In six NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) races at Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Spire Motorsports has logged one top-15 and two top-20 finishes with four different drivers. Corey LaJoie, driver of Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 finished 11th in last year’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. The Mooresville, N.C., team fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NCS with LaJoie, and fellow drivers Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix from Circuit of the Americas will be televised live on FOX Sunday, March 24, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The sixth of 36 races on the 2024 NCS schedule will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. NASCAR RaceDay’s pre-race coverage on FS1 will take the green flag at 2 p.m. EDT and shift to FOX at 3 p.m.
Corey LaJoie – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Sunday’s Grand Prix will mark LaJoie’s third NCS start at COTA, all of which have come behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro for Spire Motorsports. Over the last three season’s LaJoie has finished 11th, 36th and 20th, respectively in the NCS annual visit to the 3.14-mile Austin, Texas road course
- The Concord, N.C. racer has an average start of 28.0, an average finish of 22.3 and has completed 186 of 198 (94 percent) laps contested over those three races.
- Last season, LaJoie started 27th and went on to earn a venue-best 11th-place finish.
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- Last weekend at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, LaJoie started 18th and finished 21st.
- LaJoie is currently 22nd in the NCS championship point standings, seven points behind 21st and 15 markers outside the top 20.
- The 32-year-old driver’s best finish of the year is a fourth-place effort at the Daytona 500.
Corey LaJoie Quotes
Last year’s race at COTA was pretty intense as the laps wound down and you came away with a solid finish. What are your thoughts as we head into the first road race of the season?
“We finished well at COTA last season after a couple wild, late-race restarts so I’m ready to get back to down to Austin. I’ve been working hard on honing my road-racing skills and our baseline set-up has been getting better. I think a top-15 is absolutely a realistic goal this weekend, and with a little luck, maybe we can set ourselves up for a top 10.”
Zane Smith – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Zane Smith will make his first NCS start at Circuit of the Americas in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix driving the No. 71 Focused Health Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports. Round 6 of the 2024 NCS tour marks Smith’s sixth NCS start for Spire Motorsports and 15th of his career.
- On Sunday, Smith’s start at COTA will be the third road course race in his NCS career. Last year, he raced at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway and the Charlotte Roval in the No. 38 for Front Row Motorsports.
- Smith has a winning past at COTA in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS). The Huntington Beach, Calif., native won the XPEL 225 in back-to-back (’22-’23) seasons.
- Smith’s victory at COTA last season made him the only NCTS repeat race winner at the venue. Smith led the final 15-laps and crossed the finish line 5.451 seconds ahead of second place.
- Join Smith at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday at the EchoPark Automotive FanZone stage for a 15-minute question and answer session.
- Last Sunday, Smith finished 36th in the NCS race at Bristol Motor Speedway. After starting 16th, Smith was fast before being collected in a multicar accident on Lap 31. Smith returned to the track following repairs before mechanical issues in Stage 2 ended his race.
- Smith will carry the No. 71 primary sponsor, Focused Health, Sunday. Focused Health is a National Health Insurance agency founded by industry veterans with over 60 years combined industry experience. Primarily focused on the government programs space, Focused Health partners with payors and employers to deliver health insurance solutions for individuals and families. For more information, visit AtFocusedHealth.com.
- Fans can pre-order Focused Health No. 71 Zane Smith merchandise at shopzanesmith.com.
Zane Smith Quotes
Knowing your success at COTA, how excited are you to race there on Sunday?
“I love racing at COTA. I’ve won there the past two years in the Truck Series so it’s a track that is super special to me. This will be my first time racing the Cup car there so it will be a little different, but I know that we will have a fast Focused Health Chevy Camaro. I’m looking forward to it.”
Sunday marks the sixth race of the year. How are you feeling so far about the start of your season?
“Luck hasn’t been on our side every weekend, but my team continues to work hard every day to bring a fast No. 71 Chevy Camaro to the track. The season is just getting started, so much left to prove. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish this season.”
Carson Hocevar – Driver, No.77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Carson Hocevar will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for his first NCS road-course race in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix.
- Hocevar stared 35th and finished 27th in last Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Despite myriad tire issues throughout the race, the 21-year-old completed all but three of the race’s 500 laps at the legendary high-banked, half-mile oval.
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- Hocevar leads the NCS Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings and is currently 24th in the division’s championship points standings. He earned a season-best 15th-place at both Las Vegas Motor Speedway (3.3) and Phoenix Raceway (3/10).
- In three previous NCTS starts at COTA, Hocevar has earned two top 10s, completed 95 of 129 laps (74 percent) and logged a 16.3 average finish.
- The Portage, Mich., driver logged four NCTS wins in 2023 and finished fourth in the series’ championship point standings.
- Hocevar made his NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) debut in 2023 at COTA for SS GreenLight Racing where he started 17th before being sidelined early with mechanical issues.
Carson Hocevar Quotes
This weekend at COTA marks your NCS road course debut. Given you haven’t raced a road course in a Cup car before, how have you prepared?
“I’m looking forward to our first road course race of the season. I’ve got a good amount of experience at COTA and with the simulator data we’ve gathered from the Cup car, we should have a really solid showing.”
Shifting gears from the ovals, what excites you most as a driver about tackling a very technical racetrack like COTA?
“I am just excited for the opportunity to really have a lot of pace. There is a lot more separation in lap times on road courses than on ovals, so we have an opportunity to put together a really good day.”
From the Top of the Box
Ryan Sparks – Crew Chief, No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Ryan Sparks serves in a dual role as both Spire Motorsports competition director and crew chief for driver Corey LaJoie and the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro in the NCS.
- Sparks, a Winston-Salem, N.C., native, has been paired with LaJoie since 2020.
- Combined, Sparks and LaJoie have earned four top-five and seven top-10 finishes, including a pair of top four in the 2024 Daytona 500.
Stephen Doran – Crew Chief, No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Stephen Doran begins his first full season as a Cup Series crew chief leading Zane Smith and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team during the 2024 season.
- In 2006, Doran got his start in NASCAR at Petty Enterprises.
- Prior to his arrival at Spire Motorsports, Doran worked at Stewart-Haas Racing as an engineer, most recently on the No. 4 car driven by Kevin Harvick.
Luke Lambert – Crew Chief, No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Luke Lambert is the crew chief for Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 team with 2024 NCS Rookie of the Year candidate Carson Hocevar
- The 2005 North Carolina State graduate has led the competition efforts for some of the sport’s most notable names including Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler and Chris Buescher.
- In 2014, Lambert led Newman to a berth in the Championship 4, and ultimately a runner-up finish in the NCS championship point standings.
About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports is a NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race team co-owned by long-time NASCAR industry executives Jeff Dickerson and Thaddeus “T.J.” Puchyr. In 2024, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series with drivers Corey LaJoie, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, respectively. The team will also field the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados full time in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. An all-star driver lineup will rotate throughout the 2024 season in the No. 7 Chevy. Rajah Caruth will drive the No. 71 entry and Chase Purdy rounds out the team’s fleet of Chevrolets in the No. 77.
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 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 Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on March 1, 2024, when Rajah Caruth took the checkered flag in the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
