November 18, 2024 • 26 mins
Zeigler sponsored Nascar Driver Carson Hocevar wins rookie of the year honors.
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Carson Hocevar (00:05):
Make it, grasp it, hold on to it, and say thank
you, and execute on it.
Sam D’Arc (00:16):
Welcome everyone to the driving vision podcast
brought to you by the ZiglerAuto Group. I'm your host, Sam
Dark. Be sure to subscribe tothe podcast. Like it if you do
and leave a comment. So hey,everybody.
Welcome, to the Future of ZackToday Driving Vision podcast
with us today back again.Carson, host of our number 77.
(00:36):
Driver of the Spire Motorsportsnumber 77 NASCAR. So, Carson,
welcome.
Carson Hocevar (00:42):
Yeah. Thanks, Sam. I feel like a regular guest
on this, show.
Sam D’Arc (00:46):
It's a
Carson Hocevar (00:46):
lot of fun. So I'm glad to Yes. Check-in and,
we've had a great year. So gladto be here.
Sam D’Arc (00:51):
Your first season comes to an end. So how would
you describe what's happenedthis 1st year in the cup series?
This is your 1st full yeardriving cup.
Carson Hocevar (01:01):
Yeah. I mean, a lot of progress from myself as
a, you know, a cup driver tospire as a whole and everything.
You know, our results have havegotten exceedingly better from
the start of the year in ourperformance and everything and
what we've been able toaccomplish and do and our point
standings, everything. So, it'sbeen fun to do these throughout
(01:21):
the year. Right?
You know, going and and changingour expectations and talking
about it. So, it's been a lot offun to do that with team
Ziegler. And, yeah. I mean, atthe end of the year with the
team Ziegler race car, I thinkthat was our best overalling,
you know, overall arching day atHomestead, you know, with the
final 8. Yeah.
Competitors in points were 7 ofthe top 8. And then, you know,
(01:44):
the 77 Ziegler Auto Group brightyellow race car was just there
in the mix. Yeah. So it was alot of fun to to be able to do
that and then, cap it off withRicky Deere.
Sam D’Arc (01:54):
So to that point, I'm gonna read you a list of names
and tell me what puts thesenames in common. So I'm gonna
read a list of names, tell mewhat everybody has in common.
Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick,Dale Earnhardt, Davey Allison,
Jimmy Johnson, Tony Stewart,Carson Hocevar. What does
(02:14):
everybody have in common in thatlist?
Carson Hocevar (02:18):
I don't I don't know.
Sam D’Arc (02:19):
They all won rookie of the year in their, in their
first year.
Carson Hocevar (02:23):
Faculty won rookie of the year. So,
Sam D’Arc (02:25):
It's impressive because each one of those
individuals went on I mean, DaleEarnhardt, Denny Hamlin, Tony
Stewart to create great legacieswithin NASCAR. What does it mean
to you to join that group?
Carson Hocevar (02:36):
Yeah. I mean, it's huge. Yeah. It's a really
good name and and even too.Right?
Like, you know, I went back andlooked at a little bit more
recent too. Right? Like Larson,Blaney, all all them won their
rookie, you know, category andwhatnot and then went on to win
a lot of races and championshipsand everything. So, and they won
(02:57):
it right with a team that hadwon races and championships in
advance too. Yeah.
So for us to be able to come in,you know, with a newer ish team
and do that when and get Spire'shighest finishing point
standings. You know, we finished21st in points. Their previous
best was 26. You know, teamsspend a lot of money to gain
(03:18):
that type of spots. And we wereable to do that with, you know,
realistically, kind of the sameprogram as last year.
A lot of those changes in peopleand personnel wasn't gonna get
implemented till, you know,today, you know, Tuesday after
Phoenix that Yeah. We're seeing,you know, a lot of renovations
and everything to the shop andnew cars and new parts, new
(03:38):
pieces, new people. So to beable to to be as fast as we
were, I think was maybe a littleahead of schedule. But, you
know, as, you know, I don'tthink anybody does anything slow
from who I've met at teamZiegler. Right?
They can't No. They just go do
Sam D’Arc (03:53):
it. Let's go.
Carson Hocevar (03:54):
And make it happen right away. So we're able
to do that on the 77.
Sam D’Arc (03:58):
So thinking about the parallel between NASCAR and
business, that's one of thereasons why Aaron at the Zigler
Auto Group does NASCAR. Everyonedoes their job. They know their
job. How important is it to youto have a pit crew and a team
around you that executes at asuper high level?
Carson Hocevar (04:14):
Yeah. I mean, it's everything. It's, you know,
it's like studying it's likedoing a group project at school.
Right? Like, if you did yourpart and you show up expecting
your teammates to do the otherpart and they show up and was
like, you know, I overslept andthen do it and this and that.
You know, you did all the workand, you know, you showed up
prepared and you know? But youdon't get the result because
(04:37):
you're dictated your result wasin their hands. So, you know, my
crew chief, our crew guys, youknow, overslept or didn't spend
the extra little bit and tightenall the bolts tied and something
fell off or, you know, pit crewguy was, you know, out the night
before and slipping and slidingon pit road and and we lost few
(04:57):
spots. Right? You know, thenwe're not showing up doing our
our part and and our resultsget, you know, affected.
And and and then we're nothaving any fun too. So Yeah. You
know, our pit crew that same dayat Homestead had the fastest
stop in NASCAR history. Yeah.And we had no mechanical
failures all year, that put usout of any race.
(05:18):
So, I'd say between the threeparts of us on the 77 group, we
all executed very well and at aat a very high level. And, you
know, that's what makes it, youknow, so fun to to go race is,
you know, we have those faiththat our our teammates are gonna
show up, you know, well restedand ready to do their part of
(05:38):
the group project.
Sam D’Arc (05:40):
Yeah. So thinking about Homestead, your team and
your team, your team broke arecord that had never been,
broken all time record in NASCARhistory. The fastest 4 tire pit
stop in NASCAR history. A, didyou know it in the moment? And
when did you find out?
And then how did you celebrateas a team?
Carson Hocevar (06:02):
Yeah. Well, we first, we we knew it was fast,
because we came in we came downpit road 6th, and we got blocked
in just a little bit. Otherwise,we would have came out 1st or
second. Normally, it's like abig you know, you're racing
within the top 5. You know,we're running 6 on down pit
road, or maybe it was 5th.
I think we came down 5th
Sam D’Arc (06:22):
on the road
Carson Hocevar (06:23):
and gave Yeah. It was 5th. Almost 3 spots,
which is pretty crazy in in thetop 5. Because, I mean, those
are the best guys. To almostgain 4 or 5 spots, I knew it was
fast, but didn't know till afterthe race.
And once we did, Dan, our carchief, made these custom medals
(06:47):
basically that were handengraved or wood engraving, like
it was basically the Olympicsand had them all, with their
names for every crew guy. That'scool.
Sam D’Arc (06:57):
That's cool.
Carson Hocevar (06:57):
You know, what the time was. I mean, that's
gonna be, I think, a really,really difficult time to be.
