Spire Motorsports Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 Race Advance

In seven NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Spire Motorsports has collected one win, three top-five and five top-10 finishes. William Byron, who will pilot the team’s No. 07 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Silverado, led 94 laps en route to the organization’s first victory in the series in April 2022. The Mooresville, N.C., organization fields the Nos. 07, 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados full time in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The Nos. 07 and 7 entries will see a rotating roster of all-star caliber drivers throughout the season, while Rajah Caruth and Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Andres Perez de Lara will pilot the Nos. 71 and 77, respectively, for the full slate of races.
The Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 will be televised live on FS1 Friday, March 28 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The fifth of 25 races on the 2025 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

William Byron – Driver, No. 07 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

William Byron will drive Spire Motorsports’ No. 07 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Silverado in Friday’s Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
The Cup Series regular will pull double duty this weekend as he looks to defend his 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville win aboard Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet ZL1.
Byron led Spire Motorsports to its inaugural CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory in the 2022 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200. Byron started 32nd after qualifying was cancelled due to inclement weather. He meticulously worked his way through the field, taking the lead on Lap 105 during pit stops prior to the Final Stage. The No. 7 Silverado swapped the lead with Chandler Smith over the next several circuits, but Byron went on to lead a race-high 94 laps en route to his first grandfather clock trophy. The win came in the driver’s first and only prior appearance with the team, and Spire Motorsports’ second start in the series.
HENDRICKCARS.COM is the online home for everything Hendrick Automotive Group. Visitors can shop more than 30,000 new or pre-owned vehicles, locate centers for service and collision repair, receive a value to sell or trade their car, chat online with customer service, discover career opportunities, learn more about vehicle protection programs, and explore how the company gives back to the community.
The 2016 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Rookie of the Year owns 29 starts in the series, where he’s collected three poles, eight wins, 14 top fives, 19 top 10s and compiled a 10.2 average finish.
The 27-year-old is quite familiar with Spire Motorsports’ 77,000 square-foot facility located on Mazeppa Road, the former home of Kyle Busch Motorsports. In 2016, Byron registered seven victories in his rookie CRAFTSMAN Truck Series campaign with KBM. He also won the 2016 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway from the pole position, closing the year fifth in the division’s driver championship point standings while securing KBM’s fourth consecutive and fifth overall owner’s championship in the series.
More recently, Byron returned to Kyle Busch Motorsports for his three most recent appearances in the series in 2023. He and crew chief Brian Pattie collected top fives on the dirt at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
In addition to his 2022 victory, the Charlotte, N.C., native made two CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Martinsville in 2016, securing third- and eighth-place finishes.
In NASCAR Cup Series competition, Byron has tallied five top-five and eight top-10 finishes at Martinsville, including a pair of victories. His April 2022 win came two days after his CRAFTSMAN Truck Series score with Spire Motorsports, and the April 2024 victory capped off Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary celebratory weekend.
The blue and white HENDRICKCARS.COM colors will wrap Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-058. The truck will make its 27th start Friday. This same chassis won races four times between Kyle Busch (Charlotte, May 2019) and John Hunter Nemechek (Las Vegas, Feb. 2021; Richmond, April 2021; Charlotte, May 2021) in the cockpit.

William Byron Quote
Last time you were in a Spire truck, you came out on top. What are your thoughts heading into the weekend?
“It’s been a bit since I raced for Spire Motorsports, but I’m excited to get back. The last time I raced with them we got the win at Martinsville (Speedway). It’s been a couple years but I’m ready to get back in a truck and get some extra laps for the weekend. Hopefully we can duplicate the success we had last time and come away with another clock.”

Atop the No. 07 Box – Crew Chief Allen Hart
Allen Hart will call his fifth race atop to pit box in Friday’s 200-lapper from Martinsville. He earned his first career win in the crew chief role last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway where Kyle Larson won the Baptist Health 200. After a spin midway through the Final Stage, Larson made an impressive run through the field over the event’s final 40 circuits, chasing down the leaders with two laps remaining to make the winning move.
As an engineer at JR Motorsports, the Midland, Mich., native helped Justin Allgaier to a runner-up finish in the Xfinity Series October 2020 visit to the Virginia half-mile.

