Spire Motorsports Coke Zero Sugar 400 Race Advance

• In 31 previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (DIS), Spire Motorsports has one win, four top-five and eight top-10 finishes. Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley claimed the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona on July 7, 2019. 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.
• For the first time since the organization’s inception in 2018, Spire Motorsports’ NASCAR Cup Series team will compete in the sport’s 10-race championship playoff format, The Chase. Hocevar and Suárez clinched spots in the 16-driver field to race for a Cup Series championship following last Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Thirteen drivers have secured their place in The Chase with one race remaining in the regular season.
• The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will be televised live on NBC Saturday, Aug. 29 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 26th 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 Coke Zero Sugar Chevrolet ZL1 in Saturday evening’s Coke Zero Sugar 400.
• The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a total beverage company with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories. Our company’s purpose is to refresh the world and make a difference. We sell multiple billion-dollar brands across several beverage categories worldwide. Our portfolio of sparkling soft drink brands includes Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta. Our water, sports, coffee and tea brands include Dasani, smartwater, vitaminwater, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR, Powerade, Costa, Georgia, Fuze Tea, Gold Peak and Ayataka. Our juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverage brands include Minute Maid, Simply, innocent, Del Valle, fairlife and Santa Clara. We’re constantly transforming our portfolio, from reducing sugar in our drinks to bringing innovative new products to market. We seek to positively impact people’s lives, communities and the planet through water replenishment, packaging recycling, sustainable sourcing practices and carbon emissions reductions across our value chain. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people, helping bring economic opportunity to local communities worldwide. Learn more at www.coca-colacompany.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
• In total, the 34-year-old driver has made 18 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Daytona, recording one top five, two top 10s and eight top 20s. His average starting position at DIS is 20.3, with an average finishing position of 24.6 where he has led 44 laps.
• Suárez secured his spot in the 16-driver Chase field competing for the NASCAR Cup Series championship following Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where he logged a respectable 17th-place finish.
• He is looking to sweep this year’s Coca-Cola entitlement races after earning his third career NASCAR Cup Series win, and his first with Spire Motorsports, in May’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Now, he looks to finish the sweep in the Coke Zero Sugar 400, a race that already holds a special place in Spire Motorsports’ history. The team earned its first Cup Series win on July 7, 2019, when Justin Haley won the rain-shortened race at Daytona.
• Suárez earned a career-best Daytona finish in the last year’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 with an impressive runner-up finish. The 10-year Cup Series veteran led six laps and charged from 19th in the running order to race with the leaders in the closing laps. Suárez came just 0.031 seconds short of the win.
• The Mexican-born 34-year-old started 15th and finished 13th in February’s Daytona 500. Despite having to compete in a back-up car, Suárez earned stage points with a fifth-place finish in Stage 1 and a 10th-place finish in Stage 2.
• Suárez is a veteran of 348 Cup Series starts and has notched three wins, 26 top fives, 81 top-10s in NASCAR’s premier division. He’s led 947 laps and has earned three poles since 2017. Suárez is a three-time NASCAR Cup Series winner, capturing victories at Sonoma Raceway in 2022, Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2024, Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2026 and has earned three Busch Light Pole Awards at Pocono Raceway (July 2018), Kentucky Speedway (July 2019) and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (August 2023).

Daniel Suárez Quote
The No. 7 team is in the Chase for the first time ever. What does that accomplishment mean to you and this team, and what will it feel like to race at Daytona Saturday night, one of your favorite tracks, with the Coke Zero Sugar on the car?
“I’m really proud of this team. Making the Chase for the first time ever is a huge accomplishment for the No. 7 team, and it’s something everyone here should be really proud of. We’ve worked so hard all year to put ourselves in this position, and to finally accomplish that goal means a lot to all of us.

“Daytona is one of my favorite tracks, and having Coke on the car makes Saturday night even more special, especially after winning the Coca-Cola 600 earlier this year. That was such a special moment for me and this team, and obviously I’d love to add another trophy to the garage. We can celebrate making the Chase, but we’re still going to Daytona to race hard and hopefully have another big night.”

