Spire Motorsports Dollar Tree 301 Race Advance

• In 14 previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Spire Motorsports has one top-10 and three top-20 finishes. Michael McDowell earned the team’s best result at the “Magic Mile”, an eighth-place finish in last year’s event. Spire Motorsports fields the No. 7, 71 and 77 for Daniel Suárez, McDowell and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
• The Dollar Tree 301 will be televised live on USA Sunday, August 23 beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 25th 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 NASCAR Cup Series Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS).
• 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 10 previous Cup Series starts at NHMS and earned a venue-best sixth-place finish in 2017. Over those 10 starts, Suárez has recorded three top-10 and six top-20 finishes.
• Through 24 races, the 2026 Coca-Cola 600 winner sits 13th in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings and boasts the second-highest improvement in points position, year over year, with 13 races remaining to determine this year’s champion. He’s notched one win, two top fives, five top 10s and has only finished outside the top 20 five times. Meanwhile, he’s recorded a 13.2 average start and a 15.1 average finish.
• Last week at Richmond, Suárez lined up 20th and maintained his position inside the top 20 throughout the 400-lap contest while racing through balance-related handling issues. After falling two laps down to the leaders, Suárez recovered to record a 16th-place finish, his 19th top 20 in 23 races this season.
• In a pair of NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at NHMS (2015-2016), Suárez has two top-five finishes.
• In the ARCA Menards Series East (formerly NASCAR K&N Pro Series East), the 34-year-old racer has five NHMS starts where he’s logged one top-five and three top-10 finishes. His best performance came in 2013, when he finished runner-up after leading 39 laps.
• The Monterrey, Mexico, native brings 347 Cup Series starts of experience to the field, along with three career victories at Sonoma (June 2022), Atlanta (February 2024) and Charlotte (May 2026). A veteran of NASCAR’s premier division, he has earned 26 top-five and 81 top-10 finishes since making his Cup Series debut in 2017. Suárez has also led 947 laps and has collected three career poles.

Daniel Suárez Quote
What do you like about racing at New Hampshire?
“I love racing at New Hampshire because it’s such a unique track. It’s a mile, so you have to be on top of everything, every lap. It’s short, it’s bumpy, especially in Turn 3, and you have to find that balance between being aggressive and taking care of your tires. Hopefully, we can put it all together and get the win. And if we do, I’m bringing that lobster back home to Lake Norman.”

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 226 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.
• Across six Cup Series races at NHMS (2020-2025), the veteran crew chief holds an average start of 25.2 and an average finish of 29.8.
• 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 race Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor 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 23 Cup Series starts at NHMS, calling last year’s eighth-place finish, a venue-best. Over those 23 starts, the 41-year-old has notched one top-10, a trio of top-15 and a five top-20 finishes.
• Over his last three Magic Mile starts, the 19-year Cup Series veteran has logged a 17.6 average start bolstered by a 12.0 average finish and completed all 907 laps contested.
• The New Hampshire oval stands as one of three tracks, including Daytona and Atlanta, where the Cup Series journeyman holds starts in each of NASCAR’s Cup, O’Reilly Auto Parts and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.
• The Glendale, Ariz., native has two NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at NHMS, collecting a pair of top-20 finishes, including a series/venue best 15th-place finish in June 2009.
• In NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series competition, McDowell qualified 18th and raced his way to a 14th-place finish during his lone start in 2009.
• Over the course of 24 races in 2026, McDowell has two top-five and five top-10 finishes. The father-of-five holds an average starting position of 16.3 paired with an average finish of 19.4 and currently sits 21st in points.
• Last weekend at Richmond Raceway, the driver of Spire Motorsports No. 71 Chevrolet started 26th and finished 28th.
• GainbridgeSM and Spire Motorsports are providing one young NASCAR fan a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience race weekend from the other side of the lens as Spire Motorsports first Junior Reporter! The Grand Prize Winner receives an all expenses paid trip to the October NASCAR Race Weekend in Charlotte to interview their favorite Spire Motorsports driver. This exclusive opportunity includes VIP hospitality, access to the garage area and pre-race driver’s meeting. Select participants will also receive autographed Spire Motorsports merchandise. Learn more at studio.spire-motorsports.com/junior-reporter and review additional details in the Official Rules.

Michael McDowell Quote
How can you continue to improve at New Hampshire?
“Loudon has been one of our more competitive short tracks over the last three years. We had our best runs there last year and the numbers don’t show how well we ran in 2024. The team continues to build on our notes at New Hampshire. It seems like every time we go up there, we run into weather. Fortunately, the weather has played in our favor. We had a top 10 there last year, and the season before we restarted on the front row late in the race but fell back with under 10 to go. Hopefully, we can have a clean run this weekend and build our notebook as we head into the last 12 races of the season.”

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 for driver Michael McDowell.
• Across four Cup Series races at NHMS serving in the crew chief role (2022-2025), Peterson holds an average start of 17.3 paired with an average finish of 13.3. He’s only finished outside the top 15 once, when Chris Buescher finished 17th in 2022.
• Prior to his time calling races, the West Bend, Wisc., native earned two top-10 finishes in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts competition as a race engineer for JR Motorsports with drivers Regan Smith and Chase Elliott.

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

• Carson Hocevar will race Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Modo Casino Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301, his third career start at the Loudon oval.
• Modo Casino is the premier free-to-play social+ gaming platform, designed for thrill-seekers who crave gaming action anywhere, anytime. Play for free today to earn loyalty rewards and participate in sweepstakes wins. 21+. Available only in select jurisdictions during limited periods.
• Through 24 races, the Portage, Mich., native sits 11th in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, just nine markers behind 10th, and has set career-highs in multiple categories:
• Season-to-date results of one win, five top fives and nine top 10s
• 645 points scored
• 11.2 average start
• 15.8 average finish
• The 23-year-old driver has been one of the most improved drivers on the circuit compared to 2025. The team’s average starting and finishing positions have each improved by over six spots compared to this point last season. Hocevar is on pace to improve his average finish by 5.8 positions by year’s end while his 11th position in the series’ points is a 15-position improvement compared to the end of 2025.
• Last season, Hocevar earned a venue-best 11th-place finish at New Hampshire. He finished 17th in his facility debut during the 2024 event.
• Last Saturday at Richmond Raceway, a drivetrain issue eliminated Hocevar from contention 121 laps short of the checkered flag. The No. 77 team was one of two without a DNF this season, and marked their first since Las Vegas Motor Speedway last October.
• The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year registered his first-career victory earlier this season at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. He survived a late-race restart with three laps remaining and brought home the checkered flag to register Spire Motorsports’ second Cup Series win and first since the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Carson Hocevar Quote
What are your thoughts heading into New Hampshire?
“New Hampshire is one of the places I have the least experience at on the schedule. The races have been kind of weird the last couple years. We ran wet-weather tires in 2024, and last year had a lot of attrition. The last couple weeks have been tough, but I know we can come back and continue doing what we have all year in racking up solid finishes and good points days.”

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 with driver Carson Hocevar.
• Lambert is in his third season at Spire Motorsports and fourth with Hocevar. In 104 races, the duo has logged two pole awards, one win, eight top-five and 24 top-10 finishes.
• The 43-year-old has called 18 NASCAR Cup Series races at the “Magic Mile”, totaling two top-five and six top-10 finishes, highlighted by a third-place result in July 2013 with driver Jeff Burton.
• In O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competition, the Mount Airy, N.C., native has called two races, where he collected a venue-best seventh-place result with Elliott Sadler in July 2012.

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.