Spire Motorsports EcoSave 250 Race Advance

• Spire Motorsports will field three entries in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series inaugural race on the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ROVAL. Connor Zilisch, who will drive the No. 7 Delaware Life Chevrolet Silverado Friday, owns the team’s best finish on a road course, qualifying on the pole and finishing fourth in his CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut last March at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The Mooresville, N.C., organization fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets full time in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The No. 7 entry will see a rotating roster of all-star caliber drivers for the remainder of the season, while Rajah Caruth and NASCAR Cup Series veteran Corey LaJoie will pilot the Nos. 71 and 77, respectively.
• All three Spire Chevrolet Silverados will participate in the “Window of Hope” program, swapping the traditional black window net pull tab for a pink one to honor and raise funds for breast cancer awareness through the Erik Jones Foundation.
• The EcoSave 250 will be televised live on FS1 Friday, Oct. 3 beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The first of three races in the Round of 8 of the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series playoffs, and 22nd of 25 events on the series’ 2025 calendar, will be broadcast live on the NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Channel 90.

Connor Zilisch – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

• Connor Zilisch will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Delaware Life Chevrolet Silverado in Friday’s EcoSave 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
• Zilisch will pull double duty on the weekend, also driving his No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Blue Cross NC 250. The series’ championship hopeful already accumulated enough points to lock into the Round of 8 with one race remaining in the Round of 12.
• The 67-lap event will mark his eighth CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start and sixth with Spire Motorsports. Zilisch will make his first start at the ROVAL in any series this weekend.
• Last March, the talented teenager made his NASCAR debut in Spire Motorsports’ Brian Pattie-prepared No. 7 Silverado at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. He set a track record while claiming the Cometic Gasket Pole Award by 0.714 seconds. Despite a pair of early-race miscues, Zilisch battled through the field twice to earn a spirited fourth-place finish.
• In seven road course starts in the Xfinity Series, the decorated road course racer has tallied five poles, five wins, seven top fives, seven top 10s, 275 laps led in 509 laps contested (54.02 percent) and owns a sixth-place average starting position and an average finish of 1.7.
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• Zilisch will race Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-071 Friday, the same truck he drove in his NASCAR debut last March at Circuit of the Americas.
• Before it was property of Spire Motorsports, chassis SMT-071 saw previous success as the primary road course truck for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Busch drove it to victory at Sonoma Raceway in June 2022, leading 45 of the event’s 75 laps en route to the team’s 95th win in the series.
• In nine appearances, SMT-071 has tallied two poles, one win and five top fives while maintaining a 3.5 average starting position and an 10.5 average finish. The truck has paced the field for 94 circuits and led laps in six of its nine starts.

Connor Zilisch Quotes
You have shown a lot of consistency on road courses across the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and Xfinity Series. What is it about road courses that suits your style so well?
“It’s my background and just coming up racing in Go Karts. I raced on road courses a lot more than most people in NASCAR did, so I just have a better feel for it. I am really excited to go to the ROVAL and get the chance to race for Spire Motorsports again this year. I had a lot of fun racing with the No. 7 team last year and I wanted to do more races than I have so far this year, which is zero, but I am excited to at least get to go to the ROVAL with them and maybe try and redeem ourselves for losing the race at COTA last year.”

How will the truck handle differently from your Xfinity Series car and how will you adapt?
“The truck has a little bit less power and more downforce, so it’s a little bit faster through the corners which just drives differently. It always takes me a little bit to get up to speed but I know the No. 7 team will bring me a fast Chevy Silverado and we will be able to contend for a win.”

Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Brian Pattie

• Brian Pattie stands atop of the No. 7 pit box, an entry that has seen an abundance of all-star caliber drivers behind the wheel throughout the 2025 season.
• In NASCAR Cup Series competition, Pattie called a pair of road course victories. In 2010, Juan Pablo Montoya led 74 of 90 laps en route to a dominant 4.735-second win at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. Two years later, Clint Bowyer held off a hard-charging Tony Stewart in the final laps to earn his first of three wins of the season at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
• During his time at NEMCO Motorsports, the 50-year-old was atop the ‘war wagon’ for two Xfinity Series (2000, 2001) and one CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win (1999) at Watkins Glen, all with driver Ron Fellows.
• Last time out at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the No. 7 team and driver Patrick Emerling sustained left-front damage after another competitor initiated contact on pit road. The damage eventually led to contact with the outside retaining wall, ending the team’s day. Unfortunately, the result eliminated the No. 7 team from the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series owner’s playoffs.
• Through 21 races, the No. 7 crew has tallied two wins, seven top fives and 10 top 10s.
• While the Zephyrhills, Fla., native is yet to call CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at the Charlotte ROVAL, he has stood atop the box for five NASCAR Cup Series races on the configuration, claiming a course-best 17th-place finish in both 2019 and 2020 with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
• In May, the team and driver Carson Hocevar claimed victory in the Heart of Health Care 200 at Kansas Speedway. Hocevar led 75 of the event’s 134 laps and survived last-lap contact en route to his fifth victory in the series and first aboard a Spire Motorsports- prepared Chevy Silverado.
• The No. 7 team defended its 2024 victory in the Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February 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 recording a field-leading average running position (3.2) and driver rating (124.6).
• The 24-year industry veteran spent 14 seasons in NASCAR’s premier division. As a crew chief, he’s amassed six wins in Cup Series competition, 11 in the Xfinity Series and seven in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. He stands as one of 11 crew chiefs to win races across all three of NASCAR’s national touring series.

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

• Rajah Caruth will handle the driving chores for Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado in Friday afternoon’s EcoSave 250 on the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• In the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series most recent race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the No. 71 team collected 11 stage points and a 10th-place result to stay above the playoff cutline and advance to the Round of 8.
• Caruth secured his second CRAFTSMAN Truck Series playoff berth by claiming victory at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in May, and advanced to the Round of 8 for the second-consecutive season. Entering the first of three races in the Round of 8, the 23-year-old sits seventh on the playoff grid, just five points below the Championship 4 cutline.
• The 2024 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Most Popular Driver will make his first series appearance at the ROVAL, but has experience on the course in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition. He navigated several late-race incidents at the wheel of the No. 44 Chevrolet to finish 19th in the 2023 Drive for the Cure 250.
• With his NASCAR Xfinity Series appearance at the venue in 2023, the Winston-Salem (N.C.) State University graduate is one of three Round of 8 drivers with a NASCAR National Series event under his belt at the ROVAL.
• Some of Caruth’s first times behind the wheel of a race car came in U.S. Legend Cars International competition on the Concord, N.C., venue’s infield road course.
• Through 21 races, the Washington, D.C., native has registered one win, three top fives and 10 top 10s. He has led 193 laps, nearly quadrupling his 57 career laps led entering the 2025 season.
• In the No. 71 team’s first playoff appearance in 2024, Caruth and Co. advanced to the Round of 8, but mechanical issues stalled their Championship 4 hopes in the season’s penultimate event at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
• With his first career CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last season, Caruth became the third African-American driver to win a NASCAR National Touring Series race, joining 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Scott and current Cup Series star Bubba Wallace.
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• The blue and white HendrickCars.com colors will wrap Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-072. Last on track at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, the truck has recorded two top fives and five top 10s in nine appearances.

Rajah Caruth Quotes
The Round of 8 is a wildcard lineup of tracks. What do you have to do to advance to the Championship 4 and compete for a title at Phoenix?
“With the ROVAL, Talladega and Martinsville in the round, jungle rules go into effect. It is a great opportunity with how close the points are to the cutline. Last year, I was something like 20 points behind the cut at the start of the round, but I’m currently only six points out of third. It is free game to get to the Championship 4. You cannot have a bad race. You can’t afford to finish bad, have a mechanical issue, get caught in an incident or fail to execute; especially in the first two races. I think stage points and a top-five or top-10 finish will be critical to stay in the fight.”

