ROSSBURG, Ohio – Carson Hocevar almost looked out of place as he traversed the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series garage area on Wednesday afternoon at Eldora Speedway.
After all, for a 16-year-old who grew up driving late models on pavement in the Midwestern United States, being tabbed to pilot a Truck Series entry for Jordan Anderson Racing – on the dirt at the half-mile Ohio oval, no less – was a bit of a surprise, both to Hocevar and to many fans in attendance.
It was thanks to a mutual sponsor of both Hocevar’s and Anderson’s that the deal for the Michigan teenager to run the seventh annual Eldora Dirt Derby this week was ultimately struck.
“This is a bit of a weird comeuppance,” admitted Hocevar. “If you had told me a few months ago, or even a few weeks ago, that I’d be making my (Truck Series) debut at Eldora, I would have laughed at you. But here we are.
“This was sort of a friend of a friend deal, with LTi Printing – they’re on the truck this week and have been trying to help me out as much as they can, and they’ve been helping Jordan out with his team pretty much since day one,” Hocevar added. “They got me in contact with him, and he had an available ride … so he called me up, and I’m thankful that I was one of the first ones he reached out to about this.”
While Hocevar has little in the way of dirt-racing experience – aside from a start indoors at the Tulsa Shootout this past winter – he certainly knows his way around the Eldora property, at the very least.
“It’s funny, because I’ve actually been here so many times,” Hocevar laughed. “You’d think I would know what it feels like. I used to run (at) the quarter-midget track out behind (turn) three, and I’d always come down here and watch the 4-Crown (Nationals) whenever I could, as well.
“Now, it’s surreal to be here and actually have a car to race on the half-mile. I’m glad I have the opportunity, though,” he continued. “It’s not the first time I’m stepping foot in here, but in a way, it still feels like it is because I’ve never been here in this capacity.”
Hocevar has eight starts in the ARCA Menards Series this season with Michigan-based KBR Development, with four top-five and seven top-10 finishes to his credit, as well as one pole.
However, Thursday night will mark his first start in a NASCAR national series, meaning that the Chevrolet development driver will be going to school for much of the time leading up to the 150-lap feature.
“My learning curve here is going to be huge,” Hocevar said. “Luckily, I’ve had enough ARCA (Menards Series) experience now that I know how the Ilmor (spec) engines feel and how the heavier cars race. It’s just about learning the trucks, specifically, here at Eldora. The toughest thing is that these tires aren’t traditional dirt tires, so that’s something that I’ll have to figure out a bit as we go through the week.
“I went and tested a dirt modified to get ready for this, but those don’t drive anything like the trucks do, so it’s still going to be a brave new world for me. We’re just going to have to play it all by ear.”
As far as his goals for Eldora go, Hocevar doesn’t really have any. He just wants to enjoy the moment.
“This, for me, is all about having fun and seeing what we can get out of this deal,” Hocevar noted. “It’s not every day you get an opportunity like this, so I’m trying to soak it all in, learn as much as I can and trying to figure it all out in hopes that we can have a solid day and bring the truck home in one piece.
“If something good happens, it happens, but I just don’t want to do anything stupid. That’s my goal.”