Carson Hocevar Returning to Cordele for SpeedFest 2026

NOTE: SPEEDFEST 2026 HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER. For more information regarding the postponement, click here.

Cordele Motor Speedway announced on Tuesday that NASCAR Cup Series competitor Carson Hocevar is joining an already stacked field of drivers for SpeedFest 2026.

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year and 2020 Winchester 400 winner will pilot the No. 77 owned by Richie Wauters in the ASA Southern Super Series event during SpeedFest weekend.

Hocevar tallied two top-fives and nine top-10 finishes during his second full-time NASCAR Cup Series season. He also scored victories in the NASCAR All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway and a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Kansas Speedway.

While competing in the NASCAR Cup Series with Spire Motorsports is now Hocevar's primary focus, he still competes in the short track ranks when his schedule allows. The Michigan native returned home to Berlin Raceway to win the Money in the Bank 150 last year, and also competed in several other Late Model races, including the Redbud 400 at Anderson Speedway.

Hocevar has three previous starts in the SpeedFest Super Late Model event, a January staple at Georgia's Cordele Motor Speedway. He finished third in the event in 2022, the first of four consecutive wins for Bubba Pollard in the race.

Hocevar also finished ninth at SpeedFest in 2018, giving him a pair of top-10 finishes in the event.

A seven-time winner in the ASA/CRA Super Series, including five wins in 2020, Hocevar will be seeking his first ASA Southern Super Series victory at SpeedFest.

He'll join an entry list that already features top Late Model competitors for the marquee January race. Other Late Model notables in the field include defending Snowball Derby winner Stephen Nasse, All American 400 winner Dawson Sutton, and 2024 World Crown 300 winner Michael Hinde.

Other drivers to watch include the likes of Jett Noland, George Gorham, Jr. and Hunter Wright. Keelan Harvick, the son of NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, is also making his ASA Southern Super Series debut in the event.

Fans can watch SpeedFest 2026 live exclusively on RacingAmerica.TV. Click here to become a RacingAmerica.TV subscriber and watch coverage of SpeedFest 2026 live on January 23-24.

-Photo credit: Jonathan McCoy, Racing America