- The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series returns to action at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway after a two-week hiatus. In eight starts at Darlington, Spire Motorsports has earned two top-10 finishes, highlighted by Chase Purdy’s sixth-place effort in May 2024.
- The Buckle Up South Carolina 200 will be televised live on FS1 Friday, March 20 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The fourth of 25 points-paying races on the 2026 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series schedule will be broadcast live on the NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Connor Mosack – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST
- Connor Mosack will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Friends of Jaclyn Chevrolet Silverado RST in Friday’s Buckle Up South Carolina 200 at Darlington Raceway.
- Two weeks ago in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series’ inaugural race at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Mosack took the green flag from the pole position after Friday’s qualifying session was canceled due to inclement weather. He raced inside the top five for the majority of the race, and despite sustaining cosmetic damage during the race’s final stage, soldiered home to a respectable 13th-place finish.
- Mosack has registered a single appearance at the famed 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval. Last August, the 27-year-old driver scored a 13th-place result while competing out of the McAnally-Hilgemann Racing stable.
- Mosack spent six races in the seat of Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Silverado in 2024. He tallied one top five and four top 10s, highlighted by a third-place finish at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
- Across 37 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races, the Charlotte, N.C., native has logged one top-five and eight top-10 finishes, highlighted by a third-place effort in the 2023 Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at the controls of Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado.
- The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life for children battling pediatric brain tumors and other childhood cancers and to raise awareness through their Adopt-A-Child, Safe on the Sidelines and Guardian Angel Programs.
- Mosack will pilot Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-091 Friday evening. The truck has made five starts, scoring three top-five and five top-10 finishes, including back-to-back fifth-place showings last season with Corey LaJoie at Michigan International Speedway and Richmond (Va.) Raceway. In the chassis’ maiden voyage at Kansas Speedway last May, William Byron tallied a runner-up finish. Overall, the truck has averaged a finishing position of 5.4.
Connor Mosack Quotes
You finished 13th at Darlington last season. What did you learn from that race that can help you this weekend?
“My first race at Darlington showed me a little of what it takes to perform well there. What the corners are really like, when the lanes begin to shift, how restarts feel, what I need out of my truck, and how to use my tires to have speed on the long runs.”
You had several strong runs with Spire Motorsports in the No. 7 truck in 2024. How confident are you heading back to Darlington with that group this weekend?
“I feel really good about all the races I have in the No. 7 truck this year. The team had a lot of speed at Darlington last year, and I think they’re even stronger this year. In 2024, we had a lot of strong runs together on the ovals and though Darlington is still a newer track for me, I feel confident in going there and being able to have a really strong run.”
Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Brian Pattie
- Brian Pattie will call the shots for Connor Mosack in 12 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races in 2026.
- The veteran crew chief led Kyle Busch to his 68th-career CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory in the Fr8 Racing 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway last month. The No. 7 Silverado led a total of 37 laps, including the final seven, to secure Spire Motorsports’ 10th all-time series win.
- The Zephyrhills, Fla., native has called three CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at Darlington, highlighted by a fourth-place finish with William Byron in 2023.
- In a combined 25 races atop the pit box in NASCAR Cup Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competition, the 50-year-old has collected a pair of top fives at Darlington. He led both Joe Nemechek (O’Reilly, 1999) and Juan Pablo Montoya (Cup, 2010) to fifth-place finishes in their respective series.
- The 25-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 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and eight 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.
Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST
- Carson Hocevar will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet Silverado RST in Friday’s Buckle Up South Carolina 200.
- Hocevar will pull double duty this weekend at Darlington, where he’ll pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chevy Silverado prior to his traditional NASCAR Cup Series duties aboard the team’s No. 77 Chili’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s Goodyear 400.
- The five-time CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race winner owns four previous starts at “The Lady in Black” where he’s tallied three top fives, including a runner-up finish in May 2022.
- The 23-year-old, a veteran of 83 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races, has logged one pole, five wins, 23 top fives and 35 top 10s, while leading 751 laps. He made the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series playoffs in all his three full-time seasons and earned a spot in the 2023 Championship 4.
- Last time out with the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hocevar started 12th and mixed it up inside the top 10 for the majority of the afternoon, racking up 15 stage points to bolster the No. 77 team’s hunt for an owner’s championship. As the event drew to a close, he remained directly behind teammate Kyle Busch, pushing him to the victory. The finish marked the second one-two finish in team history.
- The Portage, Mich., native registered a victory in one of four CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts in 2025, guiding the Brian Pattie-led No. 7 team to Victory Lane in the Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway. He led 75 of the event’s 134 laps en route to his most recent victory and first aboard a Spire Motorsports-prepared Chevy Silverado.
- Hocevar will drive Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-092 Friday night, a brand new Chevy Silverado.
- 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.
Carson Hocevar Quote
You have always run well in a truck at Darlington. Do you think you can seal the deal on Friday?
“I should probably have a win or two in the truck at Darlington. We broke a pit gun in 2022, but was somehow still able to get back to second. Then, the next year I remember we had another issue, but recovered for a top five. I think we have a really good chance to get it done on Friday, and I know Chad (Walter) and all the No. 77 guys built a fast Delaware Life Chevy Silverado. I’m really eager to drive the truck again.”
Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Chad Walter
- Chad Walter returns to the top of the No. 77 pit box, an entry that will see a host of all-star caliber drivers behind the wheel throughout the 2026 season.
- Walter guided James Hinchcliffe and the No. 77 Spire Motorsports team to a 10th-place finish last time out on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. After receiving right-side damage, Hinchcliffe was scored 25th with 20 laps remaining, but embarked on a spirited drive to the top 10 in the closing laps.
- In NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competition, Walter has tallied two top-five and four top-10 finishes at “The Lady in Black”, highlighted by a fourth-place result in 2012 with Sam Hornish, Jr., at the controls.
- Early in his career, the Albion, N.Y., native served as a pit crew member for fellow northeasterner Steve Park, including the March 2001 NASCAR Cup Series event at Darlington. Park led 164 laps and looked to be headed for the win until a late-race caution erased his three-plus-second lead. He was ultimately passed by Dale Jarrett and forced to settle for a runner-up finish. Kevin “Bono” Manion, Spire Motorsports’ CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Competition Director, served as the car chief on the No. 1 team that weekend.
- Between NASCAR’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, the 54-year-old has racked up six wins, 55 top fives and 140 top 10s.
- Walter earned a mechanical engineering degree from the Cornell University College of Engineering. During his studies, he played defensive end for the Big Red football team.
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 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 win came on Feb. 21, 2026, when Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the Fr8 Racing 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
In 2026, Spire Motorsports will campaign 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 will also field the No. 77 410 sprint car in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing competition.