Corey Day – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

Corey Day will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Silverado in Friday’s Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
The Clovis, Calif., native will pull double duty this weekend, and make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet in Saturday’s Marine Corps 250.
Last week, the 19-year-old secured a career-best 15th-place finish in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ annual visit to Homestead-Miami Speedway.
In his first CRAFTSMAN Truck Series event for Spire Motorsports at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Day secured his first Kennametal Pole Award and led the field to the green flag. He maintained top-five track position throughout the event’s first two stages until contact with another competitor cut his right-front tire, leaving him 27th in the final rundown.
Friday’s 200-lap event will mark Day’s seventh CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start. He competed in four events in 2024 for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.
HENDRICKCARS.COM is the online home for everything Hendrick Automotive Group. Visitors can shop more than 30,000 new or pre-owned vehicles, locate centers for service and collision repair, receive a value to sell or trade their car, chat online with customer service, discover career opportunities, learn more about vehicle protection programs, and explore how the company gives back to the community.
Day will return to the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado in two weeks at Bristol Motor Speedway. He will continue his eight-race slate with Spire Motorsports at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway (April 18), Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway (May 30), Indianapolis Raceway Park (July 25) and Darlington Raceway (Aug. 30).
The talented teenager will contest two more ARCA Menards Series events in Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chevrolet SS later this season at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway (July 11) and Kansas Speedway (Sept. 26).
Day will race Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-062 on Friday. Last season, the truck earned three top-10 finishes with Sammy Smith behind the wheel and also saw action at Richmond Raceway with Connor Zilisch at the controls last August.

Corey Day Quotes
What are your thoughts heading into Martinsville?
“Martinsville (Speedway) is another track that I’ve already had some laps at so I’m hoping to build off of what I already know from last fall. It’s quite a bit different from the last two tracks we’ve raced at but Brian (Pattie, crew chief) has been a great help to me so far this year and think that’s only going to get better the more races we have together.”

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.
Pattie has called four CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at Martinsville, claiming a runner-up finish in 2023 with Kyle Busch at the controls.
The 24-year veteran spent 14 seasons in the Cup Series. As a crew chief, he has earned six wins in Cup Series competition and 11 in the Xfinity Series. He stands as one of 11 crew chiefs to win races across all three of NASCAR’s national touring series.
The 49-year-old has stood atop the box for 29 NASCAR Cup Series events at Martinsville Speedway, collecting five top fives and 10 top 10s, highlighted by a runner-up finish with Clint Bowyer in 2013.
Last month, the No. 7 team defended its 2024 victory in the Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway with Kyle Busch behind the wheel. The Las Vegas driver spent all 135 laps in the top 15 while leading a race-high 80 laps and calculating a field-leading average running position (3.2) and driver rating (124.6).

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

Rajah Caruth will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Silverado in Friday’s Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
In last spring’s trip to the famed half-mile, Caruth started 16th and converted a race-high 43 quality passes en route to a seventh-place finish. The result marked the team’s fourth top 10 through six events.
HENDRICKCARS.COM is the online home for everything Hendrick Automotive Group. Visitors can shop more than 30,000 new or pre-owned vehicles, locate centers for service and collision repair, receive a value to sell or trade their car, chat online with customer service, discover career opportunities, learn more about vehicle protection programs, and explore how the company gives back to the community.
Caruth collected four top 10s on concrete tracks last season with finishes of eighth, seventh, fourth and third, respectively, at Bristol Motor Speedway (March 16), Martinsville (April 5), Nashville Superspeedway (June 28) and Bristol (Sept. 19).
The 23-year-old owns a pair of NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Martinsville, both of which resulted in 12th-place efforts with Alpha Prime Racing. The finishes mark a career-high in the series for the driver.
The 2024 season marked a career year for Caruth where 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.
With his first career CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win last season, Caruth became the third African-American driver to win a NASCAR National Touring Series race.
Caruth and the No. 71 team qualified for the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series playoffs in 2024, the first such appearance for the former Washington, D.C., resident. Despite reaching the Round of 8, mechanical issues stalled his championship bid in the season’s penultimate event at Martinsville.
Caruth will be behind the wheel of Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-070. In 19 starts, the truck visited Victory Lane three times with Chandler Smith (Phoenix, Nov. 2021; Las Vegas, March 2022; Richmond, Aug. 2022), paced the field for 318 circuits and recorded an 8.7 average finish. Nick Sanchez piloted the chassis to a fourth-place result last November at Phoenix Raceway.

Rajah Caruth Quotes
What are your thoughts heading into Martinsville?
“I really started to like Martinsville through the races I ran there in the Xfinity Series, but it is a far different approach when you are in a truck. I have a personal goal of improving at certain racetracks, and Martinsville is on the list. Hopefully, when we come back in October, a trip to the Championship 4 will be on the line. The goal this year is to advance past Martinsville, so giving good feedback and building out our notebook even further than we already have will be key this weekend.”

You carry the Hendrick name on your Silverado every week. What would it mean to park it in Victory Lane at Martinsville?
“Martinsville is hallowed grounds for Hendrick, both on the Motorsports and Automotive Group sides. Mr. H and Ms. Linda have a deep history at the track, and a win would mean a lot for everyone under the Hendrick banner. It would be a special day if we can get the job done and bring all the great men and women at Hendrick Automotive Group to Victory Lane.”

