TULSA, Okla. – Most people in the Midwest know the name Carson Hocevar because of his quick success in asphalt late models, but Hocevar is hoping that fans will hear about him for another reason this week.

Hocevar will be tackling a different surface – dirt – from Jan. 2-5 as he takes on the 34th annual Tulsa Shootout and attempts to bring home a Golden Driller to the state of Michigan.

The 15-year-old will drive the No. 14 Scott’s Sports Cards, Coins & Jewelry/Applebee’s Driven Performance entry for Justin Posey Motorsports during the week-long micro sprint spectacular.

“I’m pretty excited to have an opportunity to compete at the Tulsa Shootout,” Hocevar told SPEED SPORT. “Justin Posey is going to take care of our car for the week, and we’ll be in the same pit stall at the D1 guys, so that’s going to be neat and hopefully a benefit to us. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Hocevar, who most recently competed at Five Flags Speedway during the Snowball Derby in early December, is not a dirt specialist, like many of the drivers who race at the Tulsa Shootout during the winter.

In fact, he’s barely even laid a tire to the clay in his young career.

“I’ve had two sessions all year on dirt, and I ran a couple of races on dirt with Jerry Coons and Bryan Clauson on dirt back in 2011 or 2012 … but aside from that, I haven’t had a whole lot of dirt experience lately,” noted Hocevar. “I’m a secret dirt fan, though. I keep it in the back of my mind and when it shows up on my social media feeds, I follow it all the way through and watch all the highlights.

“I just love a lot of the cool parts about dirt racing – being up on the cushion, railing the top, slide jobs – it’s all a whole lot of fun and I’m glad to have a shot at all that in Tulsa.”

Hocevar will drive in both Winged A Class and Stock Non-Wing at the Tulsa Shootout, giving him double the opportunities to check off the items on his dirt-track to-do list.

The teenager is keeping his dreams of success modest, however.

“I’ll have two shots to accomplish some of the goals I really want to while I’m out there, and if I can make it to a C (Main), I’d be on the verge of being happy,” Hocevar said. “I’d be stoked to get into a B (Main) … and an A would be amazing and way above expectations.

“We’ve just got to focus on what we can control out there, as far as making the show,” Hocevar continued. “It’s almost harder to make the show in Tulsa than it is to get into the Snowball Derby. I just have to be humble and realistic with my expectations and see what happens for us.”

As far as the future, however, don’t expect Hocevar to give up his primary love.

“My passion is still super late model racing on the blacktop,” Hocevar smiled. “This is just a fun deal that we’re hoping to learn a lot from and enjoy while we have the chance.”