Carson Hocevar’s career day in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway came to a sudden halt when the engine on his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet expired on the final stage restart.
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As the race went green at Lap 308, the field powered down into Turn 1 of the 1.5-mile race track with the 22-year-old Hocevar on the outside of the front row next to leader Denny Hamlin. Smoke started billowing out of the No. 77 car down through Turn 2, and the Spire Motorsports entry began to slow.
Chris Buescher, in the No. 17 RFK Racing Ford, eventually made contact with Hocevar, sending him spinning down the race track where the car came to rest against the inside wall.
Hocevar was a contender all evening long in the 600-mile test of endurance, finishing just outside of the top 10 in Stage 1 and grabbing a fourth-place result in Stage 2 and third in Stage 3.
The No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet was ultimately credited with a 34th-place finish.