Yeah. It's rare to get a high 8seconds, let alone a low 8.
Like, I mean, that is I I thinkthat's as fast as it'll probably
ever get.
Sam D’Arc (07:13):
And was that the pit stop? Because obviously we were
watching where you kinda gotblocked in. There was one pit
stop. Was that intentional bythe other team blocking you in
or was that just bad placementby their tire guys?
Carson Hocevar (07:25):
I think it was just a like, just it just
happened. Perfect storm of hewas maybe a little far right.
And the guy came around and theyhad it. Like, they had a jumbled
up stop and it forced them theguy to walk around the other
guy. And then he he had his handway out with the tire and
holding it in the pit road rightwhen I was coming out.
(07:45):
So it was just the perfect stormof bad.
Sam D’Arc (07:49):
What goes through your head as you're seeing you
know it's time to go and you'regonna break a record, an all
time NASCAR record. You didn'tknow it in the moment. And you
see a tire guy right there in inyour windscreen, do you just go
and and you trust the process?He's gonna get out of the way?
Or
Carson Hocevar (08:03):
A little
Sam D’Arc (08:03):
bit. You came inches.
Carson Hocevar (08:05):
Yeah. A little bit. I mean, you cut it as close
as you can get. Right? Yeah.
He is holding a tire So if ifanything, if you do hit him,
he's or you're gonna hit you'regonna hit the tire
Sam D’Arc (08:16):
first. Yeah.
Carson Hocevar (08:16):
You're watching you're more watching the cars
coming down pit road, like,because we were one of the first
late last stop of pit stalls. Sowe're towards the end of pit
road. So the guys we're racingwould already finish their stop.
They're rolling down pit road.So as I'm coming out, I'm trying
to be able to get out just quickenough that I can cut in front
of them and basically block themin.
(08:37):
Yeah. So that just cuts itreally tight is like knowing,
alright, it's already gonna be,I'm merging into oncoming
traffic basically. And now thislittle old lady's in front of
me, basically. Yeah. I'm gonnahave to swerve around and they
they're they're taking theirsweet time.
But, yeah, you're just you'rejust trying to map out this guy.
(08:58):
If if he can move out of theway, I can straighten this up,
and I can maybe get in front ofthese guys that are already
going 50 mile an hour.
Sam D’Arc (09:04):
Yeah. I'll tell you it was awesome to watch. And
it's interesting when you thinkabout this past season with
Ziggler and you driving the 77.You know, Aaron always says most
people in business make themistake of not being aggressive
enough, and he always says wewill never make that mistake.
And I still remember the pressconference at motorsports.
He tells this story often wherea reporter said, hey, you know,
(09:27):
what would you say to Carson?Like like, he's an aggressive
driver. Do you have a problem,you know, with him being as
aggressive? And Aaron recitedthat thing about most people
aren't aggressive enough. Wewant him to be aggressive.
We love that he's aggressive.You showed that and you defined
yourself this season in NASCARto some criticism. What would
you say at the end of the seasonabout several moments,
(09:49):
throughout the season where youdemonstrated aggressiveness?
Some cases paid off, some casesdrew you intense criticism.
Carson Hocevar (09:58):
It's hard to map out a single one, but Jeff
Dickerson, our our owner atSpire, told me this, and and I I
didn't think about it until tillnow. Tyler Reddick, racing for a
championship final 4. And wewere racing up inside the top 10
at Phoenix. And we ran as doorto door as we could get for 10
(10:21):
laps straight. You know, hedidn't he couldn't lose a spot.
Like he was, you know, kind ofbleeding some spots. His final 4
other final 4 competitors wereup the road. And, last thing he
needed to be doing was losing aspot to us and losing a few
more. So he's trying to hold onas much as he can, to kinda keep
in touch. And he, you know, madeit as tight as we could make it
(10:43):
to try and hold me up and try tohold me down and pinch me down.
And Jeff, you know, took it as asign of respect watching it.
Right? Is he discussed, youknow, Reddick basically put his
championship into my hands andour hands on our 77 group that
he had enough confidence in usto be within an inch. And I
wasn't gonna get loose and getinto them or spin out or get
(11:06):
loose or drive into them or pushit too hard knowing what he's
racing for. And I think that'sthe difference.
Right? Start of the year, theynever would have, you know, they
would have gave extra room orfrustrated. I was even to him.
But, you know, by the end of theyear and and, you know, racing
for the biggest trophy you canget, he had enough faith in the
guy that still had rookiestripes Yeah. To to run an inch
(11:28):
off our door.
And I think helping, well, youknow, we raced super hard with
him at Homestead. You know, hewon the went on to win the race,
but we were up there racing withhim, throwing slide jobs. And
one of the ones that I was doingto make speed, he found later
and then went on to win the racewith it, Yeah. Which was kind of
funny. But, but, yeah, I thinkthat's the the biggest thing is
(11:50):
just seeing, you know, the theguys racing that go win races
and have a fight for achampionship, you know, hold a
lot of respect or faith thatwe're a top tier car, becoming a
top tier car that we can go upand run with them.
But, you know, we're not gonnabe a dart without feathers
either while doing it.
Sam D’Arc (12:07):
I love it. Trust and respect. 2 huge and important,
principles in business. Right?And ones that we at the auto
group live by, we believe in.
And it's interesting at thebeginning of your career, the
beginning of the year, peopleknew what you had done in the
truck series but hadn't seen yourace cup yet. So you had to earn
that trust and yet to earn thatrespect. How do you take some of
(12:29):
the drama that happens duringthe course of the season, kinda
set it aside and just continueto perform? So, for example,
when you were fined, right, youbumped I forget even who it was.
You bumped someone, they got allbunched up even though it was
probably it could have been abreak check or whatever, Like,
how do you set aside drama tocontinue to perform knowing that
you can?
Because trust and respect onlyhappen on the other side of
(12:52):
experience and you had to getthrough the experience to earn
that trust and respect.
Carson Hocevar (12:57):
Yeah. I mean, luckily, I mean, you race every
week. So, I mean, with that one,we were able to go to Chicago,
the very next week and ran top 5there for the later half of the
race and run good. So when yougo to the racetrack and run
good, you instantly forget aboutit.
Sam D’Arc (13:14):
Yeah. Success kills it.
Carson Hocevar (13:15):
There's, like, one lap. Right? You see the guy
you just got into, and thatinstantly says, if you just run
one corner next to each otherand you don't hit, it's it's the
sign of, alright. We're done.We're done.
Like, it's that that's moved on.Right? Is
Sam D’Arc (13:30):
Okay.
Carson Hocevar (13:31):
You know, if you see a guy that you've drove into
the next week and they're, youknow, they even if they, like,
said in the media or anything oror whatnot, right, of, you know,
I'm gonna get you or you got onecoming. You know, if you run
side by side the next week andyou guys don't touch, I feel
like that's like the, you know,driver driver code. Like,
alright. We're done. I'm notmessing with you.