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

Veteran crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion calls the shots for Rajah Caruth and the No. 71 team in 2025.
The 53-year-old has called 12 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at Martinsville Speedway, collecting two wins, seven top fives and eight top 10s.
The Boylston, Mass., native led Zane Smith to victory in November 2021, which propelled the No. 21 GMS Racing team to the Championship 4 after entering the event in a must-win situation. Smith led 65 laps and reclaimed the lead coming to the white flag as competitors made contact behind.
After jump-starting Spire Motorsports’ CRAFTSMAN Truck Series program alongside industry veteran Mike Greci in 2022, Manion led the team to its first victory at Martinsville in 2022, in what marked the organization’s second start in the series. After swapping the lead with Chandler Smith, Byron pulled away to lead a race-high 94 laps and claim the program’s first victory.
Manion stood atop the box for 21 NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway where he called four top-10 finishes.
The veteran crew chief has racked up six Cup Series victories (including the 2010 Daytona 500), 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series triumphs and 11 CRAFTSMAN Truck series wins. Manion is also one of 11 crew chiefs to have called wins across all three of NASCAR’s national touring series.
In 2023, Manion became one of few to call a race in all three of NASCAR’s national series in a single season, all of which came under the Spire Motorsports banner. He led the part-time effort on the No. 7 Silverado in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, helped in limited starts for Carson Hocevar in the Xfinity Series and took the reigns during the second half of the Cup Series season for Ty Dillon and the No. 77 team.

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 Boys & Girls Club of the Blue Ridge 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
While the 19-year-old will make his first start at the Virginia half-mile this weekend, Perez de Lara made 12 short track starts across his two full-time seasons in the ARCA Menards Series. He earned nine top fives, an average finish of 4.5 and a pair of runner-up finishes in 2024 at Indianapolis Raceway Park and Salem (Ind.) Speedway.
The Mexico City native saw success on short tracks during his time in the NASCAR Mexico Series. His lone win in the series came at Ovalo Aguascalientes, a 0.875-mile oval. Perez de Lara made several appearances in both the NASCAR Mexico Series and NASCAR Mexico Challenge Series at Autodromo Potosino, another half-mile oval, in San Luis Potosi. In seven starts at the Martinsville-like venue, he earned two top fives and four top 10s.
Telcel is Mexico’s leading telecommunications company, providing nationwide coverage, cutting-edge mobile connectivity, and high-speed internet services to millions of users. With over 30 years of experience, Telcel continues to innovate in digital communication, offering solutions that keep people connected anytime, anywhere.
Beyond technology, Telcel is committed to supporting excellence in sports, particularly in motorsports. As a proud and long-time sponsor of Perez de Lara, Telcel fuels the passion for speed, precision and performance, driving success both on and off the track. Telcel will be a season-long partner with Perez de Lara and the No. 77 team.
Perez de Lara will pursue Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in 2025 and sits second in the standings for the award, 27 points behind leader Gio Ruggerio.
The 2024 ARCA champion juggled his duties while also 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 championship point standings and reaching the series’ version of the NASCAR playoffs.
Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-056 will be driven by Perez de Lara Friday night. The truck has two wins in its 23 starts, visiting Victory Lane with John Hunter Nemechek at Pocono (June, 2021) and Kansas (September, 2022).

Andres Perez de Lara Quotes
What are your thoughts heading into your first visit to Martinsville?
“I am really excited for Martinsville, given it is the first short track of the year. I grew up racing on short tracks in Mexico, so I feel that I will be able to adapt quickly. There is a track pretty similar to Martinsville in Mexico that I raced at a lot. Racing on the short tracks in ARCA was good preparation for the new short tracks I will see this year. Some of my best runs in ARCA came at short tracks. I feel confident about the work the team has put in for this weekend and that we have an opportunity for a good result.”

What are going to be the keys to success for this weekend?
“We all know tempers can flare at short tracks, especially Martinsville. The main thing for me is to remain patient and not put myself a bad position. We are going to try our hardest to stay out of trouble throughout the night. If I can remain patient and keep my Telcel Silverado clean throughout the night, we should be up there at the end.”

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.
The 53-year-old has called five CRAFTSMAN Truck Series events at Martinsville Speedway, snagging a top 10 last spring with Rajah Caruth.
The Albion, N.Y., native has racked up six wins, 52 top 5s, and 130 top 10s between both the NASCAR Xfinity and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

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 March 21, 2025, when Kyle Larson took the checkered flag in the Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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.