Qualifying is complete at Texas and the lineup is set for Sunday’s Würth 400 in Fort Worth.

Hocevar clocked in at 28.175 seconds, an average speed of 191.659 mph around the 1.5-mile speedway in Fort Worth, Texas in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.

William Byron joins Hocevar on the front row after qualifying second, with a time of 28.189 seconds. Talladega winner Austin Cindric qualified third, followed by Kyle Larson and Michael McDowell.

Donning a black cowboy hat and a cowboy-themed firesuit, Portage native Carson Hocevar celebrated his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole position on Saturday, May 3.

Hocevar clocked a lap of 28.175 seconds around the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, averaging 191.659 mph. William Byron qualified second, 0.014 seconds behind.

Hocevar is driving the No. 77 Chili’s “Ride the ‘Dente” Chevrolet on Sunday.

“Having the Cowboy outfit, what better place to get on the pole,” Hocevar told Prime Video after earning the pole position.

Hocevar, 22, is the youngest driver to ever win a pole at Texas Motor Speedway.

“I’m normally so hard on myself,” Hocevar said. “I still didn’t think I nailed that lap, at all.”

The honor also earns Hocevar the first pit stall, which can be an advantage to gain spots on pit road.

Hocevar is in search of his first career Cup Series win. His career best was second place at Atlanta Motor Speedway – losing by just a few feet– in February.

RELATED: Michigan 22-year-old falls just feet short of first NASCAR Cup victory

Hocevar finished sixth last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. He’s moved up from 30th in points to 20th in just two weeks.

Sunday’s race is at 3:30 p.m. on FS1.

There are three Michigan-born drivers in the field for Sunday’s race. Byron native Erik Jones qualified 14th and Rochester Hills driver Brad Keselowski will start 30th.

MORE: Portage NASCAR driver inks sponsorship deal with Kalamazoo business

Setting a fast time of 28.174s, Carson Hocevar was able to hang on for his first career pole in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet on Saturday. It’s a front row lockout for Team Chevy with William Byron putting the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in second, just 0.014s behind Hocevar’s pole lap. Hocevar was also the fastest driver in the practice session that immediately preceded qualifying.

“It’s really big,” smiled Hocevar. “It’s really big for these guys. It’s super impressive for what they’ve been able to do. This is the same group on pit road, off pit road, at the shop — everyone working on the No. 77 is exactly the same as when I started here. It’s just huge where we’ve been able to bring this team.”

Hocevar admitted that he can be hard on himself at times, and didn’t think he “nailed that lap,” despite going to the top of the board. “Super proud of this team,” he continued. “I’ve never been number one pit stall and I’ve had a lot of issue s on pit road. We’ve had a lot of bad luck, so I finally get the number one pit stall and I’m pumped about that.”

Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

Last weekend’s Talladega race winner Austin Cindric timed in third, leading the Ford camp. Kyle Larson was fourth and Hocevar’s Spire Motorsports teammate Michael McDowell was fifth. Ty Gibbs led the Toyotas in sixth, followed by Josh Berry, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, and AJ Allmendinger. 

Defending Texas winner Chase Elliott will start deep in the field, only going fast enough for 29th. The good news is that he came from 24th on the grid to win here last year. He’s not the only notable driver with some work to do on Sunday either with Ryan Blaney 24th, Kyle Busch 26th, Joey Logano 27th, Brad Keselowski 30th, and Ross Chastain 31st.

There were no incidents during the qualifying session. History shows that the pole-sitter has not been able to translate that into a Cup win at Texas in three years of the Nex Gen era, which is something Hocevar will surely be hoping to change tomorrow. Perhaps the practice here is paying off: Hocevar has already been on track racing this weekend, as the only Cup driver to also run the Truck race on Friday night. He was solidly in second place when a battery issue derailed his night.

After dabbling in motorsports in 2024, Texas A&M University returned to the NASCAR world in 2025, striking a deal to serve as a primary and associate sponsor for Haas Factory Team and Cole Custer . Last season, Texas A&M teamed up with Stewart-Haas Racing for a couple of races, and now they’re back for more.

Not only will the Aggies sponsor Cole Custer in the NASCAR Cup Series, but they’re also sponsoring Felix Rosenqvist in the NTT IndyCar Series. Specifically, Texas A&M will be doing the “Double” on Memorial Day weekend, adorning both vehicles later this month.

