Spire Motorsports NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race Advance

• In six NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Phoenix Raceway, Spire Motorsports has logged one top-10 and three top-15 finishes, highlighted by a venue-best eighth-place result last November with Connor Mosack. The Mooresville, N.C., organization fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets full time in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The No. 7 entry saw a rotating roster of all-star caliber drivers throughout the season, while Rajah Caruth and NASCAR Cup Series veteran Corey LaJoie have piloted the Nos. 71 and 77, respectively.
• Throughout the month of October, Spire Motorsports is trading its signature “Ascent Yellow” for “Breast Cancer Pink” in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness month, honoring the incredible strength and resilience of those who have been affected by the life-altering disease. Fans can purchase limited edition “Spire Goes Pink” merchandise online or at the team’s race shop located at 351 Mazeppa Road in Mooresville, N.C. All proceeds will be donated to support breast cancer research. In addition to the financial contribution, Spire Motorsports will recognize the team’s employees, friends and family members who have been impacted by breast cancer. Their stories will be shared across the organization’s social media channels over the next five weeks.
• The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race will be televised live on FS1 Friday, Oct. 31 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 25th and final event on the series’ 2025 calendar, will be broadcast live on the NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Channel 90.

Stefan Parsons – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

• Stefan Parsons will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Transportation Charter Services Chevrolet Silverado in Friday’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.
• The 150-lap event will mark Parson’s 28th CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start, where he owns three top-10 finishes, including a series-best sixth-place result behind the wheel of the No. 75 Silverado for Henderson Motorsports last February at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. He has made five truck starts this season between the Tyler Young-prepared Nos. 02 and 20 Chevrolets.
• Parsons’ connection to Spire Motorsports goes beyond Friday’s opportunity. Last season, he served as the spotter for the team’s No. 7 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series. Parsons has been a client of Spire Sports + Entertainment, part of Spire Motorsports’ parent company Spire Holdings, since 2019.
• The 27-year-old has made nine national series appearances at the Avondale, Ariz., oval, six in a NASCAR Xfinity Series entry and three in a CRAFTSMAN truck. He registered an 18th-place result in Xfinity Series competition in March 2021.
• In 69 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, Parsons earned a series-best eighth-place finish at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in September 2022.
• The Cornelius, N.C., native is the son of former NASCAR Cup Series driver and current FOX Sports broadcaster Phil Parsons and the nephew of 1973 Cup Series champion, the late Benny Parsons.
• Parsons began his racing career driving in the local Bandolero division in 2011, earning his first win the following year at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway during the Summer Shootout Series. He advanced to the CARS Late Model Stock Tour, where he competed in nearly 20 events from 2015-2017.
• Transportation Charter Services (TCS), headquartered in Orange County, California, has been a trusted leader in group passenger transportation since 1988. With a modern fleet, TCS provides safe, clean, and reliable motorcoach services coupled with a first-class customer experience. Serving professional and collegiate sports, tour and travel, corporate markets, high-profile special events, and elite clientele across Southern California, Western Canada, and now Nashville’s entertainer coach market. TCS blends decades of industry expertise with a commitment to innovation and operational excellence. As part of its family of brands—including Royal Coach, operating in San Jose (Calif.), Las Vegas, and Phoenix, and Polynesian Adventure in Hawaii, TCS continues to set the standard as a premier transportation provider.
• Parsons will race Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-085 Friday. The truck has made three appearances, most recently at Texas Motor Speedway with Andres Perez de Lara at the controls, and earned a chassis-best eighth-place finish last October at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Rajah Caruth.

Stefan Parsons Quotes
What are your thoughts heading into Phoenix, in equipment you have yet to drive?
“This is the kind of opportunity myself and all those around me have been working on for a long time. I’m really excited to work with (Brian) Pattie and the whole No. 7 team. It is a little bit of a homecoming. I have been a part of Spire for several years from the agency side, then I spotted for the No. 7 Cup car last year. I couldn’t be more excited to get on track Thursday afternoon.”

What about Phoenix makes it a fun place to race?
“Phoenix is a lot of fun. It is a place that if you have a good package, you can really stand out and run your race. Obviously with the Championship 4, the race lends itself to chaos. If you can put yourself in position to be up front at the end, there’s no telling what can happen, especially if you get some late-race cautions. The restarts with the runoff through the dogleg make things extremely interesting.”

Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Brian Pattie

• Brian Pattie stands atop of the No. 7 pit box, an entry that has seen an abundance of all-star caliber drivers behind the wheel throughout the 2025 season.
• Last week at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, the No. 7 team and driver Brenden “Butterbean” Queen started 13th and rebounded from fender damage sustained in Stage 1 to finish 10th.
• Pattie has called two CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at Phoenix, claiming an eighth-place finish in last year’s season finale.
• The 50-year-old has been atop the box for 28 NASCAR Cup Series events at the “Diamond in the Desert,” collecting two top fives and five top 10s, highlighted by a fourth-place finish with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., in March 2017.
• The Zephyrhills, Fla., native knows his way to Phoenix Raceway Victory Lane, after calling Jamie McMurray’s 2004 NASCAR Xfinity Series win. McMurray led 47 laps, including the final 13, and held off a young Kyle Busch, the day’s dominant driver, in a green-white-checkered finish.
• Through 24 races, the No. 7 crew has tallied two wins, eight top fives and 12 top 10s.
• In May, the team and driver Carson Hocevar claimed victory in the Heart of Health Care 200 at Kansas Speedway. Hocevar led 75 of the event’s 134 laps and survived last-lap contact en route to his fifth CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory and first aboard a Spire Motorsports- prepared Chevy Silverado.
• The No. 7 team defended its 2024 victory in the Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February with Kyle Busch behind the wheel. Busch spent all 135 laps in the top 15 while leading a race-high 80 laps and recording a field-leading average running position (3.2) and driver rating (124.6).
• The 24-year industry veteran spent 14 seasons in NASCAR’s premier division. As a crew chief, he’s amassed six wins in Cup Series competition, 11 in the Xfinity Series and seven in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. He stands as one of 11 crew chiefs to win races across all three of NASCAR’s national touring series.

Rajah Caruth – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

• Rajah Caruth will handle the driving chores for Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevrolet Silverado in Friday’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.
• Caruth secured his second CRAFTSMAN Truck Series playoff berth by claiming victory at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway in May, and advanced to the Round of 8 for the second-consecutive season. Unfortunately, after entering the final race in the Round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway with a 14-point advantage over the Championship 4 cutline, a mid-race incident left the 23-year-old with a flat left-rear, forcing significant contact with the Turn 1 wall. The damage was deemed too severe to continue, and the No. 71 team was eliminated from Championship 4 contention.
• The 23-year-old has made three CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Phoenix, highlighted by a 12th-place finish in the 2023 season finale. He also owns one ARCA Menards Series start and two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the famed one-mile oval.
• Through 24 races, the Washington, D.C., native has registered one win, four top fives and 12 top 10s. He has led 199 laps, nearly quadrupling his 57 career laps led entering the 2025 season.
• In the No. 71 team’s first playoff appearance in 2024, Caruth and Co. advanced to the Round of 8, but mechanical issues stalled their Championship 4 hopes in the season’s penultimate event at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
• With his first career CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last season, Caruth became the third African-American driver to win a NASCAR National Touring Series race, joining 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Scott and current Cup Series star Bubba Wallace.
• 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.
• The blue and white HENDRICKCARS.COM colors will wrap Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-087. Kyle Larson drove the truck to Victory Lane at Homestead-Miami Speedway in March and a runner-up finish at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway two races later. Most recently, Caruth registered a 10th-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with the same truck, punching his ticket to the Round of 8 of the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series playoffs.

Rajah Caruth Quotes
Heading into Phoenix, you obviously are not in the position you were hoping for. How do you look on from the tough scenario and finish the season strong?
“Martinsville is obviously still a tough pill to swallow. It is going to sting for awhile, especially not being able to partake in the Championship 4 festivities and have to take off the red playoff indicators on the splitter, spoiler and windshield banner. However, we can still fight for a win and fifth-place in points, which is definitely a great thing to earn for our team. I am excited for another opportunity. Our preparation for Phoenix has put us in a spot where I think we can be competitive and race up front all night.”

Talk about your time at Spire Motorsports.
“I learned a lot. From what it takes on a personal commitment level. At this stage in my career, I learned what it really means to grind, listen to those around you, and work towards building something over time. I have lived through Spire’s core value of respect, and I truly think it is applicable to anywhere I will go or anything I do in life. Above all, above the wins and everything I’ve learned and accomplished, I think the intangibles and all the memories with the people I’ve worked alongside is what will live with me the most. Thank you to Jeff (Dickerson) and everyone at Spire that has helped me along the way, and who knows, maybe I will be back in the building some day.”

