Spire Motorsports Fresh From Florida 250 Race Advance

In five NASCAR CRAFSMAN Truck Series starts at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Spire Motorsports has collected one top-five, two top-15 and three top-20 finishes. Rajah Caruth, driver of the team’s No. 71 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Silverado, finished third in the 2024 season opener. The Mooresville, N.C., organization fields the Nos. 07, 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados full time in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The No. 07 and 7 entries will see a rotating roster of all-star caliber drivers throughout the season, while Caruth and Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Andres Perez de Lara pilot the No. 71 and 77, respectively, for the full slate of races.
The Fresh from Florida 250 will be televised live on FS1 Friday, Feb. 14 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The 2025 season-opening race will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 07 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

Michael McDowell will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 07 Go Bowling Chevrolet Silverado in Friday evening’s Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
The Arizona-native has two previous CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts to his credit. His most recent start came in 2009 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where he earned a career/series-best 14th-place finish with ThorSport Racing.
The 2021 Daytona 500 champion will pull double duty this weekend, driving the No. 71 Go Bowling Chevrolet ZL1 in the 57th running of the Daytona 500, his 13th attempt at “The Great American Race.”
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Go Bowling joins Spire Motorsports as the primary partner on board McDowell’s No. 71 Chevrolet ZL1 and his No. 07 Chevrolet Silverado for a combined 750 miles on NASCAR’s opening weekend at Daytona. Go Bowling will return to the primary position for the August 10 Go Bowling at the Glen at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.
In 27 Cup Series events at the “World Center of Racing,” McDowell has earned one win, three top-five, and eight top-10 finishes. He earned a front row starting spot in last year’s 500-mile contest and a start from the pole position in the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400.
The Go Bowling colors will wrap Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-051. The truck was most recently on track last February at Daytona with Chase Purdy behind the wheel. The appearance will mark the chassis’ fifth at Daytona after earning pole position with Christian Eckes in the 2019 season opener.

Michael McDowell Quotes
You have been outspoken about wanting a win in all three series, how can you pick up your first truck win at Daytona?
“Even though I’ve been doing this a long time, I’ve only done two CRAFTSMAN Truck series races and those were both very last minute, kind of thrown together. I’m looking forward to having a proper opportunity to go do it at a high level and in some great Chevy Silverados. The goal is always the same, to win. But to be a driver that has won in all three national series is a goal of mine and something that is important to me. I’ll have a few shots at it this year, so hopefully we can get it done, and no better place to do it than Daytona. If not, there’s great opportunities throughout the season and I’m looking forward to the challenge of learning. Like I said, I don’t have a lot of time in a truck so I’m really looking forward to being a part of what Spire Motorsports has going on and I’m grateful to Go Bowling for the opportunity.”

Atop the No. 07 Box – Crew Chief Allen Hart

Allen Hart will call the shots for the No. 07 team, an entry that will see a rotating roster of drivers throughout the 2025 campaign.
As an engineer, Hart helped Nick Sanchez to victory in last year’s season opener at Daytona. Sanchez, a Florida native, led a race-high 26 circuits and tallied the fourth-highest average running position in the field (9.08).
Hart claimed his first victory at “World Center of Racing” in 2014 as a lead engineer for Regan Smith in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition. During his time at JR Motorsports, he worked closely with crew chief Greg Ives.
Prior to arriving at Spire Motorsports, Hart spent two seasons calling the shots for Sam Hunt Racing’s No. 26 entry. Before Sam Hunt Racing he was a lead race engineer with JR Motorsports’ No. 7 team for eight seasons.
Hart is a mechanical engineering graduate of Saginaw Valley State University, earning his degree in 2005. While studying at SVSU, he contributed to the school’s Formula SAE program.

Allen Hart Quote
How will it be working with Michael McDowell this weekend given his success on drafting tracks?
“I’m excited to work with Michael this weekend. He is a really nice guy and have worked well together so far. His resume speaks for itself at that place. We have a good group and I think we have as good a shot as anyone on Friday night.”

