Portage’s Own Carson Hocevar Shines In NASCAR Finale

Portage native Carson Hocevar captured his first career NASCAR Cup Series win in an epic finale at the legendary Talladega track on Sunday.

With that win, he moves up four spots in the cup series, putting him in eighth place currently in the standings.

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This was a huge moment for the Portage native, who is 23 years old and crossed the checkered line ahead over 1/10 of a second quicker than the car behind him. He had plenty to celebrate afterwards as NASCAR highlighted:

Fitting for his first career NASCAR Cup Series win, Carson Hocevar turned in an ultra-original victory celebration sitting on the window ledge of his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet while driving around the massive 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway, soaking up the emotions that will forever define and reward his first victory lap.

As they continued, they highlighted how, as Mike Joy put it, "NASCAR has a new superstar and fan favorite:"

The huge crowd loved the unique celebration, and the 23-year-old Michigan native deservedly soaked it all in after earning a 0.114-second victory over RFK Racing veteran Chris Buescher in Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 at the iconic Talladega track, completing a solid, no-holds-barred three-lap run to the checkered flag for his first trophy in NASCAR’s premier series.

The victory was so huge that Bigfoot came out of hiding in Michigan and came down to show his support:

Many people on social media are comparing his celebration to the jubilation shown by Dale Earnhardt in his 1998 Daytona 500 win. Maybe he'll come home to celebrate properly.