Spire Motorsports

Spire Motorsports is an American auto racing organization competing in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is a subsidiary of Spire Sports + Entertainment. In the Cup Series, the team currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE teams: the No. 7 for Corey LaJoie and the No. 77 for Landon Cassill, Josh Bilicki, and Justin Allgaier. In the truck series, the team fields the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado part-time for multiple drivers.

Spire Motorsports
Owner(s)Jeff Dickerson
T. J. Puchyr[1]
Principal(s)Joey Dennewitz (Manager)
BaseConcord, North Carolina
SeriesNASCAR Cup Series
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Race driversCup Series
7. Corey LaJoie
77. Landon Cassill, Josh Bilicki, Justin Allgaier
Truck Series
7. Austin Hill, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Chase Elliott (part-time)
SponsorsCup Series
7. Built Bar,[2] General Formulation, Schlüter Systems, Fraternal Order of Eagles,[3] NationsGuard,[4] Raze Energy, Drydene, Stacking Pennies
77. Fox Nation, Voyager, Pacific Coast Termite, Zeigler Auto Group, NationsGuard, BRANDT
Truck Series
7. United Rentals, HendrickCars.com
ManufacturerChevrolet
Opened2018
Career
DebutCup Series:
2019 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Truck Series:
2022 NextEra Energy 250 (Daytona)
Latest raceCup Series:
2022 DuraMAX Drydene 400 (Dover)
Truck Series:
2022 Pinty's Dirt Truck Race (Bristol)
Races competed123
Drivers' Championships0
Race victories2
Pole positions0

History

On December 4, 2018, Spire Sports + Entertainment announced they purchased their charter from the now-defunct Furniture Row Racing. At the same time, the team announced they will use the No. 77 and field Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s.[1][5][6] FRR President Joe Garone joined the team to serve the same position.[7]

On August 11, 2020, Spire Motorsports purchased the assets of Leavine Family Racing, allowing them to expand to a two-car operation in 2021.[8] Following the acquisition, the team moved their headquarters from Mooresville to the former shop of AK Racing in Concord, North Carolina.[9] On October 7, it was announced that Spire Motorsports had secured a third charter which would be leased to Trackhouse Racing for the 2021 season.[10] On December 10, it was reported that NASCAR on NBC analyst and former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte will serve as a consultant for the team.[11]

On June 18, 2021, it was announced that Spire had sold two charters (for the No. 77, and the one leased to Trackhouse Racing) to Kaulig Racing for the 2022 season. In the announcement, Spire's co-owners said, "We will continue to field the No. 7 with Corey LaJoie as a chartered entry in 2022. We remain committed to NASCAR and the Cup Series and we will continue to look for opportunities to grow and compete in the future."[12] In 2022, Spire purchased Rick Ware Racing's No. 53 charter for the No. 77.[13]

On November 23, 2021 Spire announced that they would field a team in the Camping World Truck Series in 2022, with Kevin Manion as Crew Chief and a to-be-determined schedule and driver line-up.[14]

NASCAR Cup Series

Car No. 7 history
Corey LaJoie (2021—present)
Corey LaJoie in the No. 7 at Richmond Raceway in 2021

On November 30, 2020, Spire Motorsports announced that Corey LaJoie signed a multi-year agreement with the team starting in 2021. In addition, the team selected the No. 7 with permission from Tommy Baldwin Racing to pay tribute to Alan Kulwicki and Geoff Bodine.[9]

LaJoie drove the No. 7 to a ninth-place finish at the 2021 Daytona 500. Following the season opener, however, the team was unable to break into the top 20 until the race at COTA, where LaJoie finished 20th. Josh Berry drove the No. 7 at Michigan, as LaJoie was sidelined in accordance with team and COVID-19 protocols.[15] LaJoie finished the season 29th in points.

On March 15, 2022, crew chief Ryan Sparks was suspended for four races due to a tire and wheel loss during the 2022 Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix.[16]

Car No. 7 results
Spire Motorsports No. 7
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Owners Pts
2021 Corey LaJoie 7 Chevy DAY
9		 DAY
31		 HOM
36		 LVS
37		 PHO
27		 ATL
29		 BRI
38		 MAR
37		 RCH
21		 TAL
22		 KAN
27		 DAR
22		 DOV
26		 COA
20		 CLT
19		 SON
18		 NSH
15		 POC
36		 POC
23		 ROA
21		 ATL
22		 NHA
23		 GLN
24		 IND
16		 DAY
16		 DAR
15		 RCH
29		 BRI
26		 LVS
30		 TAL
22		 CLT
35		 TEX
20		 KAN
25		 MAR
21		 PHO
32		 29th 459
Josh Berry MCH
26
2022 Corey Lajoie DAY
14		 CAL
28		 LVS
15		 PHO
36		 ATL
5		 COA
36		 RCH
31		 MAR
32		 BRI
19		 TAL
14		 DOV
18		 DAR KAN CLT GTW SON NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IND MCH RCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL CLT LVS HOM MAR PHO -* -*

