NASCAR CUP SERIES NORTH WILKESBORO SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES JULY 17, 2026 |
Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Camaro ZL1 and the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Silverado RST, met with the media in advance of running double duty in the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series at North Wilkesboro Speedway. | MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
NASCAR CUP SERIESNORTH WILKESBORO SPEEDWAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESJULY 17, 2026 |
Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Camaro ZL1 and the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Silverado RST, met with the media in advance of running double duty in the NASCAR Cup and Craftsman Truck Series at North Wilkesboro Speedway. | MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
Media Availability Quotes: What was your trip to New York like? It looked like you did a lot and met a lot of cool people…“It was fun. There were a lot of cool people – like LeBron (James) walked by and I was like, should I get a photo? And then I was like, no… I walked over and he was at his table. I sat at a table far away from him and some guy came up to ask for a seat. He happened to know who I was and I knew him. He was like, hey, I’m taking this seat over to LeBron, why don’t you walk over? And so, I walked over and you could tell his security guards just started to swarm in, and then all of a sudden, the guy put his hand up and that’s when LeBron stood up, took his glasses off and then we talked for a while. And then I was like, man, I have to get a photo. It was cool. And then, I met Prince Harry. I think I was like, man, I wouldn’t make my mom proud if I didn’t ask for a photo. That’s who she loves.” In these instances, are you introducing yourself and saying who you are? Did LeBron have an idea after hearing your name?“Yeah, he mentioned that his train’s kid races and he’s starting to get into big cars and stuff. He knew who I was, so I thought that was super cool.” You’ve been North Wilkesboro Speedway a couple times now. Last week, you kind of talked about the nostalgia. What do you like about the racing here?“I like that the track seems like it moves around a lot. You can run like right against the fence or you can run the bottom and move around. This place tends to rubber up too, so I just enjoy that there’s so many different ways to go about it. If your car is not very good, there’s probably about four or five different options you can try to go find to make your stuff at least a little bit better because there’s just so many ways to attack the track. It goes downhill and uphill. Part of it is more banked than the other. It just does a lot of weird things that allows us to do different things.” I saw a video of you on racing simulators, as well. Just beyond who you got to meet, what was the whole Fanatics Fest experience like?“Yeah, it was just fun to just walk around. I did a bunch of podcasts and ran around New York. Just got to enjoy it. Unfortunately, with all the smoke, it wasn’t super pretty or anything, but it was just fun. I’m not a big city guy, but when you fly private, roll in and have a chauffeur, it’s really not that bad at all. I enjoyed it.” I know you went to the Met Gala before you were at this event. You’re kind of being the main person going all these, I guess you could say, high-key events, representing yourself and NASCAR. What’s it like going from being this kid running on short track ovals to becoming one of the faces of the sport or true superstar?“Yeah, it’s great for me. You know, like I say all the time, my favorite driver was Dale Jr. I saw him everywhere, right? You saw him on MTV, the music awards and doing all these really cool things, so I just always thought that’s really what NASCAR drivers do. In the 2000s, it was probably a lot more realistic that they all do it. It’s really cool for me that. There’s a lot of times where I’m like, I don’t understand why I’m invited to these, but I’m definitely taking advantage of it, enjoying it, embracing it and just trying to have as much fun with it as possible, knowing that obviously it’s a really cool and once-in-a-life experience for me at a lot of these events. But also, too, it’s obviously great for the sport.” With you running double-duty this weekend, are you taking any extra precautions with the heat this weekend?“I’ll probably just drink a little bit more water. I’m probably more reactive than proactive at a lot of this stuff. But luckily, I’m reminded a lot that I’m 23 and I can get away with it now. I was like, yeah, but it’s right now. I think I’ll be just fine. I’m excited to run both races this weekend.” You were in the TIME100. What is it like kind of emerging as a face of the sport and how are you kind of dealing with that?“It’s been super cool for me. I think Denny (Hamlin) and Michael (Jordan) were in it, as well. But, you know, being the solo (NASCAR driver) in it, I guess, is super fun for me. Obviously, I want to win more, but I think it’s been proven a lot within the sport that you can win multiple races in a row and that doesn’t make you outside the NASCAR bubble, right? If our viewership was based off the racing production, we’d have 10 million live viewers for Atlanta every single time, I think. Ultimately, it’s just getting people to care who’s in the cars. You can have the greatest finish of all time, but if you don’t care who’s involved in the finish, you might as well go watch iRacing, AI Racing, an animation, any kind of motorsport. It’s been super humbling for me to have a lot of people ultimately care about who’s in my car.” You did the t-shirt exchange thing. Were you surprised by how many people turned in shirts? What was your reaction to how that went?“Yeah, I was surprised a little bit. I was more so surprised of the numbers for each driver. I was shocked how many it was just for almost everybody. But ultimately, I was just hoping it was going to be a cool experience. I had some buddies that were out there that kind of handled it for me. And I was like, man, I think you guys would enjoy doing it. They were kind of like, I don’t know. And by the end of it, when they came back, they were like, that was so much fun. They had people chanting. When people would walk up with a different shirt, it was like a viewing party just to watch. They would start chants to trade it in, take it off, the whole thing. It seemed like everybody that was there just had a lot of fun with it.” |