To start Sunday, May 25, Rosenqvist will take on the Indianapolis 500 with the maroon and camo onboard. They will then be represented on the No. 41 Ford Mustang of Custer, as the NASCAR Cup Series brings the Coca-Cola 600 to the masses.

It is clear that Texas A&M sees a lot of value in motorsports. Both IndyCar and NASCAR are getting love with this sponsorship, and the amount the university is paying has been revealed. According to Eben Novy Williams of Sportico , “Texas A&M University has agreed to pay $335,000 this year to continue advertising in motorsports.

“The school recently signed a $275,000 commitment to NASCAR’s Haas Factory Team and a $60,000 commitment to IndyCar’s Felix Rosenqvist, according to documents obtained by Sportico via open records request. In return, the College Station university will receive a wide range of deliverables, including advertising on cars and driver apparel, VIP hospitality, and social media promotion.

“Last October the school agreed to pay $160,000 to be the primary sponsor of Stewart-Haas Racing cars at two NASCAR tracks.”

As you can tell, Texas A&M must’ve liked what they got out of their first season in motorsports, as they’ve doubled down on sponsorship opportunities in the NASCAR and IndyCar world. Additionally, Custer and Rosenqvist were excited about the news as well, with the former providing a statement on the development.

“I’m proud to carry the Texas A&M branding on our No. 41 Ford Mustang this season,” Custer said, via a press release . “It was a productive partnership in 2024, so we look forward to expanding the relationship and raising awareness around Texas A&M’s commitment to our country’s military personnel. The Aggie Core Values align well with our philosophy at Haas and resonate with the NASCAR fanbase.”

As Cole Custer looks to return to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series, he’ll be hoping to do it with a Texas A&M paint scheme on his ride. Time will tell if he’s able to, but it’s evident the Aggies are believers in this strategy. We’ll see if it yields the results they’re looking for.

— On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this article.

The post Amount Texas A&M to pay NASCAR, IndyCar for car sponsorships in 2025 revealed appeared first on On3 .

Fresh off gaining the commitment of four-star offensive lineman Graham Houston on Thursday, the Georgia Bulldogs are not done trying to extend the Buford to Athens pipeline.

One of the top remaining prospects on Georgia’s board is Buford defensive back Nascar McCoy. You may know him as Nassir, but following a recent change to his government name, the four-star defensive back now goes by Nascar.

But being the in-state school isn’t the only inside track that Georgia has in the recruitment of McCoy. They also have his former teammate and cousin, KJ Bolden.

“We talk about it all the time,” McCoy said. “I was just with him in Athens this weekend. We were just talking about the game. I was training with him up there and stuff like that. He was just giving me a feel for the college ways and everything, how that goes, and stuff like that.”

That “feel” also included the warning about what it takes to play at Georgia.

“But he always tells me, like, if you want to come to Georgia, you just got to ball,” McCoy said. “Be a dog. It’s a dog-eat-dog world up there.”

McCoy and Bolden are in communication so much that McCoy said Bolden is tied with Georgia’s safeties coach, Travaris Robinson, as the Bulldogs’ most effective recruiter.

“Right now, I mean, T-Rob and KJ are a tie,” McCoy said. “KJ, being my family member, he calls me a lot to check up on me. But T-Rob is like family, too.”

Yet, even with two recruiters from Georgia working on McCoy, the Dawgs are facing stiff competition. Ohio State, the defending national champions, are one of the biggest threats.

“They still have two safeties committed, but they still want me as a guy to come be an impact first for them,” McCoy said of the Buckeyes. “You know, they want me to play the high safety position. They have two strong guys who they feel can play the strong and the nickel position, so they still want me in a good spot.”

McCoy was wearing an Ohio State wristband during Thursday’s practice, but also had on a Georgia headcap.

“I look good in red, so we’ll see,” McCoy said of whether his next school will wear red.

As for other contenders, McCoy named Miami, Michigan, Miami, Michigan, Texas A&M, USC, Auburn, and Alabama. A wide range of schools, but they are all similar in their defensive scheme.

“The 4-2-5 scheme is a great scheme to be in,” McCoy said. “It’s a very developing scheme. It just shows the way you can be a versatile player. It shows how you can be all over the field because you’re just not solidified in one position with 4-2-5.”

Aside from scheme, McCoy is looking for the school that will develop him the best.

“My recruiting process is about being developed. It’s really nothing more than that,” McCoy said. “It’s not about any money. I say it’s about how they treat my family also. My family is a big thing to me, and I feel like me going away and being by myself in college, I just have to feel a connection between that relationship with my mom and trust me away.”