- In 14 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Spire Motorsports has earned one win, four top-five and nine top-10 finishes. William Byron earned Spire Motorsports’ first CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory in the April 2022 race at Martinsville.
- The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series will contend the sixth race of The Chase – NASCAR’s playoff format – Friday at Martinsville. Spire Motorsports’ Nos. 77 and 7 teams sit sixth and seventh, respectively, in the owner’s point standings.
- The Black’s Tire 200 Presented by Down East Heating & Air Conditioning at Martinsville Speedway will be televised live on FS1 Friday, Oct. 30 beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 24th 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.
Sammy Smith – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST
- Sammy Smith will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Alpha Craft Technologies Chevrolet Silverado RST in Friday’s Black’s Tire 200 Presented by Down East Heating & Air Conditioning at Martinsville Speedway.
- Alpha Craft Technologies is a full-service, women-owned electrical contractor, with in-house mechanical capabilities, serving Virginia and North Carolina. Alpha Craft Technologies specializes in data centers and industrial and large commercial projects. Its experienced field staff along with dedicated office personnel can successfully complete a customer’s smallest to most complex projects with a focus on safety, quality of work and staying on schedule.
- With just two races remaining to determine the 2026 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Owner’s Championship, Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 team sits seventh after last weekend’s race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, 186 markers behind the leader. The team enters Round 24 of 25 with three wins, eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. In the team’s most recent start, Smith raced the No. 7 Chevy to his first career CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win.
- Last week at Talladega, Smith led the No. 7 team to Chevrolet’s 299th CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win where he started on the front row, led six times for 21 laps and captured the checkered flag during NASCAR Overtime.
- Friday’s 200-lap event will mark the Johnston, Iowa, native’s 12th CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start and 11th with Spire Motorsports. He’s totaled one win, three top fives, seven top 10s and boasts an 8.9 average finish.
- In his lone Martinsville CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start, Smith qualified 13th and raced the No. 7 Spire Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet to an eighth-place finish in the 2024 Long John Silver’s 200.
- In eight NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at the iconic paperclip-shaped oval, Smith has recorded five top-five and seven top-10 finishes with an 8.6 average start and 5.9 average finish. He registered runner-up finishes in April 2023, November 2024 and October 2025.
- Smith will be at the controls of Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-096 Friday night, the same truck Chase Elliott drove to a seventh-place finish earlier this season at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. Tristan McKee also wheeled this truck to an eighth-place finish in his August CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
Sammy Smith Quote
Coming off your first career Truck Series win at Talladega, how do you carry that momentum into Martinsville?
“I’m excited to get back to Martinsville with Spire Motorsports and carry the momentum from our win at Talladega into this weekend. Winning my first Truck Series race was a special moment, and I’m grateful to everyone at Spire and Chevrolet who helped make it happen. We know these final two races are important for the No. 7 team’s Owner’s Championship hopes, so our goal is to bring another fast Alpha Craft Technologies Chevrolet to the track and put ourselves in position to contend for another win.”
Brian Pattie – Crew Chief, No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado RST
- Brian Pattie is the crew chief of Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado RST, an entry that has seen a collection of all-star caliber drivers behind the wheel throughout the 2026 season.
- Last week’s win marked a milestone for the veteran NASCAR topkick, who earned his 10th career CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victory while calling the shots in his 100th series start atop the pitbox. The win also marked the No. 7 team’s third checkered flag of the season.
- Pattie has called six CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at Martinsville and claimed a series/venue-best runner-up finish with Kyle Busch at the controls in 2023.
- Through 100 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races, the veteran crew chief has tallied 10 wins, 31 top-five and 48 top-10 finishes. Meanwhile, he’s posted a 9.8 average start and 13.4 average finish.
Tristan McKee – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST
- Tristan McKee will race Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet Silverado RST in Friday’s Black’s Tire 200 presented by Down East Heating & Air Conditioning. McKee is the inaugural signee of Spire Motorsports’ Ascent Program and leading prospect in the organization’s talent pipeline.
- 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.
- With just two races remaining to determine the 2026 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Owner’s Championship, Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 team sits sixth in the standings, 24 markers behind fifth, with one win, eight top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. Last Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, Austin Green raced the No. 77 Chevy to a third-place finish in his CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut.
- Friday’s 200-lap event will mark McKee’s fifth-career CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start. In four previous appearances this season, he finished eighth at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, sixth at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, fifth at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and 14th at a Phoenix Raceway, respectively.
- McKee became the second-youngest driver in history to make his CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut when he was 16-years and 11-days-old when NASCAR visited Richmond Raceway in August. He became the youngest driver to finish in the top five of a CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at 16 years, one month and 14 days a month later at Bristol. The same day, he raced his way to ARCA Menards Series East Championship honors. He’s also the youngest Trans Am TA2 Champion in series history, the youngest CARS Tour race winner and second-youngest ARCA Menards Series national tour winner.
- The Kannapolis, N.C., resident has made three late model stock car series starts at Martinsville Speedway. His most recent outing in September led him to the pole and track record in Matt Piercy’s 7C Chevy.
- McKee will be at the controls of Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-094 Friday evening. This is the same truck Shane van Gisbergen drove to the pole position and a fourth-place finish at Richmond.
Tristan McKee Quote
How will your experience at Martinsville in a Late Model Stock translate to the Truck?
“The Late Model experience at Martinsville helps a little with knowing the track, and how tight it is. The main thing is continuing to build with the 77 group. We’ve had some solid runs so far and I’m looking forward to keeping that going next weekend and hopefully, finishing my part of the schedule with them on a high note.”
Chad Walter – Crew Chief, No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado RST
- Chad Walter is the Crew Chief of Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado RST, an entry that has seen multiple all-star caliber drivers behind the wheel during the 2026 campaign.
- In seven CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Martinsville races atop the pit box, Walter earned seventh-place finishes with Rajah Caruth (April 2024) and Andres Peres de Lara (March 2025), and a top-five finish with Corey LaJoie (October 2025).
- Between NASCAR’s O’Reilly Auto Parts and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, Walter has dialed up seven wins, 62 top five and 150 top 10s.
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 October 23, 2026, when Sammy Smith won the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
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.
