- Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar nabs his first pole in 56 career NASCAR Cup Series races and becomes the youngest pole winner in TMS history.
FORT WORTH, Texas (MAY 3, 2025) – Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar captured the first pole position of his young NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) career during Saturday’s qualifying for the Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS).
Hocevar, a 22-year-old Michigan native in his sophomore season, posted a lap of 191.659 miles per hour (28.175 seconds) in the No. 77 Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevrolet to secure his first NCS pole in 56 career races. It also is his third top-five starting position of the season and fourth among the top 10. His previous career-best starting position was second, which came at Darlington Raceway during the 2024 season.
Hocevar also earned the distinction of becoming the youngest NCS polesitter in TMS history, eclipsing then-23-year-old Brian Vickers of Hendrick Motorsports in 2006.
Hocevar will lead the 38-car field to the green flag for Sunday’s Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY beginning at 2:30 p.m. CT (TV: FS1, Radio: PRN, SiriusXM, Lone Star 92.5 FM locally).
“This is the same crew on pit road, off pit road, at the shop, everyone working on the 77 is exactly the same as when I started here at Spire last year,” Hocevar said. “They were a lot of the same guys who were in the thick of it, so it’s just huge what we’ve been able to bring this team. Chili’s coming on board, being able to Ride the Dente, you know, having the cowboy outfit right, what better place to get on a pole.
“I’m normally so hard on myself – and I still didn’t think I nailed that lap at all – but super proud of this team and proud because I’ve never been the number one pit stall. I’ve had a lot of issues with pit road and we’ve had a lot of bad luck, so I finally get the number one pit stall and I’m pumped about that. … I’m excited to lead my first-ever Cup race to green.”
Starting alongside Hocevar on the front row will be Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron. His qualifying run of 191.564 mph came up .014 of a second shy of the pole but was good enough for his seventh top-10 start in 11 starts.
Team Penske driver Austin Cindric, last week’s winner at Talladega, will start third after his lap of 191.523 mph (28.195 secs.). Rounding out the top five are Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson (191.421 mph, 28.210 secs.) and Hocevar’s Spire Motorsports teammate Michael McDowell (191.333 mph, 28.223 secs.), respectively.
Defending race winner Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports will start 29th with his lap of 188.890 mph (28.588).
Event tickets and camping passes for the 2025 Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY NASCAR tripleheader weekend are on sale now. Click HERE for more information and to buy tickets.
Texas Motor Speedway’s current 2025 events calendar includes Kubota High Limit Racing (May 3 at the TMS Dirt Track), Würth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY NASCAR tripleheader weekend (May 2-4), C10 Nationals (May 9-10), Holley LS Fest Texas (May 16-17), Bandas y Trocas (May 24), Solar Car Challenge (July 17-23), Goodguys Summit Racing Lone Star Nationals (Sept. 26-28), Texas World Dirt Track Championship (Oct. 3-4 at the TMS Dirt Track), October Truck Madness (Oct. 11), Kubota High Limit Racing All-In Championship (Oct. 17-18 at the TMS Dirt Track), FuelFest (Oct. 25), POWRi Sprint Cars (Nov. 7-8 at the TMS Dirt Track) and Xtreme Xperience (Dec. 11-14).
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Texas Motor Speedway is among the largest sports and entertainment venues in the United States. The speedway has an array of amenities such as Big Hoss, the largest single LED screen of any sports facility in North America, making it one of the premier venues in the world of sports. The 1.5-mile superspeedway located in Fort Worth hosts all three NASCAR national series among its various races and specialty events throughout the year. Texas Motor Speedway is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, LLC, a leading marketer and promoter of motorsports entertainment in the United States. For more information, please visit texasmotorspeedway.com.
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