Justin Haley – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

Justin Haley will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado in Friday’s Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
The Winamac, Ind., native made his only CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start at the “World Center of Racing” in the 2018 event. He started 12th and went on to lead nine laps en route to a runner-up finish.
Haley will also compete in Sunday’s Daytona 500 – his fifth start in the Great American Race – where he will drive Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chili’s ‘Ride the ‘Dente’ Chevrolet ZL1.
Haley secured his first Cup Series win in the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He picked up both his and the newly formed organization’s first win behind the wheel of the No. 77 Chevrolet.
In total, the 25-year-old has nine NASCAR Cup Series starts under his belt at Daytona, where he’s tallied one win, one top five and two top 10s.
In 10 appearances in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition at the World Center of Racing, Haley has tallied six top 10s to accompany his three top five-finishes at the historic venue. Haley collected back-to-back wins (2020-2021) in the division’s annual summer visit to DIS. He missed the threepeat by a scant 0.109 seconds when he crossed the finish line second at the 2019 contest.
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Haley has collected four NASCAR Xfinity Series checkered flags and three NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series wins, making him one of just 41 drivers in history to have earned wins across all three of NASCAR’s National Touring Series.
Last September, Haley made his return to Spire Motorsports after beginning the 2024 season with Rick Ware Racing. The three-time NASCAR Xfinity Series race winner participated in the final seven events of the year aboard the team’s No. 7 Chevrolet, earning a season-best finish of seventh at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
Haley will race Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-040 Friday night. Last season at Daytona, Corey LaJoie started third in the truck and was running in fifth until a last-lap incident ended his night half-a-lap from the finish. The chassis saw action most recently at Talladega last October with Connor Zilisch behind the wheel.

Justin Haley Quotes
What are your thoughts heading into Friday night?
“I’m super excited to get back in the truck. It has been a few years. I’ve always run well at the superspeedways. We were super close to the win in 2018, and I’m looking forward to getting some redemption. I enjoy this kind of racing and it will be fun to try and find the front with Rajah (Caruth), Andres (Perez de Lara) and Michael (McDowell).”

Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Brian Pattie

Brian Pattie returns to the top of the No. 7 pit box, an entry that will see a plethora of all-star caliber drivers behind the wheel throughout the 2025 season.
He is quite familiar with Victory Lane at the “World Center of Racing,” helping Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. to victory in the 2017 Coke Zero 400.
Pattie has called two CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at Daytona International Speedway. In last season’s appearance at Daytona Beach, Corey LaJoie started third and was running in the fifth position until a last-lap incident ended his night half a lap from the finish. LaJoie recorded the race’s highest average running position (7.83), third-most quality passes (101), fourth-most green flag passes (129) and ran more laps in the top 15 than anyone in the field (86 of 101).
Pattie guided Joe Nemechek to three consecutive pole awards (Feb. 2001 – July 2002) in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition, capped off with a dominant victory in the 2002 July event, leading 78 of the 100 contested laps.
In his first season at Spire Motorsports in 2024, Pattie led the No. 7 team to two victories across the first seven events of the season, both with Kyle Busch (Atlanta Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway). The duo also won twice across five races in 2023 with Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Pattie is a 24-year veteran of the sport, 14 of which came in the NASCAR Cup Series. As a crew chief, he has earned six wins in Cup Series competition and 11 in the Xfinity Series.

Brian Pattie Quote
Your team picked up a pair of wins and a berth in the owner’s playoffs last season. What is the goal for this year?
“I think the obvious goal is claiming an owner’s championship. When you have multiple drivers in and out of the seat, especially with the caliber of guys we have been fortunate to have in the No. 7, your mindset each weekend is to win. We showed a lot of speed across our four Silverados last year, and we look to replicate that all season long.”