Car No. 77 history
Multiple drivers (2019—present)
Garrett Smithley driving the 77 at Texas Motor Speedway in 2019

In January 2019, Quin Houff signed with Spire for a part-time schedule in the No. 77 in 2019 starting at ISM Raceway.[17] Spire Motorsports formed a partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing to field the No. 40 for Jamie McMurray at the 2019 Daytona 500 and Advance Auto Parts Clash, using the newly-acquired No. 77 charter to effectively renumber it to the No. 40 for a one-off and guarantee it qualified for the race.[7][18] Prior to Houff’s debut, Garrett Smithley and Reed Sorenson drove the car at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, respectively.[19][20] Prior to the Atlanta race, car chief Shane Callis was ejected from the track after the No. 77 failed pre-qualifying inspection multiple times.[21] D. J. Kennington joined the team for the Martinsville Speedway race.[22] In April, NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Justin Haley made his Cup debut with the team at Talladega Superspeedway.[23]

On July 7, the team won their first Cup race in their 18th start at the rain-shortened 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, with Haley behind the wheel. Haley and the team were not eligible for the Cup Series Playoffs but did receive the Daytona winner's check.[24]

On September 29, Blake Jones was announced to drive the No. 77 at the October Talladega race.[25] Timmy Hill drove for the team at the Kansas and Martinsville playoff races.

On November 27, the team was docked 50 owner points and listed owner T. J. Puchyr fined $50,000 after being caught in a race manipulation scheme at the Homestead-Miami race: Sorenson was heard ignoring multiple calls to pit late in the race before finally obliging. The team then retired the car with an official reason stated being mechanical issues. Along with Rick Ware Racing also exiting the race, this enabled the No. 27 of Premium Motorsports to secure the highest Open (non-chartered) team in the final point standings.[26]

Spire and Chip Ganassi Racing rekindled their partnership in 2020, fielding the No. 77 for Ross Chastain at the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600.[27]

For the Michigan double-header the No. 77 team was renumbered to the No. 74 with sponsorship from "Fake Steak" as a tie-in promotion with the Netflix sitcom The Crew.[28]

Jamie McMurray was hired to drive in the 2021 Daytona 500, his first NASCAR sanctioned start since the 2019 Daytona 500. He was caught up in a wreck on Lap 14 but managed to recover to finish in an incredible eighth place. Haley drove the car for the majority of the season, with his highest finishes being eighth at Indianapolis and sixth at the Daytona night race.

In 2022, Josh Bilicki would drive the No. 77 for the majority of the year, while Landon Cassill will drive for the 11 races Bilicki wasn't entered in. Justin Allgaier was announced as the entry for the Bristol dirt race.

Car No. 77 results
Spire Motorsports No. 77
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Owners Pts
2019 Jamie McMurray 40 Chevy DAY
22		 36th 132
Garrett Smithley 77 ATL
36		 CAL
36		 TEX
32		 MCH
35
Reed Sorenson LVS
36		 GLN
37		 BRI
38		 DAR
30		 IND
23		 LVS
37		 RCH
37		 CLT
39		 DOV
37		 PHO
37		 HOM
37
Quin Houff PHO
30		 BRI
32		 RCH
34		 DOV
36		 KAN
34		 CLT
28		 POC
29		 MCH
32		 CHI
38		 KEN
34		 NHA
31		 POC
31		 TEX
33
D. J. Kennington MAR
32
Justin Haley TAL
32		 SON
34		 DAY
1
Blake Jones TAL
31
Timmy Hill KAN
39		 MAR
34
2020 Ross Chastain DAY
25		 CLT
21		 IND
17		 DAY
16		 DAR
29		 34th 244
Reed Sorenson LVS
34		 CAL
36		 PHO
30		 DAR
29		 DOV
39		 DOV
33		 RCH
36		 BRI
36		 KAN
36		 TEX
32
74 MCH
30		 MCH
31
J. J. Yeley 77 DAR
28		 CLT
34		 ATL
36		 TEX
24		 LVS
33		 CLT
35
Garrett Smithley BRI
26		 MAR
36		 KAN
26		 NHA
31		 MAR
39
B. J. McLeod HOM
35		 TAL
31
James Davison POC
34		 POC
30
Josh Bilicki KEN
32		 PHO
35
Stanton Barrett DAY
38
Justin Haley TAL
11
2021 Jamie McMurray DAY
8		 31st 338
Justin Haley DAY
24		 HOM
26		 LVS
29		 PHO
24		 ATL
30		 MAR
35		 RCH
38		 TAL
30		 KAN
30		 DAR
28		 COA
40		 CLT
28		 NSH
35		 POC
27		 ROA
25		 ATL
29		 NHA
28		 GLN
29		 IND
8		 MCH
25		 DAY
6		 DAR
25		 RCH
27		 BRI
36		 LVS
32		 CLT
37		 TEX
37		 KAN
39		 MAR
31		 PHO
26
Stewart Friesen BRI
23
Josh Berry DOV
30
Ben Rhodes SON
30
Justin Allgaier POC
25		 TAL
40
2022 Landon Cassill DAY
15		 PHO
30		 RCH
32		 TAL
19		 DAR KAN CLT GTW SON NSH ROA ATL NHA POC IND MCH RCH GLN DAY DAR KAN BRI TEX TAL CLT LVS HOM MAR PHO -* -*
Josh Bilicki CAL
30		 LVS
29		 ATL
16		 COA
22		 MAR
35		 DOV
32
Justin Allgaier BRI
36