(13:52):
You're not messing with me. I'mgonna patch you and move on.
Like, that's that's I feel likethe easiest thing, and kind of
the way it's I feel like it'sgone. You know, 2 months down
the line, the second you touchagain, everybody remembers.
Yeah.
Like, the second you get racecars touch, it remembers. Right?
Like Yeah. But if you're aroundeach other and you guys don't
touch race cars, it's like youforgot about it.
Sam D’Arc (14:14):
Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. When you think about
this past season, 1 top 5, 6 toptens, 15 finishes, your 3rd
place career best at, WatkinsGlen in September. What are some
of the best moments of this pastyear?
What stands out to you whereyou're like, man, I'm so glad
that happened. You you felt a aa sense of satisfaction at the
(14:37):
result or the way the teamperformed. What what were some
of the highlights for you?Having
Carson Hocevar (14:42):
a shot to win a cup race at Watkins Glen was
super, special. I mean, you'rejust lining up on their green
white 3 green white checkeredson the front row is super
special and having a shot to wina race. But also, I mean, I
kinda go back to homestead, but,like, that was the problem. You
know, we got stage points inboth stages and finished top 10
(15:05):
in that one. And then you you'rein the one of the most crucial
races, right, of finally Yeah.
Everybody's bringing the a of a,like, their best of best stuff.
They're, you know, the bigteams, they find even more
resources. You know, you know,the unlimited amount of
resources become a little bitmore unlimited. You know,
(15:26):
people's pockets get deeper,manufacturers, sponsors, team
owners. Right?
It it turns you know, when youget to the final 8, it's like,
alright. Well, whatever we canget to Phoenix. Right? And
whatever you know, this part orthis piece or this extra DIL
time or this whatever. So for usto, you know, basically go in
their business as usual and andcompete that high, or compete
(15:48):
that well, I think is is supercrucial for us and super,
rewarding of, you know, welooked like a final eight car.
If you plugged us into the finaleight, it would look like, man,
how how how did they get there?You know, they're just taking
they're just taking up a spot.You know, why why why in the
world are they there? If TBaccidentally, you know, made our
name yellow of playoff banner,you would be like, yeah. That
(16:10):
makes sense.
Sam D’Arc (16:11):
You know? Yeah.
Carson Hocevar (16:11):
Kinda in the mix. You're kinda in between all
the all the final eight guys.
Sam D’Arc (16:15):
So you mentioned, so, Jordan's team won Homestead.
Right? Michael Jordan.Basketball. Great.
Actually, so I texted, picturesto my kids of Michael Jordan
early in the year, the firstrace he won.
Carson Hocevar (16:27):
At Talladega.
Sam D’Arc (16:28):
And yeah. Talladega. And they're like, who is that?
And I'm like, come on. It'sMichael Jordan.
You know who Michael Jordan is,I assume. Yeah? Basketball.
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay. Very good. So obviously,you gained their trust. He
probably knows who you likelike, any thoughts on Michael
Jordan and, you know, does heknow who you are and did you get
a chance to say hi to him oranything? I mean, he's arguably
one of the most famous I guesshe's a controversial owner
(16:50):
because he's got, stuff going onwith NASCAR.
Carson Hocevar (16:53):
But I've never I've never met him, like, face
to face. Like, hello. I'm so andso. Yeah. I would imagine he
knows me only for the sake thatI'm sure he saw me at some point
and wondered who I was becauseI'm almost his height.
Yeah.
Sam D’Arc (17:07):
Yeah. Was when he was height. Yeah.
Carson Hocevar (17:09):
That that's like like early in the year, I was
like, somebody my dad was like,maybe Michael knows who you are.
I was like, if if so, he's he isasked, who is that? Like, why
Yeah. Why is my driver, like, solike, because Reddick's super
short.
Sam D’Arc (17:21):
Short. Yeah.
Carson Hocevar (17:22):
So I'm sure at some point, he's like, who is
that? Like, why why can't mydriver be a little taller?
Sam D’Arc (17:27):
You're the tallest driver in, cup series. Yeah?
Carson Hocevar (17:30):
I believe so. Yeah.
Sam D’Arc (17:31):
Yeah. That is cool. Well, hey. I wanna share
something with you. We just gotthese in.
We've been waiting for these allyear.
Carson Hocevar (17:37):
How's it say? I see it behind you.
Sam D’Arc (17:39):
The die cast cars are in. So I'm gonna put a link in
the show notes. We have a alimited number of these
available through motorsports.If you're in town, in the next
few weeks, we'd love to have youcome by and sign a bunch of
these. Yeah.
That'd be great. It'd be greatfor fans. Also, I think we can
get them, through your parents'shop as well, here in Portage,
(18:00):
Michigan, but it's alsoavailable through Ziegler
Motorsports. I'll put a linkout. But it is what a great way
to commemorate your 1st year inthe cup series, but then also,
to celebrate rookie of the yearstatus.
What does it mean as as we wrapup for you to have, driven a car
with the Ziggler logo on it?Ziggler, a group that's in your
hometown. You grew up inPortage, Michigan, Kalamazoo
(18:21):
based Ziggler Auto Group. Whatdoes it mean to you to have
driven the 77?
Carson Hocevar (18:25):
Well, it means a lot. You know, the I've seen the
Ziegler name as a kid, goingoff, you know, driving past
motorsports, you know, a 1000times right here. That big
facility right behind themotorsports, you know, their big
parking lot. I forget the nameof the deal. But when I was
racing
Sam D’Arc (18:46):
Oh, the wing center. The wing center.
Carson Hocevar (18:48):
Yeah. Medlink.
Sam D’Arc (18:50):
Oh, I don't know. Maybe When you're
Carson Hocevar (18:51):
behind there or something. Yeah. Yeah. But right
behind there's a big, hugeparking lot. Well, that's where
I would get picked up to goracing.
So That's cool. It was thebiggest parking lot where the
hauler our hauler growing upwhen I race late models would be
coming from Holland. We'd becoming down from, you know,
Grand Rapids. And rather than usgo north to come back south,
(19:12):
they were just like, alright,we're gonna drive and I'll just
pick you up because myneighborhood can't fit us, you
know, a big huge trailer. Yeah.
Holler. So we pick that parkinglot to get picked up. So there's
so many times we'd go and thenwe go test. You know, when I was
13, I had a handful of buddiesduring COVID time that worked at
motorsports or would buy partsat motorsports and then go test
(19:33):
at the dirt bike track out back.
Sam D’Arc (19:34):
Okay. We gotta tell this story because we can tell
it now. The season's over.Right? There was an embargo of
sorts.
So we had you out, right beforethe MIS race, and we did a press
conference. You had a meet andgreet. It was a heck of a lot of
fun. We had fans down the downthe road waiting in line to meet
you and sign get your autograph.After that, you went out to
motorsports and took a side byside out with Aaron Ziegler.
(19:57):
Tell us what happened therebecause I don't think we've
announced this. There's somepictures maybe out there.