Rajah Caruth – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

Rajah Caruth will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Silverado in Friday evening’s Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
Caruth has made two CRAFTSMAN Truck Series appearances at the “World Center of Racing,” highlighted by a third-place finish in the 2024 event.
The 2024 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Most Popular Driver has collected two top fives, three top 10s, and four top 15s in six CRAFTSMAN Truck Series events on drafting tracks.
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The Winston-Salem (N.C.) State University graduate owns one ARCA Menards Series appearance at the high-banked oval in Daytona Beach, an 11th-place performance in 2022. He made his second and final ARCA start on a superspeedway later that year, crossing the finish line sixth at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
The 2024 season marked a career year for Caruth. He tallied one win, a pair of Cometic Gasket Pole Awards and five top-five finishes, all of which were the first of his young career. The 12 top-10 finishes on the season tripled Caruth’s total of four in 2023, while his average starting position of 10.7 was four positions higher than 2023 and his 11.6 average finish was an impressive seven positions higher.
Caruth and the No. 71 team qualified for the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series playoffs in 2024, the first such appearance for the Washington, D.C. native. Despite reaching the Round of 8, a mechanical malady stalled his championship bid in the season’s penultimate event at Martinsville Speedway.
With his first career CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win and pole position last season, Caruth became the third African-American driver, to win a NASCAR National Touring Series race.
Caruth will be behind the wheel of Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-064. The truck visited Victory Lane in the 2024 season opener with Nick Sanchez, and earned the pole position at Daytona with Riley Herbst (2020) and Nick Sanchez (2023). The chassis was last on track at Talladega Superspeedway in October.

Rajah Caruth Quotes
You finished third at Daytona last season. What do you need to do in order to finish two spots better?
“I have a pretty similar mentality to last year. You want to contend for a win at Daytona and Atlanta, but you have to be there at the end to finish the race, and therefore earn points. If you aren’t careful, you can go into Las Vegas 80 points outside of the playoffs. I am preparing as much as I can with Eddie (D’Hondt), my spotter, and ironing out all the little things, all of which I do any given week. We will keep the aggression level tempered, so we don’t eliminate ourselves from a chance at a top five by a dumb mistake. Stage wins and the fastest lap are big deals, but they aren’t worth getting into a big points hole.”

Your team swapped crew chiefs over the offseason. What will it be like working with a crew chief with as much experience as Bono (Kevin Manion)?
“Bono was with me for my first four truck races in 2022 with Spire in the No. 7, so working together is definitely familiar. I can already tell by our interactions at the simulator, walking around the shop and at the Rockingham test that we are on the same page. I have definitely grown a lot since we last worked together, both on and off the track. My engineer Aaron (Volf) is staying with me, so we can continue to build the bond we built last year. At the end of the day, it is business as usual and we know the task at hand.”

What are your goals this season?
“Make it to Phoenix. I think that’s what is most important. It is hard to set goals for race wins, laps lead and other stats like that. A lot of the time, that is out of your control. If we execute as we should and end up in Phoenix with a shot at the championship, the numbers will take care of themselves.”

Atop the No. 71 Box – Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion

Veteran crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion will call the shots for Rajah Caruth and the No. 71 team in 2025.
Last season, Manion led Nick Sanchez to victory after rolling off sixth in the season opening Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway. The win marked Sanchez’s first in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.
Manion has one Daytona 500 win on his resume, coming in the 52nd edition of the event with Jamie McMurray at Earnhardt Chip Ganassi Racing.
The Boylston, Mass., native owns a trio or Xfinity Series triumphs at the “World Center of Racing,” all of which came in his time with Chance 2 Motorsports. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (2004, February; 2006, July), and Martin Truex, Jr. (2005, July) piloted the No. 8 Chevrolet to victory lane.

Kevin “Bono” Manion Quote

What is it about the end of a superspeedway race for someone like Rajah who has to know what position to be in, the correct moves to make and who to draft with to capitalize.

“Setting yourself up for the finish is the most important thing. With Justin (Haley) and Michael (McDowell) serving as teammates for us this weekend, it adds to the strong help we will have. They are both accredited drafters with a lot of experience and success on the sport’s biggest stage. I think the Spire Chevrolet Silverados will be tough to beat with those two and Andres (Perez de Lara) by our side.”

