- In seven NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS), Spire Motorsports has earned one win, two top-five and two top-10 finishes, highlighted by Kyle Busch’s victory in April 2024.
- The SpeedyCash.com 250 will be televised live on FS1 Friday, May 1 beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The seventh of 25 points-paying races on the 2026 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series schedule will be broadcast live on the NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Kyle Busch – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST
- Kyle Busch will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Silverado RST in Friday’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race. The SpeedyCash.com 250 will mark his third start of the 2026 season for Spire Motorsports.
- Busch will pull double duty at TMS this weekend, where he’ll also race the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Würth 400.
- On April 12, 2024, Busch claimed a dramatic victory in the SpeedyCash.com 250, when he led a race-high 112 of 167 laps, swept both stages and defeated Corey Heim by a scant 0.112 seconds to collect his sixth CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win at the 1.5-mile oval.
- The 68-time CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race winner has made 15 starts at “The Great American Speedway,” registering six wins and 11 top-five finishes. The 40-year-old driver has recorded an average starting position of 5.9, an 8.9 average finish and 637 laps led. The Las Vegas native has only finished outside the top 12 once and has drove to Victory Lane in each of his last four starts at the venue.
- Busch captured his 68th series win in February at Atlanta Motor Speedway aboard Spire Motorsports No. 7 Chevy, earning his third consecutive victory at the 1.54-mile oval. He led 37 laps on the day and championed a one-two Spire Motorsports’ finish, leading teammate Carson Hocevar to the checkered flag by a mere 0.114 seconds.
- The 2009 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Champion is the all-time wins leader in both the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (68) and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (102). He’s totaled 233 victories across all three NASCAR national divisions.
- 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.
- Busch will race Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-089 in its fourth start Friday evening. Hocevar drove the truck to Victory Lane last May at Kansas Speedway in its first-ever start.
Kyle Busch Quotes
With six CRAFTSMAN Truck Series wins at Texas, how have you seen the track evolve over time and what’s the key to staying successful as things change?
“Texas is a track where I’ve had a lot of success in the Truck Series, including a win with Spire a couple of years ago. We had a lot of speed in our HENDRICKCARS.COM Silverado at Atlanta and I know (Carson) Hocevar was really fast at Texas last year, so hopefully, we can capitalize on the speed that Spire is bringing to the mile-and-a-half tracks and add another trophy to the trophy case.”
Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Brian Pattie
- Brian Pattie sits atop the No. 7 pit box, an entry that will see myriad all-star caliber drivers behind the wheel throughout the 2026 season.
- Pattie has called four NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at Texas Motor Speedway, including Busch’s dominant performance in the 2024 SpeedyCash.com 250. Busch led 112 of the event’s 167 laps en route to victory, calculating a decisive 1.62 average running position.
- The Zephyrhills, Fla., native has led the No. 7 team to one win, two top-five and three top-10 finishes through the first six CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races of 2026, posting an average finish of 10.3
- The 25-year industry veteran spent 14 seasons in NASCAR’s premier division. As a crew chief, he has earned six wins in Cup Series competition and 11 in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He stands as one of 11 crew chiefs to win races across all three of NASCAR’s national touring series.
Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST
- Carson Hocevar will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chili’s Ride the ‘DenteTM Chevrolet Silverado RST in Friday’s SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway, his fifth CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start at the popular Fort Worth oval.
- The No. 77 Silverado will sport the fan-favorite black, white and red Chili’s® Grill & Bar design for the first time this weekend. The scheme features pepper vines crawling across the top and sides, an homage to Chili’s founder Larry Lavine and the fashion sense he displayed in the early days of the 50-year-old restaurant brand.
- Chili’s operates 1,600 restaurants in 29 countries and two territories with over 70,000 team members. With a purpose to make everyone feel special, Chiliheads take food, drink and service seriously – but not themselves. Chili’s was a proud winner at the 2025 MenuMasters Awards for Best New Menu Item for Nashville Hot Mozz, the breakout addition to the social media-famous Triple Dipper. For more than 20 years, Chili’s has been a proud supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and has raised more than $120 million for the organization through generous guest and team member donations. Find more information at chilis.com, follow on X or Instagram, like on Facebook, or join Chili’s on TikTok.