Carson Hocevar (20:02):
Yeah. Well, first, I watched Aaron take a
jump and I was judging off hisspeed. I was like, alright.
Well, you know, Aaron's I'm surehe's gonna work up into this a
little bit. And I'm followinghim and we're going pretty fast.
I've never taken a K and M overa jump, and I'm like, man, we're
going a little fast. Andluckily, I gave myself just a
(20:22):
little bit of space. And rightbefore I went to jump, I
remembered who I was ridingbehind. I was like, wait. Hold
on.
I think it might have if I thinkAaron Ziegler is gonna work up
into anything, I don't knowAaron Ziegler. Yeah. So he fires
the thing up and it clears a lotmore air than I would have
expected. So I'm glad I had thatrealization and realized and
lifted and kinda putted over ajump and everything. Well, then,
(20:46):
you know, after a while, I kindalet him go and he was going way
faster than I was.
I just took the turns fast. Idid not want anything really
what to do with the jumps and
Sam D’Arc (20:54):
Yeah. It's a dirt track. Some big jumps though.
Big jumps.
Carson Hocevar (20:57):
Or it just rained and there's a lot of mud.
Yeah. A
Sam D’Arc (21:00):
lot
Carson Hocevar (21:00):
of mud. There's a lot of grooves and everything.
So Yep. I I had 4 wheel driveand being a race car driver, I
was like, well, I want I startedfiguring out how to get 2 wheel
drive into it so I could slideit all the way around. Yeah.
I was sliding every corner likea, you know, a dirt late model
or street stock or, you know,even when a cup cars used to be
on dirt, you know, just slidingit, you know, turning right to
(21:22):
go left type of deal and justsliding and drifting the whole
corner. And eventually, I caughta rut and went over and threw
the corner and put it on my lid.It was the only corner with
luckily no cameras around. Sobut we had to go for on it. But
Yeah.
There was no there was nocheering section, I should say,
that watched me flip this thing.Yeah. So I everybody started
(21:45):
kinda wondering, alright. Well,where am I at? Because I'm going
back by and sure enough, here Iam walking, waving.
Like, hey. Like, can you help meflip this thing back over?
Luckily, we had a gopher on it,so it was funny. But luckily,
there wasn't a cheering sectionof everybody in front that, you
know, that would have been like,oh, okay. Well, that luck like,
I didn't luckily, I I didn'tscare anybody.
(22:08):
Right? Because I think if itwent over, everybody would've,
you know, been nervous oranything
Sam D’Arc (22:12):
like that. Because the last thing you want
Carson Hocevar (22:14):
By the time you realized I flipped over, they
were seeing me walking perfectlyfine. So it was a it was about
perfect. If I was gonna flip 1,it was perfect. I think Aaron
had more fun that I did flip it.
Sam D’Arc (22:24):
He did. He did. Yeah.
Carson Hocevar (22:26):
Then we got to take pictures on it and
everything and flip it backover. So yeah. I mean,
everything's good. Everything isis not worth doing if it doesn't
come with a good story. So
Sam D’Arc (22:34):
I gotta tell you, it was so much fun because I was
standing with a bunch of thecamera folks and kind of our
group that was kinda towards theentrance, and we recognized that
he hadn't come back, can't comeback. So we all went running
over, saw it flipped over beforewe saw you, and we're like, oh,
no. We had this thought in ourhead that we, you know, we've
got this great cup driver whojust got injured right the day
before MIS, but it's a tributeto you that you just do things
(22:58):
all out and that's with, Ithink, any athlete, any
competitor in business, it'svery similar. You know, you're
committed to the result and youwanna win, and there's just
something about, that desire towin that breeds that success.
And so we you know, on behalf ofthe Ziegler Auto Group and the
entire podcast audience,congrats to you for rookie of
(23:18):
the year this 1st year and thesuccess that will come.
You know, we'll make, anofficial announcement on social,
shortly, but, you know, Ziegleris gonna continue to, sponsor
you this next year. So we'reexcited to have you back and to
have those Ziegler, logo back onthe car, this next year and just
to see you succeed and continueto win. And and actually as a
(23:38):
closing, before I ask you to anymessage for anybody in the
Kalamazoo area, what hopes doyou have for this coming year?
You know, you you achieved thatrookie of the year which had to
be a big goal. What do youexpect in year 2?
Carson Hocevar (23:49):
Yeah. I'd like to make the playoffs. That would
be the Yeah. That would be thebiggest thing for sure. Whether
it be point our way in or getone win or or whatever.
But, I think that's the I mean,realistically, right, that my
goal was to get top 20 in pointsand, win rookie year. Because if
you were top 20 in points,you're really not that far away
from a playoff run. Yeah. Imean, you're talking 4 or 5
(24:12):
spots and you make the playoffs.So so for us, I think if we can
be 15th, 16th points, it opensus up.
Right? If, you know,consistently your 15th, 16th
best guy in points, it alldepends on who wins behind you
if they knock you back out ofthe playoffs or not. Yeah. It'll
probably take a win to normallydoes. But, you know, ultimately,
(24:35):
if we can just control our ownfate at least and put ourselves
in around 15th, 16th in points,puts yourself in that spot.
And if you're running that good,you know, eventually you're
gonna get the opportunity to wina race or back into 1 or
whatever case may happen.Eventually, you're gonna get one
stroke of good luck andopportunity. It just depends if
(24:55):
you're able to take it and graspit and hold on to it and say
thank you and execute on it.And, yeah, I think that team's
capable of doing that.
Sam D’Arc (25:03):
That's awesome. Well, any, any closing comments?
Anything you wanna say to thefolks in Kalamazoo, Portage,
your hometown, or to ouraudience?
Carson Hocevar (25:09):
Not a whole lot. Just appreciate them and the
support of Ziggo Auto Group and,what they do from the community
and all the employees, men andwomen at team Ziglar. It's been
a lot of fun to continue to meetand looking forward to the
Christmas party being inKalamazoo and not Chicago. I I
love Chicago. I've got but,
Sam D’Arc (25:30):
Casey's home.
Carson Hocevar (25:30):
Selfishly, I'm pumped that I get to have the
Christmas party and then go hometo Yeah. My childhood home and
not a hotel. But also, Chicagowas a little windy. I've gotten
accustomed to the North Carolinaweather probably a little bit
too much. Yeah.
You're soft. Yeah. I'm lookingforward to seeing everybody in
the off season. I'll definitelybe home, and, you know, see
(25:53):
everybody in the men and women,customers, clients, employees,
everybody at team Ziegler. It'sbeen a lot of fun and hoping to
see them in a racetrack if Idon't get to see them in the off
season.
Sam D’Arc (26:03):
Well, Carson, so far, thank you again.
Congratulations, rookie of theyear. Team Ziegler and our
audience, if you want a die cast77, autograph, you can go to the
link in the show notes and,check that out. Again, we
appreciate having you, and, goodluck. Carson Hossfar in the off
season.
