Spire Motorsports Window World 450 Race Advanc

• For the first time since 1996, North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway will contest a points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race this Sunday. Spire Motorsports owns eight starts at the historic .625-mile track, which hosted the Cup Series All-Star Weekend for the past three years. Carson Hocevar won the 2025 NASCAR All-Star Open to advance to the All-Star Race where he finished 11th. Spire Motorsports fields the No. 7, 71 and 77 for Daniel Suárez, Michael McDowell and Hocevar, respectively.
• The Window World 450 will be televised live on TNT Sunday, July 19 beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 21st of 36 points-paying races on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series calendar will also be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Daniel Suárez – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Suárez will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
• The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation (CRSF) empowers communities with clean, safe places for underserved youth to play, learn, and grow. Since 2018, Group 1001 and the CRSF have combined efforts to build 17 youth development parks and install 20 STEM centers nationwide. Group 1001 employees have joined CRSF to host and volunteer for four Community Enhancement Projects. CRSF and Group 1001 have impacted over 100,000 youth in their joint effort to promote active lifestyles and educational opportunities. For more information, visit https://ripkenfoundation.org/.
• Suárez has logged three career NASCAR Cup Series starts at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the NASCAR All-Star Race where he qualified for the feature event all three years (2023-2025). He started from the pole for the 2023 edition and went on to finish seventh, 15th and 23rd respectively, each year.
• Last week at Atlanta, Suárez qualified fifth and was running 17th before the red flag was displayed during Stage 2 for inclement weather. Unfortunately, when the race resumed, the 34-year-old driver tussled with handling issues as the laps wound down and was forced to settle for a 21st-place finish.
• The 2026 Coca-Cola 600 winner is having a breakout season on the strength of one win, two top-five and five top-10 finishes and currently sits 11th in points with 15 races remaining to determine this year’s champion. Meanwhile, Suárez has averaged a 14.9 finish across 20 races so far and has only finished outside the top 20 four times.
• Suárez is a veteran of 343 Cup Series starts and has notched three wins (Sonoma, June 2022; Atlanta, Feb. 2024; Charlotte, May 2026), 26 top fives and 80 top-10s in NASCAR’s premier division. He’s led 945 laps and earned three poles since making his series debut in 2017.
• Daniel Suárez Quote
• North Wilkesboro has always been a special venue for NASCAR, and now it becomes even more significant as a points race. What are your expectations and goals heading into this weekend?
• “North Wilkesboro is a special place because you can feel the history the moment you get there. The fans, the atmosphere, and the meaning behind racing at a track like that make it different from anywhere else we go. Last year was a tough night for us at the all-star race after we were caught up in an accident, but that’s part of racing. You learn, you move forward, and you come back stronger. I’m excited for the opportunity to come back, compete, and be part of bringing great memories back to a track that means so much to NASCAR.”

Ryan Sparks – Crew Chief, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Ryan Sparks is the crew chief for Spire Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and driver Daniel Suárez in the NASCAR Cup Series. Sparks has called 222 Cup Series races where he’s earned one win, six top-five and 15 top-10 finishes since keying the mic in 2020 for his first race in NASCAR’s premier division.
• In Sparks’ last visit to North Wilkesboro, he guided Justin Haley to a 14th-place finish in the 2025 NASCAR All-Star Open. Sparks’ best result at the track came in 2023, when he called Corey LaJoie to a ninth-place finish in the All-Star Open.
• Sparks joined Spire Motorsports in 2021, where he served as both Crew Chief and Competition Director, leading the organization’s competitive and technical efforts. In 2026, Sparks serves in a singular role as crew chief for Daniel Suárez. He brings more than a decade of experience across all three national series, highlighted by 13 seasons at Richard Childress Racing and contributions to title-winning campaigns in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (2011) and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (2013).

Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Michael McDowell will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
• Delaware Life is an insurance and annuity company that empowers financial professionals with a wide array of customizable solutions. A subsidiary of Group 1001 Insurance Holdings LLC, Delaware Life focuses on delivering a seamless experience for advisors. The company understands how important it is to find the right fit for every client, every situation and every individual need. Delaware Life is passionate about equipping advisors with annuities that give their customers peace of mind and a successful future, allowing them to plan with confidence for whatever’s next.
• McDowell has logged three career NASCAR Cup Series starts at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the NASCAR All-Star Race. During the 2023 and 2025 All-Star Open, the 41-year-old collected finishes of 13th and fifth, respectfully. The veteran racer finished ninth in the 2024 feature event.
• In last year’s All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro Speedway, McDowell qualified and finished fifth.
• McDowell’s team earned a $100,000 payday and a trip to Victory Lane after winning the Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge during last season’s All-Star Weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The crew’s blazing 12.587-second stop topped all entries for both the NASCAR All-Star Open and NASCAR All-Star Race, earning the title of the fastest team on pit road.
• The Glendale, Ariz., native has collected two top-10 finishes on short track configurations in 2026, earning results of eighth at Phoenix Raceway and ninth during this year’s All-Star race at Dover Motor Speedway.
• Last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the 2021 Daytona 500 Champion qualified 18th and finished 15th.
• Across the last nine races, the two-time Cup Series race winner holds an average finish of 15.2, while pacing the field two times for eight laps (Watkins Glen/Charlotte).
• After 20 points-paying races on the 2026 calendar, McDowell is 21st in the Cup Series championship point standings. With six races remaining before NASCAR’s playoff format begins in September at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, the father-of-five sits 47 points below the cutline.

