Carson Hocevar, John Hunter Nemechek transfer from All-Star Open – Speedway Digest

Carson Hocevar of Spire Motorsports and John Hunter Nemechek of LEGACY Motor Club transferred into the main event as the top two finishers in the All-Star Open.

Hocevar took over the lead when pole winner Shane van Gisbergen opted for four tires under the All-Star Caution at Lap 51. Van Gisbergen had led every lap from the start of the race, but five drivers, including Hocevar, opted for two tires during the stop and beat the New Zealander out of the pits.

When Riley Herbst spun in Turn 3 on Lap 78 to cause the second and final caution, Hocevar stayed out on old tires and pulled away after a Lap 84 restart, beating Nemechek to the finish line by 0.697 seconds.

“It’s great to win, especially being challenged by tires there,” Hocevar said. “I had my hands full. We definitely have to go to work here on our race car, because I didn’t really like it, but it’s a good sign that we didn’t like it and we were still pretty quick there.”

Nemechek, on the other hand, opted for two tires under the yellow and charged from eighth on the restart to second, clearing the Toyota of Bubba Wallace on Lap 90 to claim the second transfer spot.

“We have a shot to go win a million dollars,” Nemechek said. “Hats off to this 42 team. We unloaded and had pretty good two- or three-lap speed, but really no long run pace, so proud of them for the effort that they put in yesterday, and what they were able to find.

“Pitting on that last deal—I knew I couldn’t win from where I was at. We came and got two (tires), and that helped us out.”

Hocevar and Nemechek, both main event rookies, earned the 21st and 22nd starting positions, respectively. The final position in the All-Star Race went to Noah Gragson of Front Row Motorsports, who won the All-Star Fan Vote for the third straight year.

Hocevar finished 11th in the All-Star Race. Gragson was 13th and Nemechek 19th.

Ryan Preece was running second in a strong No. 60 Ford, but he was penalized for running over the V-shaped “choose” symbol on the track a lap before the final restart. Sent to the rear of the field, he had no chance to recover.

Preece said he couldn’t see the orange symbol painted on the track, which had been dulled by rubber laid down in a wild NASCAR Whelan Modified Tour race that preceded the Open.

“You can’t even see it right now,” Preece said. “A rule is a rule. I understand that, but at the end of the day, I made the mistake. I’m just frustrated with the decision.”

The symbol was repainted before the All-Star main event.