Spire Motorsports Hollywood Casino 200 Race Advance

• In 31 previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, Spire Motorsports has one top-10 and seven top-20 finishes. Zane Smith earned the team’s best result in September 2024 with a 10th-place effort. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the Cup Series with Daniel Suárez, Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
• The NASCAR Cup Series will contest the fourth race of The Chase Sunday. Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suárez sit eighth and 16th, respectively in the championship standings. Michael McDowell is 20th in the standings following last week’s race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
• The Hollywood Casino 400 from Kansas Speedway will be televised live on USA Network Sunday, Sept. 27 beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 30th of 36 points-paying races on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series calendar will also be broadcast live on the Motor 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 Women in Motorsports of North America (WIMNA) Nation/Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway.
• Suárez and his wife, Julia Piquet, welcomed their son Otto Suárez-Piquet September 20, 2026. Otto weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz. and measured 20 inches long at birth.
• Founded by legendary racer Lyn St. James and accomplished motorsports executive and team owner Beth Paretta, Women in Motorsports North America (WIMNA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing, connecting, and enabling women across all areas of the motorsports industry. Through professional development, mentorship, networking, and industry-leading initiatives such as the annual Women with Drive – Driven by Mobil 1 Summit, WIMNA Career Connect, and WIMNA Nation, the organization is creating meaningful opportunities for individuals at every stage of their careers. By bringing together professionals, students, allies, and industry leaders, WIMNA is helping build a stronger, more connected future for motorsports. Log on to wimna.org to learn more about WIMNA Nation.
• WIMNA Nation is the official membership community of WIMNA, uniting professionals, students, enthusiasts, corporations, and allies who share a commitment to advancing women across every facet of the motorsports industry. WIMNA Nation provides a place to connect, grow, and belong—all while supporting WIMNA’s mission to Advance, Connect, and Enable women in motorsports. Join WIMNA Nation at wimna.org/wimna-nation/
• Gainbridge Insurance Agency, LLC (“Gainbridge”) was founded in 2018 as part of Group 1001 with a simple belief: people work hard for their money, and their money should work hard for them. We offer a simple, safe way to save for the future – with clear annuity products, no hidden fees, and support from licensed teammates whenever you need it. Gainbridge is headquartered in Zionsville, Ind. Learn more at gainbridge.com or connect with Gainbridge on LinkedIn and Instagram.
• As part of this weekend’s collaboration between Gainbridge and WIMNA, Suárez’s No. 7 Chevrolet will feature the WIMNA Nation logo and the names of members who joined prior to August 15. Following the race, one WIMNA Nation member will be chosen to receive an autographed replica of the hood from Suárez’s No. 7 Chevrolet.
• The youngest WIMNA member, 12-year-old Autumn Kohlhagen, will visit Spire Motorsports’ Mooresville, N.C., headquarters Wednesday morning to meet Suárez and tour the team’s state-of-the-art race shop. A native of Concord, N.C., Kohlhagen discovered racing after battling health challenges and quickly fell in love with karting. Now, she’s chasing her dream of becoming a professional race car driver and inspiring more young girls to get involved in motorsports.
• In 16 Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, Suárez has led 33 laps while claiming two top-10 and 11 top-20 finishes. He carries an average starting position of 17.2 and a 20.8 average finish at the 1.5-mile tri-oval. His series/venue best came in 2017, where he finished seventh.
• The No. 7 Chevrolet team has delivered a 15.4 average finish in 29 races this season, the best of any of teams in the Chevy stable. Suárez has logged one win, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes, including 22 top 20s. He enters Sunday’s race ranked 16th in the standings, 13 positions better than he was at this point last season.
• Last Saturday at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Suárez started 28th and brought home his 15th top-15 finish of the season. Despite falling two laps down to the leader in Stage 2, he logged 136 green-flag passes and ultimately finished 14th.
• The Monterrey, Mexico native brings 352 Cup Series starts of experience to the field, along with victories at Sonoma (June 2022), Atlanta (February 2024) and Charlotte (May 2026). A 10-year veteran of NASCAR’s premier division, Suárez has earned three pole positions, 27 top-five and 82 top-10 finishes.