Atop the No. 71 Box – Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion

• Veteran crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion has called eight CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at Phoenix Raceway, logging one win and four top fives.
• In the penultimate race of the 2016 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season, Manion helped newly named Spire Motorsports driver Daniel Suarez to his first lone CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory. Suarez led 34 laps and inherited the lead when William Byron’s engine expired. He led the final 12 laps and fended off series-mainstay Johnny Sauter en route to the win. One week later, Suarez clinched the Xfinity Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
• The Boylston, Mass., native owns one top five and three top 10s in three Xfinity Series events at the venue, and one top five and five top 10s in 21 races in Cup Series competition.
• The 53-year-old, a 31-year veteran of the sport, founded Spire Motorsports’ CRAFTSMAN Truck Series program alongside industry veteran Mike Greci in 2022. The team claimed victory in its second outing with driver William Byron at Martinsville Speedway.
• “Bono” has racked up six Cup Series victories – including the 2010 Daytona 500 – 17 NASCAR Xfinity Series triumphs and 12 CRAFTSMAN Truck series wins. Manion is also one of 11 crew chiefs to have called wins across all three of NASCAR’s national touring series.
• In 2023, Manion became one of few crew chiefs to call a race in all three of NASCAR’s national series in a single season, all of which came under the Spire Motorsports banner. He led the part-time effort on the No. 7 Silverado in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, helped in limited starts for Carson Hocevar in the Xfinity Series and took the reigns during the second half of the Cup Series season for Ty Dillon and the No. 77 team.

Corey LaJoie – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

• Corey LaJoie will race Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.
• Last weekend at Martinsville Speedway, LaJoie registered a fifth-place showing after battling water temperature issues early. The Concord, N.C., native rallied from outside the top 20 to secure his third top-five finish of the 2025 campaign.
• In September’s visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, another flat one-mile oval, LaJoie started eighth and maintained top-10 speed throughout the day to earn his fourth top-10 finish in just five starts with Spire Motorsports.
• The 34-year-old has made seven CRAFTSMAN Truck Series appearances in 2025, collecting three top fives and six top 10s.
• The former Spire Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series driver has made 15 appearances in the premier stock car series at Phoenix Raceway. His best outing came in the 2022 season finale, recording an 18th-place finish in the No. 7 Chevrolet.
• Founded in 2018, Gainbridge® is an insurtech subsidiary of Group 1001 that empowers consumers to take control of their financial future with solutions that are accessible to everyone, no matter their budget or financial knowledge. Its platform provides access to financial products that are simple, intuitive, and backed by smart technology with no complexity or hidden fees. Gainbridge® is headquartered in Zionsville, Ind. For more information, visit www.gainbridge.com or follow and connect with Gainbridge on X and LinkedIn.
• LaJoie will pilot Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-091 Friday evening. The truck owns three top-five and four top-10 finishes in four starts, scoring back-to-back fifth-place showings with LaJoie at Michigan International Speedway and Richmond Raceway. In the chassis’ maiden voyage at Kansas Speedway this May, William Byron scored a runner-up finish. Overall, the truck has averaged a finishing position of 5.0.

Corey LaJoie Quote
What are your thoughts heading into Phoenix?
“I’m looking forward to closing out the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season at Phoenix. It’s a tricky place because you’re a little underpowered and track position means everything. The surface gets slick, and pit road can be just as challenging with how smooth the concrete is, so you’ve got to be disciplined all night. Hopefully, we can cap off the year strong with our No. 77 team and finish on a high note.”

Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Chad Walter

• Crew chief Chad Walter has called four CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at Phoenix Raceway, earning a venue-best eighth-place finish with Tyler Ankrum at GMS Racing in 2020.
• Walter has seen his share of success atop the box at the “Diamond in the Desert” in Xfinity Series competition. He led Sam Hornish, Jr., to a victory at the one-mile oval in November 2011. He returned to the venue four months later to call Brad Keselowski’s runner-up finish in March 2012.
• Between NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, the Cornell University graduate has racked up six wins, 54 top fives and 137 top 10s.
• In his last seven CRAFTSMAN Truck Series appearances with LaJoie, the No. 77 crew has tallied two top five and five top 10s.

About Spire Motorsports …
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 (Fla.) 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 (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win came on May 30, 2025, when Rajah Caruth took the checkered flag in the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.

In 2025, Spire Motorsports campaigns the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team also fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and an ARCA Menards Series Chevrolet in select events.