Spire Motorsports has signed Carson Hocevar to a long-term contract that will retain the Michigan native as driver of the team’s No. 77 Chevrolet “into the next decade,” Spire announced Thursday.
Hocevar, 23, is entering his third full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series with the program and is now locked under contract for years to come.
MORE: 2026 Cup Series schedule | Carson Hocevar’s driver page
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Hocevar delivered an impressive sophomore season last year that boasted two top fives, nine top 10s and one Busch Light Pole Award. His 122 laps led in 2025 marked a career high while contending for multiple race victories. The Michigan native made his Cup debut with Spire Motorsports in 2023.
“This shows we‘re all committed and eager to race with each other for a long time,” Hocevar said in a team release. “I think of Jeff (Dickerson, team co-owner) as a father figure, but the same could be said for Luke (Lambert, crew chief), Tyler (Green, spotter), Bill (Anthony, team president) and all the No. 77 guys. Everyone in the building has really become a family to me. Spire is such a different team now compared to how it was my rookie season, and especially when I made my debut in 2023. It‘s fun to know I‘m going to be around the Cup garage for a long time, and really a dream come true.”
during contract negotiations i think i asked if it could read “if i had a pulse, i would be driving a spire race car”, but into the next decade sounds good too.
i am here for a long long time in the sport i loved as a kid. thank you, to everyone that has stuck by me.
— Carson Hocevar (@CarsonHocevar) February 5, 2026
Dickerson has been a key influence on Hocevar’s upbringing in the NASCAR ranks. Securing Hocevar as an anchor driver for the program provides stability both on and off the track for Dickerson and the entirety of Spire Motorsports.
“It’s a pretty big moment for our company to announce an extension with Carson that takes us out for multiple years,” Dickerson said in a release. “It’s not just about knowing he’ll be here with us for the long haul, but it gives our sponsors and competition group the foresight to make their own plans knowing he’s in the seat of the No. 77 as far as we can see.
“It has been an absolutely rewarding experience getting to know Carson and watching him grow up and learn from the good and bad both at and away from the race track. I love him like a son and it means a great deal to me, personally, knowing he’ll be here for several years.”
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The good and bad Dickerson mentions refers to the fiery nature of Hocevar’s on-track activities — or antics, depending on whom you ask. Still an up-and-comer with just 81 Cup starts on his resume, Hocevar has quickly found speed that pits him against the sport’s elite, of which he hopes to be considered one day. With speed has come abrasive moments that have at times left him at odds with competitors.
“I expect this announcement could test the effectiveness of my blood pressure medication,” Dickerson joked in the release, “so I’ve alerted my physician, and he may have to adjust the dosage appropriately, but it’ll be worth it.”
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