Spire Motorsports

Spire Motorsports

Owner(s)	Jeff Dickerson T. J. Puchyr[1]
Principal(s)	Joey Dennewitz (Manager)
Base	Concord, North Carolina
Series	NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Race drivers	Cup Series 7. Corey LaJoie Truck Series
Sponsors	Cup Series 7. TBD Truck Series TBA. TBA
Manufacturer	Chevrolet
Opened	2018
Career
Debut	2019 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Latest race	2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race (Phoenix)
Races competed	144
Drivers' Championships	0
Race victories	1
Pole positions	0

Spire Motorsports is an American auto racing organization competing in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is a subsidiary of Spire Sports + Entertainment. It fields the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Corey LaJoie.

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][2][3] FRR President Joe Garone joined the team to serve the same position.^[4]

On August 11, 2020, Spire Motorsports purchased the assets of Leavine Family Racing, allowing them to expand to a two-car operation in 2021.^[5] Following the acquisition, the team moved their headquarters from Mooresville to the former shop of AK Racing in Concord, North Carolina.^[6] 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.^[7] 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.^[8]

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."^[9]

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.^[10]

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.^[6]

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.^[11]

Car No. 7 results[]

Car No. 77 history[]

Multiple drivers (2019—2021)

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.^[12] 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.^[4][13] Prior to Houff’s debut, Garrett Smithley and Reed Sorenson drove the car at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, respectively.^[14][15] Prior to the Atlanta race, car chief Shane Callis was ejected from the track after the No. 77 failed pre-qualifying inspection multiple times.^[16] D. J. Kennington joined the team for the Martinsville Speedway race.^[17] In April, NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Justin Haley made his Cup debut with the team at Talladega Superspeedway.^[18]

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 and entry into numerous exclusive big-money events.^[19]

On September 29, Blake Jones was announced to drive the No. 77 at the October Talladega race.^[20] 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 TJ 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.^[21]

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.^[22]

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.^[23]

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.

Car No. 77 results[]

Camping World Truck Series[]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website