Daniel Suárez Quote
You’re a first-time father—what has this experience been like for you, and what was it like watching Julia go through the birth of your son, Otto?
“Julia is a warrior! Watching her go through this experience gave me an even greater respect and admiration for mothers. I’m so proud of her, and we’re incredibly grateful to welcome Otto into our family. It’s a feeling that’s hard to put into words, and we’re simply enjoying every moment together.”

What are your thoughts heading into Kansas?
“I’m really proud to have WIMNA Nation on our No. 7 Chevrolet at Kansas. Women play such an important role in motorsports, and it’s important to recognize those contributions. Kansas has been a decent track for me. Hopefully, we can have a strong weekend and give the WIMNA Nation members something to celebrate.”

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

• Ryan Sparks is the crew chief of Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 WIMNA Nation/Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with driver Daniel Suárez in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Sparks has called 231 NASCAR Cup Series races, where he’s earned one win, seven top-five and 17 top-10 finishes since keying the mic for the first time as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier division in 2020.
• The Winston-Salem, N.C., native’s best showing at Kansas came in September 2025, when he earned an 18th-place finish with driver Justin Haley.
• 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 Suárez. He brings more than a decade of experience across all three of NASCAR’s national touring 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/McAdam Financial Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400.
• 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 earned one top-10 finish in 30 Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway where he’s tallied an average starting position of 24.4 paired with 26.6 average finish.
• The No. 71 Chevrolet will sport a refined Delaware Life livery for Sunday’s 400 miler, with the addition of McAdam Financial featured on the No. 71 Chevrolet’s hood.
• In addition to the McAdam Financial branding, the No. 71 Delaware Life machine will showcase Strategy Retirement Wealth Advisors, Legato, Sound Tax Planning, and Bright Lake Wealth Management.
• Max Marsh, McDowell’s front tire change, played football at Kansas State University. Marsh earned varsity letters all four seasons, finding a home as the team’s backup safety and with special teams before shifting gears and pursuing a professional career on pit road.
• McDowell qualified 21st for last September’s Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway and raced his way to a respectable 14th-place finish.
• The Cup Series veteran has made two NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts and one ARCA Menards Series start at Kansas Speedway, highlighted by an 11th-place result during the 2007 ARCA Menards Series race.
• Last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, McDowell started and finished 21st.
• After 29 races, the 2021 Daytona 500 Champion has led 24 laps while logging three top-five and six top-10 finishes. He’s recorded a 16.5 average start, an 18.9 average finish and currently sits 20th in points.

Michael McDowell Quote
What makes Kansas such a dynamic track?
“Kansas is such a well-balanced racetrack. It seems like it is really easy to get multiple lanes going early in the race. We see it in practice as well. The track gives you different lanes to run, where at the other 1.5-mile tracks, it can take a bit for those lanes to develop. Kansas is a track that has high intensity, but it always ramps up in the fall, especially this year with the Chase. The track has a lot of speed early in the weekend, but when the race comes around, you start to slide a lot which makes you search for grip throughout the day. We had a tough weekend in the spring, but our No. 71 group has stepped up our game at these intermediates (tracks), so we are looking to capitalize on it, especially over the next three races.”

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

• Travis Peterson serves as the Crew Chief for driver Michael McDowell and Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Peterson holds a 15.6 average start paired with a 23.1 average finish across seven races at Kansas Speedway, all with McDowell at the controls.
• As a former race engineer at JR Motorsports, the West Bend, Wis., native played a key role in Regan Smith’s third-place Kansas result in 2013. After qualifying fifth, the team led 81 of 200 laps en route to his seventh of eight top-five finishes during the 2013 season.
• Prior to his time as a crew chief, the 34-year-old worked as a race engineer for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., at Hendrick Motorsports where he recorded a third-place result at Kansas Speedway in 2015.