Andres Perez de Lara – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

Andres Perez de Lara will pilot the No. 77 Telcel Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports in the Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
Perez de Lara captured the 2024 ARCA Menards Series Championship. He became the first Mexican-born champion in the ARCA’s 72 year history. Perez de Lara secured 10 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes, in addition to a pair of General Tire pole awards en route to the 2024 title.
The 19-year-old has one previous appearance at Daytona, collecting a 12th-place finish despite sustaining damage in a late-race incident in the 2024 ARCA event.
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In four ARCA starts on Superspeedways, Perez De Lara has picked up one top five and two top 10s. He boasts a career-best fourth-place finish at Talladega (2023) and a 6.3 average starting position.
Perez de Lara will chase Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. The talented teenager made his CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut with Spire Motorsports in June at World Wide Technology Raceway. After qualifying his No. 7 Silverado 16th, Perez de Lara secured a top-10 finish in his first appearance, via a ninth-place result.
The 2024 ARCA champion juggled his full-time duties while competing full time in the NASCAR Mexico Series. In 2023, he earned the Rookie of the Year award while finishing fourth in the division’s points and reaching the series’ version of the NASCAR playoffs. He returned one year later to secure his first checkered flag in the series, visiting victory lane at Ovalo Aguascalientes Mexico.
The blue and white Telcel colors will wrap Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-027. Rajah Caruth secured back-to-back top fives in the truck’s last two starts with a third-place finish at Daytona in February and a fourth-place finish at Talladega last October.

Andres Perez de Lara Quotes
How does it feel to make your first Truck Series start at Daytona?
“Daytona is such a great place to start the season, knowing what it means to race there and the history involved is really special. It is a great place to get the season started. It will be a difficult and complicated race, but our team knows what we are capable of. We just have to go out there and be smart knowing we are racing a full season.”

With your limited experience on Superspeedways, what is your game plan for this weekend?
“It is going to be a different weekend for sure. I don’t have much drafting experience in general, but especially not in a truck. With only one practice session, we will have to make the most of it. I’ll have to be smart throughout the race so I don’t put myself in bad spots. It’s key to be patient and take what the race gives you until you are reaching the end.”

How does it feel to have Telcel on your truck for Daytona?
“Having support from Mexican sponsors means so much to me. They have supported me since I started. The No. 77 Telcel Silverado looks nice and we are going to do our best to get the blue and white Telcel colors to the front.”

Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Chad Walter

Crew chief Chad Walter will be atop the box for Andres Perez de Lara and the No. 77 team in 2025.
In the 2024 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season opener at Daytona, Walter called Rajah Caruth to a third-place finish.
In Xfinity Series competition on the Daytona Beach high banks, the 53-year-old owns three top fives with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (3rd, 2008 Feb.; 3rd, 2008 July) and Justin Allgaier (4th, 2010 Feb.).
Walter, a veteran race engineer of 20-plus years, picked up a pair of Daytona 500 victories (2001 & 2003) while on the crew for Michael Waltrip during his time at Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Walter guided Caruth to his first CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory on March 1, 2024 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The Albion, N.Y., native earned a mechanical engineering degree from the Cornell University College of Engineering. During his studies, he played defensive end for the Big Red football team.

Chad Walter Quote
How does it feel working with rookie driver Andres Perez de Lara?
“Spire has once again hit a home run in finding the right driver to fill the seat. Not only is he fast and talented, but he has the right personality and work ethic to carry the Spire name. I enjoy the opportunity to work with young drivers and help them find the next step in their career. A lot of the learning curve is simple communication and conveying what Andres needs to go faster. I am looking forward to working on that process. Rookie of the Year is certainly the goal for the season.”

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on April 12, 2024, when Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

In 2025, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team will also field the Nos. 07, 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and the No. 77 Chevrolet in the ARCA Menards Series in select events.