DARLINGTON, S.C. — What began as a joke turned into a treasured acquisition for Carson Hocevar — and it couldn’t have come at a better time than NASCAR’s throwback weekend.
After securing a third-place qualifying spot at Phoenix last month, Hocevar was browsing Facebook Marketplace when something caught his eye: a black 1997 Chevrolet pickup truck styled just like Dale Earnhardt’s iconic GM Goodwrench No. 3 car. Known for mostly ordering from DoorDash or occasionally Amazon, Hocevar half-jokingly asked his financial advisors whether he should buy it, assuming they’d steer him away from such a spontaneous purchase.
Instead, their responses were overwhelmingly positive.
“Blank yes,” Hocevar recalled with a grin.
With that encouragement, he pulled the trigger and bought the truck — fulfilling a dream he’s had since childhood. He fondly remembered visits to Kalamazoo Speedway in Michigan, where the owner had a Monte Carlo designed to look like Earnhardt’s car. That memory stuck with him.
“I always thought that was the coolest thing,” Hocevar said Saturday at Darlington Raceway. “I wanted something like that — not an actual race car, but something that looked the part and could be driven on the street.”
While Hocevar always imagined owning a Monte Carlo, the Earnhardt-inspired pickup truck immediately brought back that same sense of awe. Since buying it, the truck has attracted plenty of attention on the road. Hocevar shared that drivers often honk, wave, and even shout enthusiastic praise like “hell, yeah!”
One memorable moment came right after he bought it, when he had to stop for gas. Hocevar ended up spending more time than expected at the station — not because of the truck, but because of the people. Every person he encountered there — five in total — struck up a conversation with him about the truck.
“I learned their backstory and how cool this is,” he said. “It’s definitely a conversation starter and I think it’s going to help me make a lot of friends.”
In a world of flashy cars and high-tech designs, Hocevar’s throwback truck is more than just a vehicle — it’s a rolling tribute to NASCAR history, a nostalgic nod to his childhood, and a magnet for racing fans everywhere.
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