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

• Ryan Sparks is the crew chief of Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with driver Daniel Suárez in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Sparks has called 227 NASCAR Cup Series races and collected six top-five and 16 top-10 finishes since making his Cup Series crew chief debut in 2020.
• Across 12 races at Daytona, Sparks has recorded two top fives and five top 10s, highlighted by a third-place finish in the 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400 with former 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 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 pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Fly Alliance Chevrolet ZL1 in Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400.
• Fly Alliance is a global private aviation company providing on-demand charter, jet card memberships, aircraft management, maintenance, and parts services. Headquartered at Orlando Executive Airport, the company serves clients across North America, Europe, and the Middle East with a commitment to precision, performance, and concierge-level service. Led by CEO, President and Co-Founder Christopher Tasca, Fly Alliance is built on innovation and operational excellence. Chris brings those same values to Tasca Motorsports, where racing serves as a natural extension of the Fly Alliance brand and its pursuit of performance on and off the track.
• 2026 marked the five-year anniversary of McDowell’s triumph at the World Center of Racing. The 19-year Cup Series veteran’s first trip to Victory Lane came 4,704 days after his 2008 NASCAR Cup Series debut where he led the final lap to earn the earn the checkered flag in the 2021 Daytona 500. He became the eighth driver to score his inaugural Cup win in the “Great American Race”.
• In 30 Cup Series starts at DIS, McDowell has led 75 laps, earned one pole, one win, three top-five, and eight top-10 finishes. He started on the front row in both stops to the legendary Daytona Beach oval in 2024, including winning the pole for that year’s Coke Zero Sugar 400.
• After leading 10 circuits and restarting on the front row with five laps to go in this year’s season-opening Daytona 500, McDowell was collected in a last-lap incident and saddled with a 22nd-place finish.
• McDowell and crew chief Travis Peterson earned five pole positions at the six events contested at drafting tracks during the 2024 season. Additionally, McDowell won the pole at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., that June, giving the potent duo six total Busch Light Pole Awards on the season – the most of any driver/crew chief combination that year.
• The No. 71 entry will support both the Martin Truex, Jr., Foundation and the NASCAR Foundation by highlighting the names of two cancer heroes above both doors. Mary Rogers and Rick A. Schaffer will ride along on the driver’s and passenger-side doors, replacing McDowell’s traditional insignia this weekend.
• In five NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at DIS, the 41-year-old driver earned a series-best 13th-place result in the 2009 event.
• The father-of-five raced Spire Motorsports’ Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season openers in 2025 and 2026 where he led laps in both races. He was ultimately credited with finishes of 24th and 26th after sustaining damage in the late goings of both contests.
• Over the first 25 races of the year, McDowell has tallied two top-five, five top-10 and 14 top-20 finishes. He’s earned an average starting position of 16.2 and a 19.2 average finish heading into the final race of the regular season.

Michael McDowell Quote
What do you think you’ll see with the new package at Daytona, are there any concerns?
“There is always going to be concern when something new comes around, but it’s the same for everybody, so you’re trusting your team, you’re trusting your tools and you’re trusting your experience. We’ve had some big package changes at Daytona in the past and they didn’t change the racing product a whole lot. I think everybody, in their mind, is telling themselves not to overreact, because more than likely, it’s not going to be as we expect. I think that’s kind of the mindset a lot of people will have. We are expecting to have a good run and make up for what could have been during the 500 in February.”

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 ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Peterson played a key role in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 2015 Coke Zero Sugar 400 win while serving as a race engineer for Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 88 Chevrolet where the team won the pole and led 96 laps en route to Victory Lane.
• Peterson is a mechanical engineering graduate of the Williams States Lee College of Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The West Bend, Wis., native earned his degree in 2012.

