(WXMI) — Carson Hocevar hasn't had a normal childhood since he began racing at seven years old.
"I've been traveling the country ever since I was like eight or nine," Hocevar said.
Now, the 18-year-old from Portage, Michigan is making a name for himself in NASCAR.
"To continue to do this and do it with stock cars and now into the Truck Series of NASCAR, it's been a lot of fun," he added, "those bad days, you know, they're not so bad when you're having a good time."
In his first full-time season of racing in the Truck Series, Hocevar is attracting a lot of attention.
Through six races, he's sitting 11th in the point standings and is the top rookie in the series.
"I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't frustrated a little bit," Hocevar said, "the ups and downs have been a lot for such a short amount of races. But I think it's gone fairly decent."
Hocevar has racked up several accolades over the past decade, including a track championship at Berlin Raceway at just 14-years old in the Super Late Model division.
"When I was about seven, I wasn't great," he laughed, "I didn't win a lot when I was really young. When I turned about nine, I started winning every now and again against Harrison Burton, and it was between me and him for the championship a lot so it was slow progression."
Hocevar raced in seven truck races last season at age 17 but now in his first full-time season driving the No. 42 Silverado for Niece Motorsports, he says he's learning a lot.
"I don't think anybody really realizes because you'll never see it on TV but how aggressive everybody is. You may see the top five on TV, but it's just a full on war back there in the mid teens. It's tough, you have to block and throw every position that you've got."
Strong day for Carson in the No. 42 @GMPartsNow, @ScottsCoins Chevrolet Silverado! P12 at the checkered flag.
— Carson Hocevar (@CarsonHocevar) April 17, 2021
Great effort by the entire @NieceMotorsport group at @RichmondRaceway. Onward to Kansas in two weeks. #NASCAR [PR] pic.twitter.com/CstqJ8YW58
He's one of the top up-and-comers in NASCAR and he comes from right here in West Michigan.
Hocevar says he's focused on making a name for himself the rest of this season as he continues to work his way up the ranks.
"I put a lot of pressure on myself and that's one thing that I've been told by my crew chief but if we could punch our way into the playoffs somehow, or somehow get a win, that'd be amazing. I think it's gonna be really tough, but I think we're somewhat capable of that for sure."
The next NASCAR Truck Series race is Kansas Motor Speedway on May 1st at 7:30 PM on Fox Sports 1.