Thank you. Thanks, sir. A bigthanks to Carson Hostvar for
(26:25):
contributing to this week'spodcast. Until next week, how
are you driving vision today?
Make it, grasp it, hold on to it, and say thank
you, and execute on it.
Sam D’Arc (00:16):
Welcome everyone to the driving vision podcast
brought to you by the ZiglerAuto Group. I'm your host, Sam
Dark. Be sure to subscribe tothe podcast. Like it if you do
and leave a comment. So hey,everybody.
Welcome, to the Future of ZackToday Driving Vision podcast
with us today back again.Carson, host of our number 77.
(00:36):
Driver of the Spire Motorsportsnumber 77 NASCAR. So, Carson,
welcome.
Carson Hocevar (00:42):
Yeah. Thanks, Sam. I feel like a regular guest
on this, show.
Sam D’Arc (00:46):
It's a
Carson Hocevar (00:46):
lot of fun. So I'm glad to Yes. Check-in and,
we've had a great year. So gladto be here.
Sam D’Arc (00:51):
Your first season comes to an end. So how would
you describe what's happenedthis 1st year in the cup series?
This is your 1st full yeardriving cup.
Carson Hocevar (01:01):
Yeah. I mean, a lot of progress from myself as
a, you know, a cup driver tospire as a whole and everything.
You know, our results have havegotten exceedingly better from
the start of the year in ourperformance and everything and
what we've been able toaccomplish and do and our point
standings, everything. So, it'sbeen fun to do these throughout
(01:21):
the year. Right?
You know, going and and changingour expectations and talking
about it. So, it's been a lot offun to do that with team
Ziegler. And, yeah. I mean, atthe end of the year with the
team Ziegler race car, I thinkthat was our best overalling,
you know, overall arching day atHomestead, you know, with the
final 8. Yeah.
Competitors in points were 7 ofthe top 8. And then, you know,
(01:44):
the 77 Ziegler Auto Group brightyellow race car was just there
in the mix. Yeah. So it was alot of fun to to be able to do
that and then, cap it off withRicky Deere.
Sam D’Arc (01:54):
So to that point, I'm gonna read you a list of names
and tell me what puts thesenames in common. So I'm gonna
read a list of names, tell mewhat everybody has in common.
Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick,Dale Earnhardt, Davey Allison,
Jimmy Johnson, Tony Stewart,Carson Hocevar. What does
(02:14):
everybody have in common in thatlist?
Carson Hocevar (02:18):
I don't I don't know.
Sam D’Arc (02:19):
They all won rookie of the year in their, in their
first year.
Carson Hocevar (02:23):
Faculty won rookie of the year. So,
Sam D’Arc (02:25):
It's impressive because each one of those
individuals went on I mean, DaleEarnhardt, Denny Hamlin, Tony
Stewart to create great legacieswithin NASCAR. What does it mean
to you to join that group?
Carson Hocevar (02:36):
Yeah. I mean, it's huge. Yeah. It's a really
good name and and even too.Right?
Like, you know, I went back andlooked at a little bit more
recent too. Right? Like Larson,Blaney, all all them won their
rookie, you know, category andwhatnot and then went on to win
a lot of races and championshipsand everything. So, and they won
(02:57):
it right with a team that hadwon races and championships in
advance too. Yeah.
So for us to be able to come in,you know, with a newer ish team
and do that when and get Spire'shighest finishing point
standings. You know, we finished21st in points. Their previous
best was 26. You know, teamsspend a lot of money to gain
(03:18):
that type of spots. And we wereable to do that with, you know,
realistically, kind of the sameprogram as last year.
A lot of those changes in peopleand personnel wasn't gonna get
implemented till, you know,today, you know, Tuesday after
Phoenix that Yeah. We're seeing,you know, a lot of renovations
and everything to the shop andnew cars and new parts, new
(03:38):
pieces, new people. So to beable to to be as fast as we
were, I think was maybe a littleahead of schedule. But, you
know, as, you know, I don'tthink anybody does anything slow
from who I've met at teamZiegler. Right?
They can't No. They just go do
Sam D’Arc (03:53):
it. Let's go.
Carson Hocevar (03:54):
And make it happen right away. So we're able
to do that on the 77.
Sam D’Arc (03:58):
So thinking about the parallel between NASCAR and
business, that's one of thereasons why Aaron at the Zigler
Auto Group does NASCAR. Everyonedoes their job. They know their
job. How important is it to youto have a pit crew and a team
around you that executes at asuper high level?
Carson Hocevar (04:14):
Yeah. I mean, it's everything. It's, you know,
it's like studying it's likedoing a group project at school.
Right? Like, if you did yourpart and you show up expecting
your teammates to do the otherpart and they show up and was
like, you know, I overslept andthen do it and this and that.
You know, you did all the workand, you know, you showed up
prepared and you know? But youdon't get the result because
(04:37):
you're dictated your result wasin their hands. So, you know, my
crew chief, our crew guys, youknow, overslept or didn't spend
the extra little bit and tightenall the bolts tied and something
fell off or, you know, pit crewguy was, you know, out the night
before and slipping and slidingon pit road and and we lost few
(04:57):
spots. Right? You know, thenwe're not showing up doing our
our part and and our resultsget, you know, affected.
And and and then we're nothaving any fun too. So Yeah. You
know, our pit crew that same dayat Homestead had the fastest
stop in NASCAR history. Yeah.And we had no mechanical
failures all year, that put usout of any race.
(05:18):
So, I'd say between the threeparts of us on the 77 group, we
all executed very well and at aat a very high level. And, you
know, that's what makes it, youknow, so fun to to go race is,
you know, we have those faiththat our our teammates are gonna
show up, you know, well restedand ready to do their part of
(05:38):
the group project.
Sam D’Arc (05:40):
Yeah. So thinking about Homestead, your team and
your team, your team broke arecord that had never been,
broken all time record in NASCARhistory. The fastest 4 tire pit
stop in NASCAR history. A, didyou know it in the moment? And
when did you find out?
And then how did you celebrateas a team?
Carson Hocevar (06:02):
Yeah. Well, we first, we we knew it was fast,
because we came in we came downpit road 6th, and we got blocked
in just a little bit. Otherwise,we would have came out 1st or
second. Normally, it's like abig you know, you're racing
within the top 5. You know,we're running 6 on down pit
road, or maybe it was 5th.
I think we came down 5th
Sam D’Arc (06:22):
on the road
Carson Hocevar (06:23):
and gave Yeah. It was 5th. Almost 3 spots,
which is pretty crazy in in thetop 5. Because, I mean, those
are the best guys. To almostgain 4 or 5 spots, I knew it was
fast, but didn't know till afterthe race.
And once we did, Dan, our carchief, made these custom medals
(06:47):
basically that were handengraved or wood engraving, like
it was basically the Olympicsand had them all, with their
names for every crew guy. That'scool.
Sam D’Arc (06:57):
That's cool.
Carson Hocevar (06:57):
You know, what the time was. I mean, that's
gonna be, I think, a really,really difficult time to be.
