TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE
Chicago Street Race
Chicago, Illinois
July 6-7, 2024

One year ago, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) made history by competing in the sport’s first-ever street race. NASCAR will make its return to the “Windy City” this weekend to take on the Chicago Street Course for a doubleheader event featuring two of NASCAR’s top divisions – kicking off Saturday with the NXS’ The Loop 110, with NASCAR’s premier series capping off the weekend in Sunday’s Grant Park 165.

Built among some of the city’s most renowned landmarks, the 2.2-mile, 12-turn circuit features portions of the famed streets of Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue, with the start-finish line situated at the Buckingham Fountain. Chevrolet will return to the course as the defending winners of the inaugural NCS event, while looking to capture its first street race victory in the NXS.

ONE YEAR AGO…

Shane van Gisbergen added to an already history-making weekend on the streets of Chicago by becoming the first driver in 60 years to win in his NASCAR Cup Series debut. Van Gisbergen, who was also piloting a Camaro ZL1 in the Supercars Championship series last season, made the trip to the United States to make his first-career NASCAR start in the inaugural Chicago Street Race. The 35-year-old New Zealander immediately caught the eye of the NASCAR world when his first-ever laps behind the wheel of a Next Gen Camaro ZL1 saw the Team Chevy driver top the leaderboard in the series’ practice session, going on to post a third-place qualifying effort for his series debut.

Enduring a race that saw a crossover from wet to dry conditions, van Gisbergen showcased his mastery in making left- and right-hand turns throughout the race. With the race ultimately shortened due to impending darkness, crew chief Darian Grubb gave van Gisbergen a fresh set of Goodyear tires that allowed the driver to quickly climb through the field to the top position during the final stage. Despite never experiencing an overtime restart, the challenge proved to be no problem for van Gisbergen as he quickly pulled away to take the checkered flag and a historic victory.

Big Day for the Bowtie Brand

Van Gisbergen’s historic victory was celebrated by a dominant performance by the Bowtie brand, with Team Chevy drivers sweeping the top-five finishing positions in the series’ first-ever street race. Van Gisbergen, who was behind the wheel of Trackhouse Racing’s PROJECT91 Camaro ZL1, led drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations to the finish including: runner-up finisher Justin Haley in the No. 31 Kaulig Racing Camaro ZL1; Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson in the third and fourth positions, respectively; and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch rounding out the manufacturer’s top-five sweep. This marked the second time in the series’ Next Gen era that Chevrolet swept the top-five finishing positions of an event – also accomplishing the feat at Road America in July 2022.

MOMENTUM ON LEFTS AND RIGHTS

Sunday’s Grant Park 165 will mark the NASCAR Cup Series’ third event that will feature left- and right-hand turns. Chevrolet has been unstoppable on road course circuits this season, with wins by Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron (Circuit of The Americas) and Kyle Larson (Sonoma Raceway) keeping the manufacturer undefeated on road courses this season.

While there are unique challenges that come with street racing, Chevrolet has a boost of confidence from its success in making left- and right-hand turns in recent years. With Larson’s win in the series’ most recent road course race at Sonoma Raceway, the Bowtie brand now owns 19 victories in the past 24 NCS road course events – nine of which have come in the series’ Next Gen era. Among the entries for Sunday’s event, there are eight Team Chevy drivers that have recorded a road course/street course win in NASCAR’s premier series.

Topping the list is Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, who ranks third on the series’ all-time road course wins list with seven triumphs. Joining Elliott on the list includes Kyle Larson (five NCS road course wins), Kyle Busch (four), AJ Allmendinger (three), William Byron (two), Ross Chastain (one), Daniel Suarez (one) and Shane van Gisbergen (one).

SMITH COLLECTS CAREER-BEST FINISH; ADDS TO MANUFACTURER POINTS LEAD

At Nashville Superspeedway, Team Chevy’s Zane Smith came just 0.068 seconds from becoming a first-time winner in NASCAR’s top division. Settling for a runner-up result, Smith’s career-best finish in the series didn’t come without a fight. The NASCAR Cup Series rookie was sitting outside of the top-20 for the first overtime finish, but pit strategy by the team’s rookie crew chief, Stephen Doran, put the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team in prime position to outlast the long list of drivers that fell short on fuel during the record-setting five overtime attempts.

Smith’s finish helped keep Chevrolet atop the NCS’ manufacturer points standings, with the Bowtie brand heading to Chicago with a four-point lead over second-place Toyota. In 19 points-paying races, five Chevrolet organizations have contributed points towards the manufacturer points standings as the Bowtie brand looks to defend its championship title. Smith also became the ninth different driver to lead Team Chevy to the finish in a NCS race this season.

SVG’S CHICAGO RETURN

While Shane van Gisbergen has already proven his ability to navigate the Chicago Street Course, the 35-year-old New Zealander is on the horizon of his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the 2.2-mile, 12-turn circuit. Returning to the venue that put his name on the map in the NASCAR world, van Gisbergen heads to the “Windy City” as the series’ most recent road course winner. Just one month ago, van Gisbergen became a first-time NXS winner at Portland International Raceway, with the Team Chevy driver becoming the series’ second rookie to secure a playoff berth this season. Van Gisbergen followed up that performance with yet another trip to victory lane just one week later at Sonoma Raceway – giving the team back-to-back road course triumphs. In addition, van Gisbergen will strap into the No. 16 Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing to defend his title in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event.

