When the No. 77 Spire Motorsports team unloads Carson Hocevar’s chariot for the upcoming race weekend at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, the Chevrolet race car will have a very different look.
Totalplay, Mexico’s leading telecommunications provider, has landed a partnership with the team, which will see it serve as the primary sponsor for Hocevar and the No. 77 team. As a result, Hocevar will carry a bold and bright race car around the 17-turn road course all weekend long.
Hocevar, who will race at his home track, Michigan International Speedway, this weekend, is excited to compete in the first internationally contested NASCAR Cup Series event since a series of offseason exhibition events that were contested in Japan from 1996 to 1998.
“We’ve seen a lot of growth for the sport over the last several years, and because of that, I think it’s time that we have an international race and give that a try,” said Hocevar. “This car has put on a good race on the road courses and it will be interesting to see how it does on a track where we see other high-level motorsports series compete.”
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year, who finished third at Watkins Glen International a season ago, is excited to see where his team stacks up at the road course in Mexico.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how we unload in Mexico. The No. 77 team has put in a lot of effort to improve and find consistency from week to week, no matter what type of course we’re racing. We finished 2024 with a strong finish at Watkins Glen and had made a lot of progress overall with our road course program,” Hocevar explained. “I expect we’ll have speed, and since everyone is on an even playing field to start, we should have a good shot at a decent starting position. From there, we’ll just learn with every lap and hope to be fighting for the win.”
Hocevar, who is coming off of a career-best tying runner-up finish at Nashville Superspeedway this past weekend, sits 17th in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings with 12 races remaining in the regular season. Hocevar is only four points below the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff cutline entering this weekend’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan.
The NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 from Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is set for Sunday, June 15, and the event will be streamed live on Prime Video with coverage beginning at 3:00 PM ET.