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

• Carson Hocevar will race Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 MINER Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, the 26th and final event before The Chase.
• MINER Ltd. is the leading self-perform, national service partner for smarter, safer loading docks and a division of OnPoint Group. As the premier expert in loading docks, commercial doors and more, MINER’s team of best-in-class service professionals help large-scale facilities and Fortune 500-class companies mitigate risk and improve efficiency. With over 400 service professionals in more than 40 markets, MINER is the only company of its kind with a coast-to-coast footprint, offering the largest self-perform network in the country for supporting all doors, loading dock products, vehicle restraints and safety products, HVLS fans, service, aftermarket and more. MINER also supports end users, general contractors, architects, and developers, from ground-up developments to tenant improvement or extensive remodels. Learn more about how Miner delivers speed, consistency and results at https://www.minercorp.com.
• The No. 77 will have two cancer heroes riding aboard Saturday evening as part of The NASCAR Foundation’s Honor A Cancer Hero campaign. Michele Broadley’s name will be displayed on the driver’s side name rail, while Nathan Elshire’s name will be featured on the passenger side.
• Michele Ekaterini Ciufecu Broadley was a 24-year-old cancer warrior. Broadley fought a three-and-a-half-year battle with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS). During her fight, she continued college and graduated from the University of Connecticut with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Women’s Studies. She held a 3.74 GPA with Magna Cum Laude high honors. She even started Graduate School for her Master’s Degree in Social Work at Southern Connecticut State University. She wanted to prove that, “yes, I have cancer; but cancer doesn’t have me”, as she would state on her Facebook page. Broadley, who passed away on Sept. 28, 2016, loved to live life. She continues to be an inspiration to those closest to her with her #TeamM Facebook page.
• Nathan Elshire was a lifelong NASCAR fan until his passing 19 years ago. He and his family connected over the love of the sport. While battling cancer, Elshire graduated college and became a civil engineer while starting a family. Elshire’s family loves to honor him, and with their mutual love of NASCAR, they see the Honor A Cancer Hero program as the perfect way.
• Hocevar and the No. 77 team, along with teammate Daniel Suarez and the No. 7 team, clinched a spot in The Chase following last weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. 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 championship.
• Through 25 races, the Portage, Mich., native sits 11th in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings, just four markers behind 10th, and has already set career-highs in multiple categories:
• Season-to-date results of one win, five top fives, nine top 10s
• 672 points scored
• 11.6 average start
• 15.9 average finish
• The 23-year-old driver has been one of the most improved on the circuit throughout 2026. The team’s average starting and finishing positions have each improved by six spots compared to this point in 2025. Hocevar is on pace to improve his average finish by 5.7 positions at the end of the season while his 11th position in the series’ points is a 12-position improvement compared to the end of 2025.
• In five career NASCAR Cup Series Starts at “The World Center of Racing,” Hocevar owns a venue-best 11th-place finish earned in August 2024. He also adds four CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races – with a best finish of fifth – and a lone O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
• Hocevar came within 2.5 miles of victory in February’s Daytona 500 before chaos enveloped the field with one lap to go. He led the field to the white flag, but contact initiated by another competitor heading into Turn 1 sent him into the outside retaining wall. He was eventually scored 18th in the final rundown.
• In 17 combined Cup Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Daytona and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – all drafting-style racetracks – Hocevar has notched one win, four top fives, seven top 10s and 13 top 20s.
• In the past three drafting-style races, dating back to February at Atlanta, Hocevar owns a 2.66 average finish. Not only does he lead all drivers but outdistances the next competitor by nearly five positions.
• The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year registered his first-career victory earlier this season at Talladega. 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 you anticipating with the updated rules package?
“I am excited for it. There really isn’t anything to look at. No data or anything. I think that will play to our advantage. You have to just go out there and adapt. We are going to have to try everything as the race plays out and see how the car reacts. Luke (Lambert, crew chief) and Tyler (Green, spotter) are very data driven and so are my teammates Michael (McDowell) and Daniel (Suarez). But none of them really have any idea on what to expect or what to talk about. It is kind of an interesting dynamic going into the weekend.”

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, eight top-five and 24 top-10 finishes in 105 races.
• The 43-year-old has called 25 NASCAR Cup Series races at “The World Center of Racing”, tallying two top-five and six top-10 finishes including a venue-best third-place showing in the 2020 Daytona 500 with driver Chris Buescher during his time at RFK Racing.
• In four NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races atop the box, the Mount Airy, N.C., native snagged two top-five and three top-10 results, highlighted by a pair of third-place finishes with Elliott Sadler (Feb. 2012) and Noah Gragson (Feb. 2022).

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.