NASCAR ROTY Handed a “Bummer Deal” as His Off-Wheel Pursuit for the Snowball Derby Get’s Derailed Before the Event

Coming fresh off of a NASCAR honor was not enough to shake off last year’s misfortune. Carson Hocevar made some jaws drop during his rookie outing this year, clinching 6 top-tens and 1 top-five in the Cup Series. His remarkable performance fetched him a Rookie of the Year award, as he outsmarted his nearest competitor, Josh Berry, by 107 points. However, Hocevar could not translate the same success into his Snowball Derby attempt.

Bad luck repeats for Hocevar at Snowball Derby

After crashing out of the qualifier last year, Carson Hocevar faced a similar fate this time. He intended to field brand-new No. 14 car for this year’s Snowball Derby festivities. However, instead of wheeling it himself, Hocevar was overlooking Chase Pinsonneault to handle the vehicle. Despite his absence, a repeat stroke of misfortune hit the car. On the Snowflake 100 side during the Pro Late Model testing, Pinsonneault got involved in a crash.

Carson Hocevar lamented about crumpling his new ride, while making sure not to blame Pinsonneault for anything. He posted on X: “bummer deal. chase has been doing a good job. just apart of learning. long week to get backup dialed in!” Pictures of the mangled car floated online, and the rear was visibly done in. The fuel cell was also completely twisted. Now, Pinsonneault will resort to a backup car, but he will need more time to make it work. Now things will get complicated for Hocevar’s second attempt at the Snowball Derby.

Last year, Carson Hocevar got a taste of his own medicine. He is typically known for his aggressive side, as showcased several times. He wrecked out Corey Heim in last year’s NASCAR Craftsman Championship race. Then he also rammed into Harrison Burton during the Nashville Cup race. But during the 2023 Snowball Derby’s Last Chance Qualifier, Sammy Smith was behind the wreck. On Lap 21 when Augie Grill made contact with Carson Hocevar, the JR Motorsports driver tried to jockey past both. However, Smith tangled with Hocevar at the front stretch after hooking with him, and both slammed hard against the wall.

Evidently, history repeats itself. Although it has not repeated itself entirely, Hocevar’s chances of running the Snowball Derby are now bleak. So, for now, let us look at the strong contenders for the 2024 version of the Derby.

Previous trendsetters at the event

Being one of the most important short-track races in the United States, the Snowball Derby stirs up quite the excitement. It boasts over 5 decades of stellar races, in which NASCAR legends like Dale Earnhardt Sr., Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, and Darrell Waltrip visited. Waltrip was the only one in that elite group to fetch a win. For 2024, we have a few NASCAR drivers as well. Ty Majeski is fresh off of achieving the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series championship and also the Bill Bigley, Sr. Memorial 128 race. He is also the defending winner of the Snowball Derby, throwing up a target for his rivals to topple.

Then Noah Gragson, current Cup Series driver, also owns a previous Derby win in 2018. Chandler Smith picked up two wins and came dangerously close to the Xfinity championship this year. He is returning to the Derby for the first time since his 2021 victory. Then there is William Sawalich, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s mentee and two-time defending ARCA Menards Series East champion. Sawalich finished 10th in his Snowball Derby debut one year ago. He previously scored an ARCA Menards Series East win at Five Flags Speedway in 2023 and a Southern Super Series win in 2022.

Ty Majeski might hold a slight advantage over his competitors with his expert knowledge of the new tires for this race. Hoosier decided after some autumn testing to bring the ST1/ST3 combination for the most prestigious Late Model race of the year. Majeski gave his view on the tire change, saying, “It’s going to be a much harder right-side tire — the same tire we run at Nashville and Winchester, those places. That’s going to be the biggest difference this year. I don’t think you’re going to see as much falloff, or I should say, as much wear.”  The Truck series champion is coming off a huge win at the Bill Bigley Memorial earlier this week and will look to maintain his success at the Snowball Derby.

All these competitors hold better chances of winning than Carson Hocevar. Let us wait and see how Hocevar fares in his backup car on race day.