, who will make his 100th NASCAR Cup Series start on Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway. “I don‘t know. Hopefully he‘s slow.”
In Friday‘s practice, Hocevar was ninth fastest while Gilliland was 27th best.
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About his 100th start in NASCAR‘s top division, Hocevar was equally nonchalant.
“Yeah, you just kind of blink and you‘re at a hundred,” he said. “Blink twice, and you‘re at 200. “I just try to enjoy as many as possible. I‘m just glad I have a win in the win column before a hundred, right?”
Hocevar picked up his only career victory so far on April 26 at Talladega Superspeedway. With eight races remaining in the regular season, he’s eighth in points.
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