Camping World Truck Series

Truck No. 7 History

On February 11, 2022, Spire announced Austin Hill would drive the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado in the season opening race at Daytona with Kevin Manion as crew chief and sponsorship from United Rentals.[29] On April 7, William Byron gave Spire its first Truck Series win at Martinsville.[30] On April 12, Chase Elliott was announced as the No. 7 driver for the Bristol dirt race.[31]

Truck No. 7 results
Spire Motorsports No. 7
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Owners Pts
2022 Austin Hill 7 Chevy DAY
15		 LVS ATL -* -*
Alex Bowman COA
25
William Byron MAR
1
Chase Elliott BRI
7		 DAR KAN TEX CLT GTW SON KNO NSH MOH POC IRP RCH KAN BRI TAL HOM PHO

References
  1. Crandall, Kelly (December 6, 2018). "Marketing agency Spire buys Furniture Row charter". racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  2. "Built renews sponsorship with Spire Motorsports, Corey Lajoie; Primary Sponsor for 10 Races". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  3. "Fraternal Order of Eagles Sponsoring Corey LaJoie at Atlanta". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  4. "NationsGuard Sponsoring Corey LaJoie at the Clash". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  5. Nguyen, Justin (December 5, 2018). "Spire Sports buys Furniture Row charter, to field #77". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  6. Seelman, Jacob (December 4, 2018). "Spire Purchases Charter From Furniture Row". Speed Sport. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  7. Long, Dustin (January 18, 2019). "Jamie McMurray to race in Daytona 500 with Spire Motorsports". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  8. "Spire Motorsports purchases Leavine Family Racing, will expand to two cars". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  9. "Corey LaJoie to drive for Spire Motorsports". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  10. "Trackhouse secures Spire charter". Racer. October 7, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  11. "Steve Letarte serving as consultant for Spire Motorsports". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  12. DeCola, Pat; Merryman, Jonathan (June 18, 2021). "Kaulig Racing set for full-time Cup in 2022; Justin Haley to drive". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.
  13. "NASCAR Cup Series Team Charters History". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  14. "Spire Motorsports to Field NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Team in 2022".
  15. "Corey LaJoie out at Michigan due to COVID protocols; will be replaced by Josh Berry". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 19, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  16. "Phoenix Post-Race Penalties; Corey LaJoie Loses Crew Chief for 4 Weeks". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  17. Page, Scott (January 22, 2019). "Quinn Houff to drive for Spire Motorsports". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  18. "Spire Motorsports partners with CGR to field Daytona 500 car for Jamie McMurray". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 18, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  19. McFadin, Daniel (February 18, 2019). "Garrett Smithley in Spire Motorsports car at Atlanta as entry lists released". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  20. Nguyen, Justin (February 27, 2019). "Reed Sorenson joins Spire Motorsports for Las Vegas". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  21. "Three car chiefs ejected this weekend following inspection failures at Atlanta". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 22, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  22. "Spire Motorsports partners with Go-Parts for STP 500". Spire Motorsports. March 20, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  23. Crandall, Kelly (April 23, 2019). "Haley to make Cup debut with Spire". Racer. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  24. Cain, Holly (July 7, 2019). "Haley wins weather-shortened Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  25. Page, Scott (September 29, 2019). "Blake Jones to run Cup race at Talladega for Spire Motorsports". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  26. Nguyen, Justin (November 27, 2019). "Premium, Spire, Ware receive race manipulation penalties". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  27. McFadin, Daniel (January 9, 2020). "Ganassi, AdventHealth deal includes Daytona 500, Coke 600 starts for Ross Chastain". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  28. "Spire Motorsports running #74 at Michigan; sponsorship from "Fake Steak"". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  29. "Austin Hill to Drive Spire Motorsports Entry in Truck Series Season Opener at Daytona International Speedway". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  30. Spencer, Reid (April 7, 2022). "Recap: Byron wins first Truck Series race since 2016 at Martinsville". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  31. "Chase Elliott to Run Truck Series Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway for Spire Motorsports". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
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