Carson Hocevar wheeled his way to the top of the timesheets during Friday’s practice session for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
The Niece Motorsports driver turned a fast lap of 20.589 seconds (109.282 mph) in the No. 42 Chevrolet around the .625-mile oval. Perhaps part of Hocevar’s advantage over the 40-car field came from the laps he made at the track on Wednesday, as he raced in the CARS Tour pro late model division and the ASA STARS National Tour super late model feature.
Hocevar will now lead the Truck Series contingent into qualifying on Saturday morning.
ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski, who also competed in the ASA race, finished second in practice with a 20.594-second lap time. Kyle Busch Motorsports’ Chase Purdy filed into third. Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith and Roper Racing’s Kaden Honeycutt completed the top five.
Kyle Larson, Parker Kligerman, Ben Rhodes, William Byron and Grant Enfinger were in the top 10.
Along with Larson and Byron, there are three additional Cup Series stars attempting to compete in Saturday’s Tyson 250 to get a better understanding of the track ahead of Sunday’s All Star Race. The list includes Ross Chastain (19th in practice), Christopher Bell (20th) and Bubba Wallace (24th).
Four drivers will be eliminated during Saturday’s qualifying session as only 36 cars will make the starting grid.