PORTAGE, MI – At 6-foot-4, NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar towers over many of his competitors. But the Michigan driver is one of the more humble characters in the sport, thanks to his upbringing.

The 21-year-old Portager native has had a meteoric rise to the top league of stock car racing. He is currently the youngest Cup Series driver by more than two years.

Now, Hocevar is ready to showcase his skills at NASCAR’s highest level at his home track: Michigan International Speedway. Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 will be his first Cup race at MIS, one year after his home track debut in the Xfinity Series.

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Hocevar’s path was not only due to talent, but also to hard work and a great foundation laid by his parents.

Before Carson Hocevar was born in January 2003, Scott and Amy Hocevar were not big fans of racing. They were more interested in traditional sports like football and baseball. But Scott Hocevar noticed at a young age that his son enjoyed a sport that was a little faster.

“He just loved it. He just loved watching it,” Scott Hocevar said. “He enjoyed every aspect of it. He loved the racing, the cars and the atmosphere.”

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Carson Hocevar began watching races with his father at nearby Kalamazoo Speedway and Berlin Raceway in Marne. By age 6, Carson Hocevar was racing Quarter Midgets himself.

His parents quickly realized that their son’s passion would take him far. In the winter, they drove him to Columbus, Ohio, once a month to compete in indoor quarter midget races. He shot up the rankings in Berlin just as he shot up the ranks: at age 12, he moved up into an Outlaw Late Model and at age 13, into a Super Late Model.

This led Scott Hocevar to connect with another West Michigan racing icon: former NASCAR Cup Series driver Johnny Benson Jr.

But to practice in Benson’s Super Late Model, a strenuous hike was necessary.

“I picked Carson up after school on Friday,” Scott Hocevar said. “We drove to (Hickory), North Carolina. We stopped in West Virginia — the same hotel every time — then we got up in the morning and drove to Hickory Speedway, and that’s where we met Johnny. He was doing his laps … then we packed up the car and drove back to Johnny’s shop, and then we headed home. We did that about every other weekend for an entire winter.”

This was the beginning of an extensive travel schedule. For five years, Scott and Amy Hocevar drove their son from track to track, racing throughout the Midwest and beyond. From the Champions Racing Association and ARCA to the weekly races in Berlin, the family logged hundreds of thousands of miles in their vehicles.

“Every vehicle they got had 200,000 miles on it within a year,” said Carson Hocevar. “I will be forever grateful to them for doing that.”

Carson Hocevar remembers many overnight trips, especially with his mother at the wheel.

“Everyone thought I had a private jet,” he said. “It was just because my mother hadn’t slept and was able to get me to the track in 13 hours so I wouldn’t miss the race.”

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Because Scott Hocevar runs a sports memorabilia, coin and jewelry business in Portage, he hasn’t been able to attend as many races. He gives his wife some credit for doing most of the traveling work.

Looking back, Carson Hocevar knows that his parents sacrificed a lot to help him achieve his goals.

“I’m sure they would say the same thing: ‘It’s what you do for your child. You do everything you can to help them achieve their dream.’ Fortunately, it all worked out. … (It) was a really good try, but it didn’t work out. … I don’t think (the risk) is talked about enough.”

Carson Hocevar got his first chance in NASCAR in the Truck Series at Eldora Speedway in 2019. Before the 2021 season, he signed a full-time contract with Niece Motorsports.

His first Cup Series race was in June 2023, as a replacement for a race in St. Louis. The first call Carson Hocevar made after receiving the news was to his father.

Now, in 2024, he is a full-time driver for Spire Motorsports.

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It fills him with pride to see his son achieve his goal, said Scott Hocevar.

“It was a great feeling for me and my wife,” Scott said. “We tried to help him achieve his goal. When he did it, it was a great sense of achievement for us.”

Since his parents no longer have to be part of the racing team, Carson Hocevar says they can sit back and watch him work.

“They’ve done everything from investors to travel concierges to Monday night quarterbacks, and they’ve tried to get me lawyers to talk to teams,” Carson Hocevar said. “Now they just want to be parents. I’m at the point where I’m hired as a race car driver… I don’t have to ask my parents for money and I can give back to them.”

What advice does Scott Hocevar give to other parents who want their children to be successful in racing?

“You have to be very dedicated,” Scott Hocevar said. “It becomes what you do. My wife and I don’t take vacations anymore, we go to the track… Our lives just revolved around racing. The commitment of the parents to find a way to do that is huge. You’re cleaning tires, changing tires, getting cars on the road, getting the engines ready, getting the fuel.”

Hocevar comes to MIS after posting a career-best eighth-place finish last week at Richmond Raceway. He is 22nd in the points standings – but leads Josh Berry in the battle for Rookie of the Year by two points.

With three races left in the regular season, Hocevar would need a win to qualify for the playoffs.

The FireKeepers Casino 400 will take place on Sunday, August 18th at 3:30 p.m. The race will be broadcast on the USA Network and can be streamed on FuboTV and Peacock.

Hocevar is one of three Michiganders in the field, along with Brad Keselowski of Rochester Hills and Erik Jones of Byron. No Michigan-born driver has won a Cup race at MIS.

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