KAUKAUNA, WI – Those that know Michigan short track racing have been describing 17 year old Carson Hocevar amongst the likes of other Wolverine state drivers that made it big, Brad Keselowski and Erik Jones. So far in 2020, the 2017 Berlin (MI) Raceway Champion has been proving them right. With two big wins already this season, Hocevar is looking for a third this Tuesday night August 4 at Wisconsin International Raceway during the ARCA Midwest Tour Gandrud Auto Group 250.
With 2 ARCA Menards Series poles to his credit, the 2017 CRA Rookie of the Year won the first major Super Late Model after the return to racing, held at Missouri’s Lebanon I-44 Speedway in May. A late race flat tire relegated Hocevar to last place in the running order with just seventeen laps remaining. He thrilled the Ozark crowd with a drive to the front and a daring last lap pass of Stephen Nasse for the ARCA CRA Super Series Show Me State Showdown 125 win. Then in mid-July, Hocevar subbed for Johnny Van Doorn in the TK Racing machine at Anderson (IN) Speedway, besting a tough field of Super Late Model competition including defending ARCA Midwest Tour and WIR Champion Casey Johnson to win the Redbud 400.
Fellow Michigan racer Johnny Benson, Jr has been a mentor throughout Hocevar’s racing career. Race fans will remember Benson as the 1993 ASA Champion who also went on to win the 1995 NASCAR Busch Grand National and 2008 NASCAR Truck Championships. Hocevar won an Outlaw Late Model Championship as a twelve year old at Berlin along with his 2017 Late Model title.
Advance discount tickets for the Gandrud Auto Group 250 are $20 and can be purchased online at www.midwesttour.racing through August 3. Tickets will also be available on race day at the gate for $25. Spectator gates open at 4pm, qualifying will begin at 5pm with the first race at 7pm during the Tuesday Night August 4 Special Event at Wisconsin International Raceway.
A 28 car field is scheduled to start ‘Wisconsin’s Richest One Day Race’ which pays $10,000 to the winner of the 250 lap event and $1,200 to start. Drivers from ten states and Canada are expected to attempt to make the starting grid including NASCAR Cup Champion Kyle Busch. The Midwest Truck Series will join the ARCA Midwest Tour with the trucks contesting a 35 lap feature event. (see full entry list below)
ARCA Midwest Tour Release and Photo
Gandrud Auto Group 250 – Entry List
No. | Name | Hometown | State | Sponsor | Make |
4 | Luke Fenhaus | Wausau | WI | Kulwicki DDP/Accu-Mix Concrete & Trucking/Ave Mtspts | Chevrolet |
5 | Johnny Sauter | Necedah | WI | Deppe Enterprises/Sal’s Towing/Pathfinder Chassis | Chevrolet |
7 | John DeAngelis, Jr | Hubertus | WI | DeAngelis Construction/D+H Demolition | Ford |
7 | Paul Shafer, Jr | Portage | IN | Paul’s Auto Yards | Chevrolet |
9 | Braison Bennett | Neenah | WI | PMF Landscape Supply/Lamers Motor Racing | Ford |
9 | Derek Kraus | Stratford | WI | B&K Trucking/Fanetti, Inc | Toyota |
10 | Andy Monday | Appleton | WI | Monday & Assoc/B&B Engines/Darboy Corner Store | Toyota |
11 | Bobby Kendall | Montello | WI | Interstate Sealant & Concrete/Tabitha Pierce American Family | Chevrolet |
13 | Andrew Brocker | Jefferson | WI | American State Equipment | Chevrolet |
14 | Austin Nason | Roscoe | IL | Montgomery Ward/Haase Builders/JRS Shocks/Kar Korner | Ford |
14 | Carson Hocevar | Portage | MI | GM Parts Now/Precision Fleet Image/Berger Chevrolet | Chevrolet |
15 | Gabe Sommers | Plover | WI | DeKalb/Kwik Trip/Tasteful Selections Potatoes/Allied Co-op | Toyota |
16 | Cayden Lapcevich | Grimsby | ONT | A Services/AP Race Engines/All-Star Perf | Ford |
17 | Grant Griesbach | Pewaukee | WI | Schaefer Power Systems/Cobblestone Hotels/Racersites | Ford |
26 | Bubba Pollard | Senoia | GA | Racecar Engineering/Strange Oval | Ford |
26 | Travis Braden | Wheeling | WV | Platinum Express/Brands Truck Insurance | Chevrolet |
28 | Cory Manders | Hilbert | WI | Bugtussel Wireless/McKinley Reserve/Kriete Truck Center GB | Chevrolet |
30 | Pete Vandermolen | Oshkosh | WI | Stockbridge Engineering/The Dude Design/Don’s Autobody | Chevrolet |
33 | Trevor Vandermolen | Oshkosh | WI | Kirkpatrick Law/Stockbridge Engineering/The Dude Design | Chevrolet |
34 | Maxwell Schultz | Reedsville | WI | Bob’s Classic Restoration & Auto Body/SSS Mini Warehouses | Chevrolet |
36 | Louis Goss | Green Bay | WI | Mikel Bushmaker @ People’s Home Equity Mortgage | Chevrolet |
36 | Tim Sprinstroh | Depere | WI | Cut In Stone, LLC/Cambria/Tom’s Cabinets/Pirsch Law Offices | Chevrolet |
39 | Andrew Morrissey | DeForest | WI | B&B Racing Engines/MRI, Inc Chassis & Fabrication | Ford |
42 | Dennis Prunty | Knowles | WI | Anderson’s Pure Maple Syrup/Pathfinder | Chevrolet |
44 | Justin Mondeik | Gleason | WI | AGRA Industries/Aqua Finance/Industrial Accessories Company | Chevrolet |
45 | Jeff VanOudenhoven | Appleton | WI | VanDenHeuvel Electric/Badgerland Demo/Bay Area Granite | Ford |
45 | Rich Bickle, Jr | Edgerton | WI | T1 Racing/Wegner Automotive/Barnyard to Brickyard | Chevrolet |
47 | Casey Johnson | Edgerton | WI | Montgomery Ward/Hougan Farms/UAW Region 4 | Chevrolet |
51 | Kyle Busch | Las Vegas | NV | Rowdy Energy/Hy-Vee | Toyota |
51 | Sammy Smith | Johnston | IA | TMC Transportation | Toyota |
52 | Brent Strelka | Freedom | WI | Valley Gasket/Lake Park Pub/Pathfinder Chassis/Tesar Engines | Chevrolet |
52 | Ricky Baker | Plainfield | IL | Rod Baker Ford/Illinois Truck and Equipment | Ford |
53 | Boris Jurkovic | Manhattan | IL | Reliable Recovery Services | Toyota |
77 | Jonathan Eilen | Hampton | MN | Eilen & Sons Trucking & Landscape/Graber Auto Body | Ford |
80 | Ryan Farrell | Big Bend | WI | Tiry’s Race Engines/R&R Associates/Oak Creek Automotive | Chevrolet |
91 | Ty Majeski | Seymour | WI | iRacing.com/LeJeune Bolt/Black Diamond/Ken’s Sports | Ford |
98 | RJ Braun | Wales | WI | PD Peterka/Wisconsin Automotive | Ford |
119 | Dalton Zehr | Daytona Beach | FL | Gildan/American Apparel/Comfort Colors/Prim + Preux/AMS | Chevrolet |
For more information on the ARCA Midwest Tour visit midwesttour.racing