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Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland win LeMullets 2026 in epic finish

The 2.4 Hours of LeMullets at the Freedom Factory provided some wild Friday night entertainment and ended with a lot of smashed up Crown Vics

Nick DeGroot

Edited: Nov 14, 2026, 4:21 AM

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Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland have won the 2026 edition of the 2.4 Hours of LeMullets, a full-contact Crown Vic around the Freedom Factory short track in Florida

The 3/8-mile oval also had a chicane of sorts on the backstretch for the race, which is where a lot of the action (and carnage) took place throughout the fun event.

This race has been held every year since 2020, and Hocevar/McFarland have now won it in back-to-back years. The entry list featured several notable names including NASCAR Cup drivers like Denny Hamlin, Ryan Preece, Ty Dillon, and Hocevar.

This year's race ended in a dramatic showdown, as Preece spun into the tires on the backstretch (in his backup car after crashing earlier in the race), and was challenging for the lead when it all went wrong.

T. Dillon was in command, but Hocevar pushed him out of the way as the white flag flew. Dillon quickly returned the favor into Turn 1, only to run wide and nearly nail a tractor tire as he tried to get slowed up for the chicane. Hocevar surged back ahead, sliding sideways as they made slight contact and retaking the lead.

Hocevar went on to the win ahead of Dillon as the crowd roared in approval. Dillon was sharing the car with his father Mike Dillon, while Hamlin, partnered with Alex Presley, finished third in a late charge through the chaos.

"Yeah, I'm glad it was the front bumper -- the back bumper was pretty expensive last time I used that," said Hocevar, referencing the brake-check he pulled on Austin Cindric in the Martinsville Cup race, which resulted in his own team suspending him for the season finale.

"So, that was a lot of fun," continued Hocevar. "It was fun beating up with these guys. I ran into a lot of guys I have all season, but they're laughing about it now. So, this is a lot of fun. So, I appreciate that man."

Cleetus called Hocevar a "cheat code," saying all he had to do was "drive safely for 35 minutes."

Preece went over to congratulate Hocevar full of smiles, and Hamlin spoke about his wild night in what was left of his No. 11 ride: "I hit everything but the lottery, that's for sure. The car -- knocked the radiator out, blew the right rear coming to the checkered. I really needed Carson to get just a little more aggressive with the 10 [Dillon]. I never usually ask for that, but that's what I needed. But I had a front row seat to it, and it was fantastic. I thought he made an awesome move to get the 10 up, but then gap himself to where he couldn't get it back. So that was textbook."

It was truly a chaotic night of racing, and even featured a rollover crash for Bug Strmiska, who climbed atop the upside down car and raised his fists to the sky.

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