By Sahar Chmais
Nascar fans could get their fix Saturday as the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) race track opened for the first time since COVID restrictions were put in place in 2020.
This year, Al Niece, owner of Niece Motorsports and Niece equipment in Buda, had his team of four drivers race in Saturday’s COTA truck races.
Prior to the race, Niece put on a customer appreciation barbecue where local residents could eat, chat and meet the racers. From Niece’s team, 18-year-old Carson Hocevar won 7th place, Ryan Truex placed 20th and Bayley Currey won 26th place. Logan Bearden did not place on the race chart.
Hocevar and Currey said they have been driving since they were about seven years old.
“I grew up racing quarter midgets and got a chance to run two truck races,” Hocevar told the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch. “I got a call from Niece Motorsports to run part-time last year and had really good speed. [Niece] wanted to take a chance on me and I was really interested in it full-time, so that’s where we are now.”
Hocevar said that driving a truck is almost like driving a boat; it is heavy, long and does not drive great. He speeds up to around 180 to 190 miles per hour in the Chevrolet truck. The race was part of the Truck Series’ inaugural race at COTA.
$2>“But as a race car driver, you don’t want it to drive that great,” Hocevar smiled. “It’s a lot more fun when it’s out of control.”
