Motorsports
Michigan driver wins exhibition race, earning his way into NASCAR All-Star Race
The 22-year-old Carson Hocevar won the NASCAR All-Star Open on Sunday, May 18, at North Wilkesboro Speedway, punching his ticket into the All-Star Race later in the evening.
It will be Hocevar’s first appearance in the All-Star Race. It’s his second season in the NASCAR Cup Series.
The Portage native took the lead halfway through the race by changing only two tires on a pit stop. He held off challengers to earn the exhibition race win.
“I had my hands full,” Hocevar said. “We definitely have to go to work here on our race car. I didn’t really like it – but it’s a good sign that I didn’t like it and we were still pretty quick.”
The All-Star Race starts at 8 p.m. Sunday on FS1. The winner gets $1 million. Only four drivers who have advanced from the All-Star Open have gone on to win the All-Star Race.
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Rochester Hills native Brad Keselowski is on the pole for Sunday night’s main event.
Michigan’s third driver also nearly earned his way into the race – as the top two finishes in the All-Star Open advance to the main race. Erik Jones, of Byron, nearly took second place in the final laps, but ultimately couldn’t pass his teammate, John Hunter Nemechek.
Carson Hocevar gets the checkered flag in the NASCAR All-Star Open auto race Sunday, May 18, 2025, in North Wilkesboro, N.C. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser)AP
Hocevar is driving the No. 77 Indiana Fever/Gainbridge Chevrolet. He’ll start 21st in the All-Star Race.
It’s been an eventful year so far for Hocevar, with a second-place photo finish, his first career Cup pole position and a victory in the Truck Series.
MORE: Michigan 22-year-old falls just feet short of first NASCAR Cup victory