Yeah. It's rare to get a high 8seconds, let alone a low 8.
Like, I mean, that is I I thinkthat's as fast as it'll probably
ever get.
Sam D’Arc (07:13):
And was that the pit stop? Because obviously we were
watching where you kinda gotblocked in. There was one pit
stop. Was that intentional bythe other team blocking you in
or was that just bad placementby their tire guys?
Carson Hocevar (07:25):
I think it was just a like, just it just
happened. Perfect storm of hewas maybe a little far right.
And the guy came around and theyhad it. Like, they had a jumbled
up stop and it forced them theguy to walk around the other
guy. And then he he had his handway out with the tire and
holding it in the pit road rightwhen I was coming out.
(07:45):
So it was just the perfect stormof bad.
Sam D’Arc (07:49):
What goes through your head as you're seeing you
know it's time to go and you'regonna break a record, an all
time NASCAR record. You didn'tknow it in the moment. And you
see a tire guy right there in inyour windscreen, do you just go
and and you trust the process?He's gonna get out of the way?
Or
Carson Hocevar (08:03):
A little
Sam D’Arc (08:03):
bit. You came inches.
Carson Hocevar (08:05):
Yeah. A little bit. I mean, you cut it as close
as you can get. Right? Yeah.
He is holding a tire So if ifanything, if you do hit him,
he's or you're gonna hit you'regonna hit the tire
Sam D’Arc (08:16):
first. Yeah.
Carson Hocevar (08:16):
You're watching you're more watching the cars
coming down pit road, like,because we were one of the first
late last stop of pit stalls. Sowe're towards the end of pit
road. So the guys we're racingwould already finish their stop.
They're rolling down pit road.So as I'm coming out, I'm trying
to be able to get out just quickenough that I can cut in front
of them and basically block themin.
(08:37):
Yeah. So that just cuts itreally tight is like knowing,
alright, it's already gonna be,I'm merging into oncoming
traffic basically. And now thislittle old lady's in front of
me, basically. Yeah. I'm gonnahave to swerve around and they
they're they're taking theirsweet time.
But, yeah, you're just you'rejust trying to map out this guy.
(08:58):
If if he can move out of theway, I can straighten this up,
and I can maybe get in front ofthese guys that are already
going 50 mile an hour.
Sam D’Arc (09:04):
Yeah. I'll tell you it was awesome to watch. And
it's interesting when you thinkabout this past season with
Ziggler and you driving the 77.You know, Aaron always says most
people in business make themistake of not being aggressive
enough, and he always says wewill never make that mistake.
And I still remember the pressconference at motorsports.
He tells this story often wherea reporter said, hey, you know,
(09:27):
what would you say to Carson?Like like, he's an aggressive
driver. Do you have a problem,you know, with him being as
aggressive? And Aaron recitedthat thing about most people
aren't aggressive enough. Wewant him to be aggressive.
We love that he's aggressive.You showed that and you defined
yourself this season in NASCARto some criticism. What would
you say at the end of the seasonabout several moments,
(09:49):
throughout the season where youdemonstrated aggressiveness?
Some cases paid off, some casesdrew you intense criticism.
Carson Hocevar (09:58):
It's hard to map out a single one, but Jeff
Dickerson, our our owner atSpire, told me this, and and I I
didn't think about it until tillnow. Tyler Reddick, racing for a
championship final 4. And wewere racing up inside the top 10
at Phoenix. And we ran as doorto door as we could get for 10
(10:21):
laps straight. You know, hedidn't he couldn't lose a spot.
Like he was, you know, kind ofbleeding some spots. His final 4
other final 4 competitors wereup the road. And, last thing he
needed to be doing was losing aspot to us and losing a few
more. So he's trying to hold onas much as he can, to kinda keep
in touch. And he, you know, madeit as tight as we could make it
(10:43):
to try and hold me up and try tohold me down and pinch me down.
And Jeff, you know, took it as asign of respect watching it.
Right? Is he discussed, youknow, Reddick basically put his
championship into my hands andour hands on our 77 group that
he had enough confidence in usto be within an inch. And I
wasn't gonna get loose and getinto them or spin out or get
(11:06):
loose or drive into them or pushit too hard knowing what he's
racing for. And I think that'sthe difference.
Right? Start of the year, theynever would have, you know, they
would have gave extra room orfrustrated. I was even to him.
But, you know, by the end of theyear and and, you know, racing
for the biggest trophy you canget, he had enough faith in the
guy that still had rookiestripes Yeah. To to run an inch
(11:28):
off our door.
And I think helping, well, youknow, we raced super hard with
him at Homestead. You know, hewon the went on to win the race,
but we were up there racing withhim, throwing slide jobs. And
one of the ones that I was doingto make speed, he found later
and then went on to win the racewith it, Yeah. Which was kind of
funny. But, but, yeah, I thinkthat's the the biggest thing is
(11:50):
just seeing, you know, the theguys racing that go win races
and have a fight for achampionship, you know, hold a
lot of respect or faith thatwe're a top tier car, becoming a
top tier car that we can go upand run with them.
But, you know, we're not gonnabe a dart without feathers
either while doing it.
Sam D’Arc (12:07):
I love it. Trust and respect. 2 huge and important,
principles in business. Right?And ones that we at the auto
group live by, we believe in.
And it's interesting at thebeginning of your career, the
beginning of the year, peopleknew what you had done in the
truck series but hadn't seen yourace cup yet. So you had to earn
that trust and yet to earn thatrespect. How do you take some of
(12:29):
the drama that happens duringthe course of the season, kinda
set it aside and just continueto perform? So, for example,
when you were fined, right, youbumped I forget even who it was.
You bumped someone, they got allbunched up even though it was
probably it could have been abreak check or whatever, Like,
how do you set aside drama tocontinue to perform knowing that
you can?
Because trust and respect onlyhappen on the other side of
(12:52):
experience and you had to getthrough the experience to earn
that trust and respect.
Carson Hocevar (12:57):
Yeah. I mean, luckily, I mean, you race every
week. So, I mean, with that one,we were able to go to Chicago,
the very next week and ran top 5there for the later half of the
race and run good. So when yougo to the racetrack and run
good, you instantly forget aboutit.
Sam D’Arc (13:14):
Yeah. Success kills it.
Carson Hocevar (13:15):
There's, like, one lap. Right? You see the guy
you just got into, and thatinstantly says, if you just run
one corner next to each otherand you don't hit, it's it's the
sign of, alright. We're done.We're done.
Like, it's that that's moved on.Right? Is
Sam D’Arc (13:30):
Okay.
Carson Hocevar (13:31):
You know, if you see a guy that you've drove into
the next week and they're, youknow, they even if they, like,
said in the media or anything oror whatnot, right, of, you know,
I'm gonna get you or you got onecoming. You know, if you run
side by side the next week andyou guys don't touch, I feel
like that's like the, you know,driver driver code. Like,
alright. We're done. I'm notmessing with you.
(13:52):
You're not messing with me. I'mgonna patch you and move on.
