--- description: Find out why Carson Hocevar was selected for TIME‘s 2026 list of the most influential people in sports. title: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026: Carson Hocevar image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51ea00de9d3e5fa0/6a209fc39bc7a39f315cc649/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Carson-Hocevar.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y28.93 --- Jun 09, 2026 # Carson Hocevar by Michael Errigo  Jonathan Bachman—Getty Images Carson Hocevar could very well be the next face of NASCAR. The 23-year-old from Michigan, who claimed his first Cup Series victory in April, possesses a combination of talent and confidence that attracts a fervent following. In his third season as the driver of the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, Hocevar captured his first win at the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega in Alabama. But [his post-race celebration](https://www.instagram.com/reels/DXnOyZ4CW4N/ "undefined") was even more memorable than his racing. With the crowd in full throat, Hocevar sat perched in the driver’s-side door frame, slowly steering his car down the course’s main straight as he hung out the window and waved to fans. “I just wanted them to get as loud as possible,” [he said of the stunt](https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2026/04/27/cup-series-2026-analysis-carson-hocevar-talladega-win/ "undefined"). “I felt like they would if they could see me seeing them.” The joyride ended with a customary burnout, as the rising star closed his big day in a cloud of smoke. Carson Hocevar: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/carson-hocevar/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/carson-hocevar/"},"headline":"Carson Hocevar","datePublished":"2026-06-09T12:00:51.267Z","dateModified":"2026-06-09T12:00:51.517Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/carson-hocevar/","keywords":["list","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51ea00de9d3e5fa0/6a209fc39bc7a39f315cc649/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Carson-Hocevar.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y28.93&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michael Errigo"}],"creator":"Michael Errigo","articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51ea00de9d3e5fa0/6a209fc39bc7a39f315cc649/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Carson-Hocevar.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y28.93&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/carson-hocevar/","name":"Carson Hocevar"}}]}] ```