Carson Hocevar went from running near the front to finishing 33rd after suffering heavy damage in a Stage 2 restart crash. The Spire Motorsports driver started fourth and remained one of the strongest cars early at Kansas.
Hocevar finished fourth in Stage 1 and was running 11th when he moved right into Ty Gibbs on the Lap 121 restart. Gibbs was forced into Bubba Wallace, triggering a multicar accident. Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet suffered significant splitter damage and lost its earlier pace, eventually finishing three laps down.
The stage points helped Hocevar score 11 points, but the crash dealt a major blow to his championship standing. He dropped to 11th in the Chase with 2,132 points, 150 behind Kyle Larson. A race that began with top-five speed ended as one of the largest points losses among the championship contenders.
This article originally appeared on Motorsports Wire: Carson Hocevar’s title odds take major hit after wreck at Kansas