Like, that's that's I feel likethe easiest thing, and kind of
the way it's I feel like it'sgone. You know, 2 months down
the line, the second you touchagain, everybody remembers.
Yeah.
Like, the second you get racecars touch, it remembers. Right?
Like Yeah. But if you're aroundeach other and you guys don't
touch race cars, it's like youforgot about it.
Sam D’Arc (14:14):
Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. When you think about
this past season, 1 top 5, 6 toptens, 15 finishes, your 3rd
place career best at, WatkinsGlen in September. What are some
of the best moments of this pastyear?
What stands out to you whereyou're like, man, I'm so glad
that happened. You you felt a aa sense of satisfaction at the
(14:37):
result or the way the teamperformed. What what were some
of the highlights for you?Having
Carson Hocevar (14:42):
a shot to win a cup race at Watkins Glen was
super, special. I mean, you'rejust lining up on their green
white 3 green white checkeredson the front row is super
special and having a shot to wina race. But also, I mean, I
kinda go back to homestead, but,like, that was the problem. You
know, we got stage points inboth stages and finished top 10
(15:05):
in that one. And then you you'rein the one of the most crucial
races, right, of finally Yeah.
Everybody's bringing the a of a,like, their best of best stuff.
They're, you know, the bigteams, they find even more
resources. You know, you know,the unlimited amount of
resources become a little bitmore unlimited. You know,
(15:26):
people's pockets get deeper,manufacturers, sponsors, team
owners. Right?
It it turns you know, when youget to the final 8, it's like,
alright. Well, whatever we canget to Phoenix. Right? And
whatever you know, this part orthis piece or this extra DIL
time or this whatever. So for usto, you know, basically go in
their business as usual and andcompete that high, or compete
(15:48):
that well, I think is is supercrucial for us and super,
rewarding of, you know, welooked like a final eight car.
If you plugged us into the finaleight, it would look like, man,
how how how did they get there?You know, they're just taking
they're just taking up a spot.You know, why why why in the
world are they there? If TBaccidentally, you know, made our
name yellow of playoff banner,you would be like, yeah. That
(16:10):
makes sense.
Sam D’Arc (16:11):
You know? Yeah.
Carson Hocevar (16:11):
Kinda in the mix. You're kinda in between all
the all the final eight guys.
Sam D’Arc (16:15):
So you mentioned, so, Jordan's team won Homestead.
Right? Michael Jordan.Basketball. Great.
Actually, so I texted, picturesto my kids of Michael Jordan
early in the year, the firstrace he won.
Carson Hocevar (16:27):
At Talladega.
Sam D’Arc (16:28):
And yeah. Talladega. And they're like, who is that?
And I'm like, come on. It'sMichael Jordan.
You know who Michael Jordan is,I assume. Yeah? Basketball.
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay. Very good. So obviously,you gained their trust. He
probably knows who you likelike, any thoughts on Michael
Jordan and, you know, does heknow who you are and did you get
a chance to say hi to him oranything? I mean, he's arguably
one of the most famous I guesshe's a controversial owner
(16:50):
because he's got, stuff going onwith NASCAR.
Carson Hocevar (16:53):
But I've never I've never met him, like, face
to face. Like, hello. I'm so andso. Yeah. I would imagine he
knows me only for the sake thatI'm sure he saw me at some point
and wondered who I was becauseI'm almost his height.
Yeah.
Sam D’Arc (17:07):
Yeah. Was when he was height. Yeah.
Carson Hocevar (17:09):
That that's like like early in the year, I was
like, somebody my dad was like,maybe Michael knows who you are.
I was like, if if so, he's he isasked, who is that? Like, why
Yeah. Why is my driver, like, solike, because Reddick's super
short.
Sam D’Arc (17:21):
Short. Yeah.
Carson Hocevar (17:22):
So I'm sure at some point, he's like, who is
that? Like, why why can't mydriver be a little taller?
Sam D’Arc (17:27):
You're the tallest driver in, cup series. Yeah?
Carson Hocevar (17:30):
I believe so. Yeah.
Sam D’Arc (17:31):
Yeah. That is cool. Well, hey. I wanna share
something with you. We just gotthese in.
We've been waiting for these allyear.
Carson Hocevar (17:37):
How's it say? I see it behind you.
Sam D’Arc (17:39):
The die cast cars are in. So I'm gonna put a link in
the show notes. We have a alimited number of these
available through motorsports.If you're in town, in the next
few weeks, we'd love to have youcome by and sign a bunch of
these. Yeah.
That'd be great. It'd be greatfor fans. Also, I think we can
get them, through your parents'shop as well, here in Portage,
(18:00):
Michigan, but it's alsoavailable through Ziegler
Motorsports. I'll put a linkout. But it is what a great way
to commemorate your 1st year inthe cup series, but then also,
to celebrate rookie of the yearstatus.
What does it mean as as we wrapup for you to have, driven a car
with the Ziggler logo on it?Ziggler, a group that's in your
hometown. You grew up inPortage, Michigan, Kalamazoo
(18:21):
based Ziggler Auto Group. Whatdoes it mean to you to have
driven the 77?
Carson Hocevar (18:25):
Well, it means a lot. You know, the I've seen the
Ziegler name as a kid, goingoff, you know, driving past
motorsports, you know, a 1000times right here. That big
facility right behind themotorsports, you know, their big
parking lot. I forget the nameof the deal. But when I was
racing
Sam D’Arc (18:46):
Oh, the wing center. The wing center.
Carson Hocevar (18:48):
Yeah. Medlink.
Sam D’Arc (18:50):
Oh, I don't know. Maybe When you're
Carson Hocevar (18:51):
behind there or something. Yeah. Yeah. But right
behind there's a big, hugeparking lot. Well, that's where
I would get picked up to goracing.
So That's cool. It was thebiggest parking lot where the
hauler our hauler growing upwhen I race late models would be
coming from Holland. We'd becoming down from, you know,
Grand Rapids. And rather than usgo north to come back south,
(19:12):
they were just like, alright,we're gonna drive and I'll just
pick you up because myneighborhood can't fit us, you
know, a big huge trailer. Yeah.
Holler. So we pick that parkinglot to get picked up. So there's
so many times we'd go and thenwe go test. You know, when I was
13, I had a handful of buddiesduring COVID time that worked at
motorsports or would buy partsat motorsports and then go test
(19:33):
at the dirt bike track out back.
Sam D’Arc (19:34):
Okay. We gotta tell this story because we can tell
it now. The season's over.Right? There was an embargo of
sorts.
So we had you out, right beforethe MIS race, and we did a press
conference. You had a meet andgreet. It was a heck of a lot of
fun. We had fans down the downthe road waiting in line to meet
you and sign get your autograph.After that, you went out to
motorsports and took a side byside out with Aaron Ziegler.
(19:57):
Tell us what happened therebecause I don't think we've
announced this. There's somepictures maybe out there.
Carson Hocevar (20:02):
Yeah. Well, first, I watched Aaron take a
jump and I was judging off hisspeed. I was like, alright.