You are one of the only drivers in the field with past experience on the ROVAL. How much will you be relying on that experience?
“I think it’s valuable to know where to put yourself situationally and in traffic on restarts. Just like a couple weeks ago at New Hampshire, it’ll be super valuable to unload for practice and know where I’m at and the flow of the racetrack to be in the game. I expect to be right where I need to be when we hit the track, and excited to battle for a shot at a championship with all my No. 71 HendrickCars.com guys.”

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

• Veteran crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion has called 15 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series road course events, collecting three top 10 finishes. Zane Smith’s sixth-place result in 2021 at Watkins Glen marked his best finish.
• In 2023, Manion called the NASCAR Cup Series’ Bank of America ROVAL 400 for Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 team and driver Ty Dillon, a Greenville Swamp Rabbits and Bon Secours co-branded Chevrolet. It marked his only prior visit to the Charlotte ROVAL.
• The Boylston, Mass., native was atop the box for Martin Truex, Jr.’s victory in the inaugural Xfinity Series event at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. The win marked the first of six in the 2005 campaign for the duo. Just nine months later, the pairing secured their second Xfinity Series title in as many seasons at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
• The 53-year-old, a 31-year veteran of the sport, founded Spire Motorsports’ CRAFTSMAN Truck Series program alongside industry veteran Mike Greci in 2022. The team claimed victory in its second outing with driver William Byron at Martinsville Speedway.
• “Bono” has racked up six Cup Series victories – including the 2010 Daytona 500 – 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series triumphs and 12 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.

Corey LaJoie – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

• Corey LaJoie will drive Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado in Friday’s EcoSave 250 on the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• While LaJoie will make his first CRAFTSMAN Truck Series road course start, he has made 31 such starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. Last September at Watkins Glen, he earned an eighth-place finish, his best on a road course, and rounded out Spire Motorsport’s first triple top-10 day alongside teammates Carson Hocevar (third) and Zane Smith (fifth). The 5.33 team average finish marked the best for a multi-car Spire team, and the collective 95 points earned on the day marked the most points earned in a single event in team history.
• The Concord, N.C., native has made six ROVAL appearances in NASCAR’s premier series, earning a course-best 12th-place result in 2022 behind the wheel of the team’s No. 7 Chevrolet.
• Last time out at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, LaJoie qualified eighth and maintained top-10 track position throughout the day. He tallied his second-consecutive top-10 finish and fourth in five starts with an eighth-place result.
• The father-of-three participated in the 2023 ARCA Menards Series event at Watkins Glen, claiming the General Tire Pole Award and leading the field to the green flag. After leading the first five laps on the day, a brake issue prevented him from competing for the win. Ironically, pseudo-teammate Connor Zilisch made his first stock car start that August afternoon, finishing second.
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Corey LaJoie Quote
You are one of few drivers in the field with experience at the ROVAL. What are your thoughts heading into the weekend?
“Every year the ROVAL throws something new at us. There’s going to be some chaos, and you never know who’s going to make it through clean. For us, it’s all about executing and staying patient because anything can happen. I’m just focused on getting a good run for the No. 77 Gainbridge team and seeing where we land when the checkered flag waves.”

Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Chad Walter

• Chad Walter has called nine CRAFTSMAN Truck Series road course events with his best result coming in 2020 with Tyler Ankrum. The duo finished sixth in the Sunoco 159 on the road course configuration of Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
• In 19 starts on road courses atop the pit box in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, including a 2022 ROVAL appearance, the Cornell University graduate has tallied five top fives and seven top 10s. Walter found Victory Lane in the 2008 NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal with Ron Fellows. The duo played strategy and elected to stay out as rain was approaching the circuit. Heavy rain descended upon the track on Lap 48 and the race was called complete with Fellows in the lead.
• Between NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, the Cornell University graduate has racked up six wins, 53 top fives and 135 top 10s.

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 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win came on May 30, 2025, when Rajah Caruth took the checkered flag in the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.

In 2025, Spire Motorsports campaigns the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team also fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and an ARCA Menards Series Chevrolet in select events.