Michael McDowell Quote
Talk about the history of North Wilkesboro and the importance of qualifying well at short tracks.
“North Wilkesboro is a fun weekend and it’s a cool racetrack. Obviously, we have been there for All-Star Weekend. Having a longer race is going to be different, but it is a track that has been a lot of fun. The lines move around and you have to manage tires. It is a cool weekend all together. North Wilkesboro is a great town. The city embraces us. It feels like a little time capsule and we get back to the grassroots of the sport. The scoreboard, the walls, the fans – it’s just fun. Every lap counts and everything matters when it comes to short track racing. It’s an elbows-out kind of grind at North Wilkesboro and I am looking forward to it.”

Travis Peterson – Crew Chief, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Travis Peterson is the crew chief of Spire Motorsports No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series with driver Michael McDowell.
• Peterson has called three races at the 0.625-mile track, all with McDowell in the driver’s seat. The duo finished ninth in the 2024 All-Star Race and fifth in their 2025 qualifying race.
• The 35-year-old has called 20 Cup Series races on short track configurations, tallying an average start of 18.2 paired with an average finishing position of 19.4.
• The West Bend, Wisc., native is a 2012 mechanical engineering graduate of the Williams States Lee College of Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Carson Hocevar will race Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
• Spectrum is a suite of advanced communications services offered by Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR), a leading broadband connectivity company available to 58 million homes and small to large businesses across 41 states. Founded in 1993, Charter has evolved from providing cable TV to streaming, and from high-speed Internet to a converged broadband, WiFi and mobile experience. Over the Spectrum Fiber Broadband Network and supported by our 100 percent U.S.-based employees, the Company offers Seamless Connectivity and Entertainment with Spectrum Internet®, Mobile, TV and Voice products. More information can be found at corporate.charter.com.
• Through 20 races, the Portage, Mich., native sits eighth in points, just five markers out of seventh. His one win, five top fives, eight top 10s, 563 points scored, average starting position of 11.2 and 14.4 average finish are all career highs through the first 20 points-paying races of the season. The team’s average starting position has improved by over seven spots and their average finishing is a whopping nine positions better compared to this point in 2025.
• The 23-year-old driver is on pace to improve his average finish by 7.2 positions at the end of the season, the largest improvement among all drivers in the field.
• Hocevar participated in two of the three NASCAR All-Star Race weekends held at the storied 0.625 short track. After failing to transfer to the main event in 2024, he took the victory in the 2025 All-Star Open to punch his ticket to his first-career All-Star Race. Despite starting shotgun on the field, he drove to an 11th-place finish.
• Aside from his NASCAR Cup Series duties, Hocevar will also pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet Silverado RST in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ FaithFest 250.
• The six-time CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race winner competed in the series’ 2023 event at the Wilkes County facility. Hocevar started second, and despite spending the majority of the afternoon in second, was forced to settle for a fourth-place finish.
• Last Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hocevar started 14th but found his place inside the top five by Lap 16. He took the lead for the first time on Lap 83 but fell to eighth prior to a three-hour delay for inclement weather. He drove from 29th to fifth late in the Final Stage to contend for the win before ultimately earning his third top-five finish in six Cup Series starts at Atlanta via a third-place result.
• The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year registered his first-career victory earlier this season at Talladega Superspeedway. He survived a late-race restart with three laps remaining and brought home the checkered flag to register Spire Motorsports’ first win since the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
• The former Super Late Model standout will compete in his fourth Slinger Nationals at Slinger (Wis.) Super Speedway Tuesday evening. Driving a Richie Wauters-prepared No. 77 Chevrolet, Hocevar is seeking his third feature start at the famed 1/4-mile oval in his first attempt at the event since 2022. He earned a career-best 19th-place result in 2021.
• Hocevar will round out his busy week with an appearance at the TIME Sports Gala in New York City on Thursday. He was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in Sports earlier this year.

Carson Hocevar quotes
How do you think a points race at North Wilkesboro will race differently than the All-Star Races we have seen in the last couple years?
“I think we are going to be running an inch off the wall or all the way at the bottom when the track rubbers up. If it goes green, there’s going to be a lot of cars either off the lead lap or the whole field will be on top of each other because the leader will be stuck in lap traffic. I think it will look like a sprint car race.”

How does the track’s elevation changes affect how you approach the corner?
“You definitely get free into Turn 1 because you’re going downhill, but then you catch the banking. When you get into Turn 3 you’re uphill so you can drive it in further, but the banking falls away a little. You’re constantly racing the elevation more so than you are grip.”

Luke Lambert – Crew Chief, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Luke Lambert is the crew chief of Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series for driver Carson Hocevar.
• Lambert is in his third season at Spire Motorsports and fourth with Hocevar. The duo has logged two pole awards, one win, eight top-five and 23 top-10 finishes in 100 races.
• The 43-year-old is a native of Mount Airy, N.C., located just 50 miles north of North Wilkesboro Speedway.

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 its first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent victory came May 24, 2026, when Daniel Suárez won the NASCAR Cup Series Series’ Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

In 2026, Spire Motorsports campaigns 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 also fields the No. 77 410 sprint car in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing competition.