ROSSBURG, OHIO. (July 16, 2026) – The third annual Joker’s Jackpot once again showcased the beauty of Sprint Car Racing to the masses on Thursday night at Eldora Speedway.
Pato O’Ward (left), Josef Newgarden (center) and Will Power (right) share a podium at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway. The trio of drivers are have the most podiums for Team Chevy on short ovals since 2012.





Josh BerryAge: 35 (Oct. 22, 1990)Hometown: Hendersonville, TennesseeCrew Chief: Miles StanleyIG: @joshberry88X: @joshberry


LARSON’S STOUT SHORT-TRACK RESUMESince North Wilkesboro Speedway’s recent return to the NASCAR circuit, it has been a track that has fit right into Kyle Larson’s wheelhouse. Heading into the weekend, the California native is the only active driver that has a victory in both the Cup and Craftsman Truck Series – both of which were earned in the track’s revival season (2023). The weekend sweep was highlighted by his third, and most recent, All-Star Race victory – an effort that saw the two-time champion turn an early-race pit road penalty into a race-high 145 laps led en route to the one-million-dollar grand prize. One day prior, the Truck Series race saw a very similar outcome when Larson drove a Spire Motorsports-prepared Silverado RST to a race-high 138 laps led to capture his third of four career wins in the division. Larson’s short-track success really took off when he joined the Hendrick Motorsports stable. With six career short-track wins under his belt in NASCAR’s top division, five have been earned with Cliff Daniels and the No. 5 Chevrolet team. Overall, throughout his 66 short-track starts in the series, his wins have been accompanied by an impressive 22 top-fives and 36 top-10s.
IN-SEASON CHALLENGE: ELLIOTT ADVANCES TO ROUND FOURHendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott ended his homecoming weekend at EchoPark Speedway with a 13th-place result, but it was enough to knock his opponent, Chase Briscoe, out of the In-Season Challenge and advance into the semifinal round. Representing Team Chevy in Round Four at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Elliott will face off against the No. 25 seed Todd Gilliland. With his short-track statistics, Elliott is an arguable favorite to find his way into the finale race. A 23-time winner in NASCAR’s premier series, the Georgia native has earned two career short-track wins – one of which came earlier this season at Martinsville Speedway when he drove the new Camaro ZL1 racecar to its first win since its competition debut. His short-track prowess has paid dividends towards a stout North Wilkesboro resume, with Elliott earning a pair of top-fives and an eighth-place finish in the three All-Star events held at the track.
VAN GISBERGEN’S OVAL PROGRESSION CONTINUESIn the NASCAR Cup Series return visit to EchoPark Speedway, Shane van Gisbergen once again proved that he is getting his footing on the circuit’s oval tracks. With a solid points day on the agenda, the Stephen Doran-led team executed just that by earning points in Stage Two and the track position needed late in the race to contend for the win – ultimately settling for a strong sixth-place finish to maintain a spot above the Chase cutline. The New Zealand native has earned a top-15 finish in 50 percent of the points-paying races thus far this season, including his career-best oval result of fifth that came at Nashville Superspeedway at the start of the summer stretch. Van Gisbergen has made just one appearance at North Wilkesboro Speedway, which came in the 2025 All-Star event weekend. Despite just missing the transfer into the main event, the Trackhouse Racing driver was able to tally an impressive 54 laps led in the Open.
ENFINGER ENTERS THE CHASE PICTUREThe NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ trip to Lime Rock Park ended in a season turnaround performance by Grant Enfinger and the No. 9 CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet team. Amidst the late-race chaos, the veteran driver capitalized on prime track position and a masterful restart to snap a 40-race winless streak and bring Chevrolet to just two wins away from its milestone 300th all-time victory in the division. On top of the win, it was the strong points day that the Alabama native needed as the series sits just four races away from the Chase. Enfinger put together a stellar 65-point race to vault up to ninth in the standings and make his first appearance above the cutline of the season. The race-winning momentum, on top of his robust North Wilkesboro history, serves as the perfect opportunity for the No. 9 team to continue its climb up the standings this weekend. Enfinger has finished in the top-10 in all three of his starts at the North Carolina short-track, with his best finish of second coming in the 2024 event. 



