Carson Hocevar surprised after losing control in late-race Daytona crash

Carson Hocevar found himself in an unexpected situation on Saturday night at Daytona, as he lost control during a late-race crash. Initially in contention, the No. 77 car made an aggressive move to pass Ryan Preece, but the maneuver proved too risky. Hocevar's car spun out and collided with the wall. Erik Jones was also involved in the incident, hitting Hocevar hard as the yellow flag was raised.

In the aftermath, Hocevar expressed confusion about how he lost control. He mentioned that the nose of the car had a lot more lift and that he was tighter on entry and exits with the current package. Hocevar believed he needed to make a move to the bottom to push the No. 12 car, just as they had earlier gained the lead. However, his actions in the corner led to the loss of control, as the nose kept setting and the wheel became harder to control.

When asked about the car package, Hocevar stated that it was "fine" and that he enjoyed racing with it, despite it feeling like dirty air played a more significant role. Hocevar was previously running as high as third in the points standings, but his performance dipped significantly in the final four races of the regular season, including a 38th-place finish at Daytona.

Despite finishing worse than 30th in three of the last four races, Hocevar remains safely in the Chase, starting the postseason in 12th place out of 16 drivers vying for the championship title.