- Hocevar will pull double duty this weekend at Texas, where he’ll pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chevy Silverado in addition to his traditional NASCAR Cup Series duties aboard the team’s No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s Würth 400.
- The 23-year-old driver is fresh off his first-career NASCAR Cup Series victory last Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. He survived a late-race restart with three laps remaining, and with help from his Chevrolet teammates, surged to capture his first-career checkered flag in NASCAR’s premier division. The hard day’s effort propelled the No. 77 team to eighth in the series’ championship point standings.
- Hocevar currently sits eighth in the NASCAR Cup Series championship point standings. His one win, three top fives, four top 10s, 292 points scored, average starting position of 11.0 and 14.0 average finish are all career highs through the first 10 points-paying races of the 2026 season.
- The five-time CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race winner captured his first checkered flag at Texas in April 2023. He capitalized on a late-race restart to claim the lead on the final lap and earn his inaugural victory in the series. In four starts at TMS, Hocevar has logged one win, two top fives and an 8.3 average finish.
- The 23-year-old driver, a veteran of 86 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races, has logged one pole, five wins, 23 top fives and 36 top 10s, while leading 767 laps. He made the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series playoffs in all his three full-time seasons and earned a spot in the 2023 Championship 4.
- Hocevar will be at the controls of Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-092 Friday evening. He drove the truck in its first and only appearance earlier this season at Darlington Raceway. He was in contention for the win before a tire issue, while leading the race with four laps to go, took the team out of contention and were ultimately scored with a 22nd-place finish.
- Hi, welcome to Chili’s! A proud leader in the casual dining industry and the flagship brand of Dallas-based Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT), Chili’s was named Ad Age’s 2025 Brand of the Year. Founded in 1975, Chili’s is known for serving Big Mouth Burgers®, Crispy Chicken Crispers®, and sizzling fajitas, while hand-shaking more margaritas than any other restaurant brand in the United States.
Carson Hocevar Quote
Talk about what you remember getting your first win at Texas.
“With 20 to go, we were 18th. We were terrible. Since it was a non-companion race, we didn’t have live pit stops. I think every time we came to pit road we put it on jack stands and made wholesale changes. One of the last restarts we worked all the way up to fifth. I remember having a moment going down the backstretch and thinking to myself, ‘I think we’re going to win.’ I had been so close, so many times, and we were completely out of it all day. If it was going to happen, it was going to be that day. I got up to fourth and remember coming to take the white flag off Turn 4 and (Nick) Sanchez and Zane (Smith) banging doors. I had made my mind up I was going to put them three wide after the dogleg, and if I cleared them, I would win. All I remember was looking in my mirror and seeing everyone wrecked behind me.
“It was just a really special day. I had a lot of family there, for whatever reason. The team owner, Al Niece, is from that area and had never won there, so it was cool to get him that win with all of his people there. Jeff Dickerson (Spire Motorsports Co-Owner) and I always talk about racing luck and pleasing the racing gods, and I think that was exactly how they would have drawn it up.”
Compare how the truck drives at Texas compared to the Cup Series car.
“It is very different. The truck is fun, but it has a lot more drag. The motor is a little smaller, so you are working the draft a lot more. You can get huge runs off of Turn 4, and can really use that to your advantage to get positions. It races pretty similar no matter what you are in, but you have to drive it a little different to get the same result.”
Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Chad Walter
- Chad Walter calls the shots from the top of the No. 77 pit box, an entry that will see multiple all-star caliber drivers behind the wheel throughout the 2026 season.
- Walter has called five CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at Texas, logging two top-five and three top-10 finishes, highlighted by Chase Elliott’s runner-up finish in 2021.
- As a shop engineer at Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Walter had a hand in the engineering efforts behind Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s, first Cup Series victory at Texas in April 2000. The driver of the No. 8 Chevy led a race-high 106 laps en route to a nearly six-second victory.
- Between NASCAR’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, the 54-year-old has racked up six wins, 55 top fives and 141 top 10s.
- Walter 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.
About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports fields full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing.
The team, co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executive Jeff Dickerson and TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss, 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 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 April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came April 27, 2026, when Carson Hocevar earned his inaugural Cup Series win in the Jack Links 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
In 2026, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Nos. 7 and 77 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The Mooresville, N.C., organization will also field the No. 77 410 sprint car in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing competition.
