Is “The Hurricane” a Dark Horse at Darlington?

Carson Hocevar and the phrase "dark horse" haven't really had much in common this season, as the 23-year-old superstar got off to a scorching hot start to 2026, culminating in his first career victory at Talladega in April.

"The Hurricane" has been downgraded to a tropical depression in recent weeks as Hocevar has an average finish of 31.25 over his last four races, dropping him to 12th in the Chase standings, after previously holding a spot near the top-5 for most of the season.