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

• Carson Hocevar will race Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, the fourth of 10 races in The Chase.
• Zeigler Automotive Group is one of the largest privately-owned dealer groups in the U.S. with 88 franchises across 41 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Vehicle brands represented include all the domestic and majority of the imported manufacturers. Besides its extensive automotive portfolio, the organization owns and operates Zeigler Motorsports, an 85,000-square-foot motorsports dealership and action park, offering 19 different powersports brands, plus its own onsite restaurant: Trak Houz Bar & Grill. Additionally, Zeigler Motorsports houses the Elevate Leadership & Team Building Academy, an executive training company. The Kalamazoo-based dealer group also owns three Byrider franchises, three finance companies, several insurance firms, and a leasing firm.
• Hocevar and the No. 77 team, along with teammate Daniel Suarez and the No. 7 team, are competing for 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship honors. The opportunity marks the first appearance in The Chase for Hocevar and the first time a Spire Motorsports team will compete for a Cup Series title. Through three of 10 races in The Chase, the No. 77 team sits eighth in points, 24 markers behind seventh.
• Through 29 races, the Portage, Mich., native has already set career-highs in multiple categories:
• Season-to-date results of one win, six top fives, 11 top 10s
• 198 laps led
• 774 points scored
• 12.5 average start
• 15.8 average finish
• The 23-year-old driver has been one of the most improved on the circuit throughout the 2026 campaign. The team’s average starting and finishing positions have each improved by over five spots compared to this point in 2025. Hocevar is on pace to improve his average finish by 5.4 positions at the end of the season – the second-best of all drivers – while his eighth position in points is a 15-position improvement compared to the end of 2025 – the largest improvement in the field.
• In six career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas, Hocevar secured a venue-best 13th-place finish in the series’ first of two trips to the 1.5-mile oval in April.
• Last May, the six-time CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race winner took the checkered flag in the Heart of Health Care 200 driving Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 entry. He led 75 of the event’s 134 laps and survived last-lap contact with another competitor to earn his fifth victory in the series and first aboard a Spire-prepared Chevy Silverado. Hocevar owns six CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Kansas, tallying one win, two top fives and three top 10s. His 135 laps led at the venue are a career mark across all tracks.
• Last Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year started fifth and spent the majority of the evening racing in the top 10. The No. 77 team inherited the race lead for a Lap-405 restart after a caution flag interrupted a green-flag pit cycle. After leading 39 laps and restarting second for multiple late-race restarts, Hocevar came home with a spirited third-place finish. He also registered the most quality passes (83) and second-most green-flag passes (116) in the field over 500 laps.
• Hocevar 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.

Carson Hocevar Quote
What are your thoughts heading to Kansas?
“I’m looking forward to it. We led some laps last year, and we are improving at Kansas. We’ve been fast at the 1.5-mile tracks, but it seems like that is the one place we don’t have the results to really show it. I enjoy Kansas. You get to move around and run the top for a while, which I enjoy. The fall race tends to have more variation as it is either super hot or it cools down, which changes the track quite a bit. I feel like it has put on quite a few good races, which is fun to be a part of.”

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. The duo has logged two pole awards, one win, nine top-five and 26 top-10 finishes in 109 races.
• The 16-year veteran crew chief has called 24 NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas, earning three top 10s and nine top 15s, highlighted by a sixth-place finish in Oct. 2014 with Ryan Newman. He also guided Daniel Hemric to his first-career pole position during his rookie campaign in 2019.
• The Mount Airy, N.C., native has called two NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races in America’s heartland, securing a victory with Noah Gragson in 2022. While the event was paused just after Stage 2 and eventually called 103 laps prior to the scheduled distance due to inclement weather, the win marked the second of four consecutive series victories – Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Sept. 3; Kansas, Sept. 10; Bristol, Sept. 16; Texas Motor Speedway, Sept. 24 – by the Lambert-Gragson duo.

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’ 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.