Carson Hocevar to replace Garrett Smithley for COTA Xfinity Series race

This weekend at COTA, Carson Hocevar is getting extra laps. Hocevar is suiting up for SS-Green Light Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. A rare Xfinity start for Hocevar who made headlines this weekend for his aggressive racing in the Cup Series.

As a driver who went from the Truck Series to the Cup Series, 22-year-old Hocevar doesn’t have many Xfinity starts to his name. This will be just his sixth start in the series, he has two top tens in his five previous races.

SS-Green Light Racing made the decision to make a driver swap. Garrett Smithley is in the car full-time this year but will step back to let Hocevar handle the tricky road course in Texas.

Smithley posted a video on X/Twitter explaining the situation.

“Hey everyone, just wanted to give you all an update on this weekend at COTA,” Smithley said in a video. “I have made the decision to step out of the No. 14 car. We have the opportunity to put Carson Hocevar in our car.

“He’s driven for Bobby Dotter before, qualified 13th at COTA, made his Xfinity debut there and he did a really great job. So, we’ve decided to put him in the car. Xfinity racing in incredibly competitive, it’s more competitive than it ever has been, and I’ve been around long enough to know my strengths and weaknesses. Road courses are not one of my strengths.”

It takes a lot to step out of your race car. Smithley is focused on helping his team succeed. If he drives the car, there is a chance they won’t qualify for the race. Carson Hocevar is coming in to solve that problem.

“For me, this is a decision, my decision. I brought it to Bobby and Jason Miller, my crew chief. They are 100% supportive as well as Beth and Randy from BKR Racing and Trophy Tractor, they’re 100% on board with this as well. So, it’s a great opportunity for us to continue growing our program. Learning from Carson, he’s an incredibly fast driver that hopefully we’re going to learn from. Not only myself as a driver but our team.

“So, big shout out to Spire Motorsports and Carson for doing this for us and Trophy Tractor for supporting us, and I will be back in Phoenix and I will be there in attendance at COTA with everybody. This is a decision that’s going to be best for the team moving forward, got to get in this race.”

COTA is a very popular race now. Not only does it attract open teams in the Cup Series, but the Xfinity Series sees increased interest as well. On top of it being a road course, NASCAR is using the short course for the first time this season.

Carson Hocevar will be on the track a lot this weekend. While he caused tensions this week, he has a real chance to upset folks at COTA. We’ve seen a lot of spins and a lot of beating and banging at the track in recent years.