Well, you know, Aaron's I'm surehe's gonna work up into this a
little bit. And I'm followinghim and we're going pretty fast.
I've never taken a K and M overa jump, and I'm like, man, we're
going a little fast. Andluckily, I gave myself just a
(20:22):
little bit of space. And rightbefore I went to jump, I
remembered who I was ridingbehind. I was like, wait. Hold
on.
I think it might have if I thinkAaron Ziegler is gonna work up
into anything, I don't knowAaron Ziegler. Yeah. So he fires
the thing up and it clears a lotmore air than I would have
expected. So I'm glad I had thatrealization and realized and
lifted and kinda putted over ajump and everything. Well, then,
(20:46):
you know, after a while, I kindalet him go and he was going way
faster than I was.
I just took the turns fast. Idid not want anything really
what to do with the jumps and
Sam D’Arc (20:54):
Yeah. It's a dirt track. Some big jumps though.
Big jumps.
Carson Hocevar (20:57):
Or it just rained and there's a lot of mud.
Yeah. A
Sam D’Arc (21:00):
lot
Carson Hocevar (21:00):
of mud. There's a lot of grooves and everything.
So Yep. I I had 4 wheel driveand being a race car driver, I
was like, well, I want I startedfiguring out how to get 2 wheel
drive into it so I could slideit all the way around. Yeah.
I was sliding every corner likea, you know, a dirt late model
or street stock or, you know,even when a cup cars used to be
on dirt, you know, just slidingit, you know, turning right to
(21:22):
go left type of deal and justsliding and drifting the whole
corner. And eventually, I caughta rut and went over and threw
the corner and put it on my lid.It was the only corner with
luckily no cameras around. Sobut we had to go for on it. But
Yeah.
There was no there was nocheering section, I should say,
that watched me flip this thing.Yeah. So I everybody started
(21:45):
kinda wondering, alright. Well,where am I at? Because I'm going
back by and sure enough, here Iam walking, waving.
Like, hey. Like, can you help meflip this thing back over?
Luckily, we had a gopher on it,so it was funny. But luckily,
there wasn't a cheering sectionof everybody in front that, you
know, that would have been like,oh, okay. Well, that luck like,
I didn't luckily, I I didn'tscare anybody.
(22:08):
Right? Because I think if itwent over, everybody would've,
you know, been nervous oranything
Sam D’Arc (22:12):
like that. Because the last thing you want
Carson Hocevar (22:14):
By the time you realized I flipped over, they
were seeing me walking perfectlyfine. So it was a it was about
perfect. If I was gonna flip 1,it was perfect. I think Aaron
had more fun that I did flip it.
Sam D’Arc (22:24):
He did. He did. Yeah.
Carson Hocevar (22:26):
Then we got to take pictures on it and
everything and flip it backover. So yeah. I mean,
everything's good. Everything isis not worth doing if it doesn't
come with a good story. So
Sam D’Arc (22:34):
I gotta tell you, it was so much fun because I was
standing with a bunch of thecamera folks and kind of our
group that was kinda towards theentrance, and we recognized that
he hadn't come back, can't comeback. So we all went running
over, saw it flipped over beforewe saw you, and we're like, oh,
no. We had this thought in ourhead that we, you know, we've
got this great cup driver whojust got injured right the day
before MIS, but it's a tributeto you that you just do things
(22:58):
all out and that's with, Ithink, any athlete, any
competitor in business, it'svery similar. You know, you're
committed to the result and youwanna win, and there's just
something about, that desire towin that breeds that success.
And so we you know, on behalf ofthe Ziegler Auto Group and the
entire podcast audience,congrats to you for rookie of
(23:18):
the year this 1st year and thesuccess that will come.
You know, we'll make, anofficial announcement on social,
shortly, but, you know, Ziegleris gonna continue to, sponsor
you this next year. So we'reexcited to have you back and to
have those Ziegler, logo back onthe car, this next year and just
to see you succeed and continueto win. And and actually as a
(23:38):
closing, before I ask you to anymessage for anybody in the
Kalamazoo area, what hopes doyou have for this coming year?
You know, you you achieved thatrookie of the year which had to
be a big goal. What do youexpect in year 2?
Carson Hocevar (23:49):
Yeah. I'd like to make the playoffs. That would
be the Yeah. That would be thebiggest thing for sure. Whether
it be point our way in or getone win or or whatever.
But, I think that's the I mean,realistically, right, that my
goal was to get top 20 in pointsand, win rookie year. Because if
you were top 20 in points,you're really not that far away
from a playoff run. Yeah. Imean, you're talking 4 or 5
(24:12):
spots and you make the playoffs.So so for us, I think if we can
be 15th, 16th points, it opensus up.
Right? If, you know,consistently your 15th, 16th
best guy in points, it alldepends on who wins behind you
if they knock you back out ofthe playoffs or not. Yeah. It'll
probably take a win to normallydoes. But, you know, ultimately,
(24:35):
if we can just control our ownfate at least and put ourselves
in around 15th, 16th in points,puts yourself in that spot.
And if you're running that good,you know, eventually you're
gonna get the opportunity to wina race or back into 1 or
whatever case may happen.Eventually, you're gonna get one
stroke of good luck andopportunity. It just depends if
(24:55):
you're able to take it and graspit and hold on to it and say
thank you and execute on it.And, yeah, I think that team's
capable of doing that.
Sam D’Arc (25:03):
That's awesome. Well, any, any closing comments?
Anything you wanna say to thefolks in Kalamazoo, Portage,
your hometown, or to ouraudience?
Carson Hocevar (25:09):
Not a whole lot. Just appreciate them and the
support of Ziggo Auto Group and,what they do from the community
and all the employees, men andwomen at team Ziglar. It's been
a lot of fun to continue to meetand looking forward to the
Christmas party being inKalamazoo and not Chicago. I I
love Chicago. I've got but,
Sam D’Arc (25:30):
Casey's home.
Carson Hocevar (25:30):
Selfishly, I'm pumped that I get to have the
Christmas party and then go hometo Yeah. My childhood home and
not a hotel. But also, Chicagowas a little windy. I've gotten
accustomed to the North Carolinaweather probably a little bit
too much. Yeah.
You're soft. Yeah. I'm lookingforward to seeing everybody in
the off season. I'll definitelybe home, and, you know, see
(25:53):
everybody in the men and women,customers, clients, employees,
everybody at team Ziegler. It'sbeen a lot of fun and hoping to
see them in a racetrack if Idon't get to see them in the off
season.
Sam D’Arc (26:03):
Well, Carson, so far, thank you again.
Congratulations, rookie of theyear. Team Ziegler and our
audience, if you want a die cast77, autograph, you can go to the
link in the show notes and,check that out. Again, we
appreciate having you, and, goodluck. Carson Hossfar in the off
season.
Thank you. Thanks, sir. A bigthanks to Carson Hostvar for
(26:25):
contributing to this week'spodcast. Until next week, how
are you driving vision today?
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