Among the nine drivers that will pull double-duty this weekend, five come from the Chevrolet camp. Joining van Gisbergen on that list includes Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, who will return to the driver’s seat of the No. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro SS. This weekend will mark Larson’s second NXS start of 2024, with his lone start in the series this season resulting in a trip to victory lane (Circuit of The Americas – March 2024). Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, who became a first-time NCS winner at Sonoma Raceway in 2022, is also tapped to pilot the No. 36 Camaro SS for DGM Racing. Team Chevy’s full-time NXS drivers, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Hill, will also compete in Sunday’s NCS race, with Allmendinger driving the No. 13 Kaulig Racing Camaro ZL1 and Hill driving the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 – a third entry for both Chevrolet organizations.

ECKES PROVING TO BE A TITLE FAVORITE

Despite a three-week break in competition for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS), no momentum was lost for Christian Eckes and the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Silverado RST team. At Nashville Superspeedway, the 23-year-old New York native became the series’ second three-time winner this season in dominating fashion. With a third-place qualifying effort, Eckes quickly drove his No. 19 Silverado RST to the lead on the first lap, with the Team Chevy driver going on to lead every lap of the 150-lap event en route to the victory. The triumph also extended Eckes’ lead in the series’ points standings, with the Team Chevy driver now sitting at a 40-point advantage over second-place Corey Heim with three races remaining in the regular-season.

BOWTIE BULLETS:

· The pace car lineup for the second annual Chicago Street Race will feature all three NASCAR OEM partners, with the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 helping lead the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series to the green-flag in their respective events.

· With 50 races complete across NASCAR’s three national series this season, Chevrolet has a winning percentage of 54% with 27 victories (NASCAR Cup Series – eight wins; NASCAR Xfinity Series – 10 wins; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – nine wins).

· Shane van Gisbergen captured the win in the NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural Chicago Street Race last season, with the 35-year-old New Zealander becoming the first driver in 60 years to win in his first career NCS start (last previously accomplished by Johnny Rutherford at Daytona International Speedway in 1963).

· Chevrolet drivers swept the top-five finishing positions in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race – recorded by drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations. The feat marked the second time the manufacturer swept the top-five finishing results in the series’ Next Gen era – also accomplishing the feat at Road America in July 2022.

· Chevrolet has earned 19 victories in the past 24 NASCAR Cup Series road course events – dating from Chase Elliott’s victory at Watkins Glen International in August 2019, to Kyle Larson’s victory at Sonoma Raceway in June 2024.

· In 13 NASCAR Cup Series road course races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads the series with nine victories – recorded by six drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations.

· In 91 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 45 victories – a winning percentage of 49.5%.

· With his victory at Sonoma Raceway, Kyle Larson is the second driver to hit a double-digit win record in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Next Gen era with 10 triumphs. Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, leads the series’ all-time win record in the Next Gen era with 11 victories.

· With its 42 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 859 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

 
FOR THE FANS

· Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Plaza at the Chicago Street Course.

· Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Trax ACTIV, Silverado 1500 ZR2, Colorado Trailboss, Tahoe Z71, Traverse Z71, Blazer EV RS, Equinox EV RS, Corvette Stingray and Corvette Z06.

Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display:

Sunday, July 7

· Chase Elliott: 12 p.m. – 12:15 p.m.

· Kyle Busch: 12:15 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.

· Shane van Gisbergen: 12:30 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.

· William Byron: 12:45 p.m. – 1 p.m.

· Carson Hocevar: 1 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.

· Kyle Larson: 1:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation:

· Saturday, July 6: 8:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

· Sunday, July 7: 9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Manufacturer Points Standings

Chevrolet: 685
Toyota: 681 (-4)
Ford: 663 (-22)

Manufacturer Points Standings

Chevrolet: 637
Toyota: 606 (-31)
Ford: 535 (-102)

Manufacturer Points Standings

Chevrolet: 498
Toyota: 459 (-39)
Ford: 414 (-84)
 
TUNE-IN:

NASCAR Cup Series

Grant Park 165

Sunday, July 7, at 4:30 p.m. ET

(NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

NASCAR Xfinity Series

The Loop 110

Saturday, July 6, at 3:30 p.m. ET

(NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

 
QUOTABLE QUOTES:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Peach Camaro ZL1

Is there anything you, Daniel or the organization can take from SVG’s Chicago win that will transfer over?

“Well, he’s a machine when it comes to preparation. I would say he’s kind of leading the charge for us in the simulator and getting it how he thinks it will be. But, the streets up there will have changed and we’re all honest with each other that the simulator is a tool. At least I’ll have that to go off of though. Last year, I’ll be honest, that I didn’t put enough stock in his simulator prep but this year I definitely have.”

Do you think SVG will has as much of an advantage in on a dry street course and now that you all have one race there under your belt?

“He is an animal when it comes to road courses and we’ve seen that with his two Xfinity wins already this season. He’s that good.”

What are you most looking forward to at Chicago?

“Getting another crack at it, as SVG would say. Definitely not the result I wanted last year. Didn’t feel comfortable, didn’t make a lot of speed, couldn’t pass and really struggled. It was a concrete canyon feeling and the walls were really close to the left and right of the racing line. Looking forward to getting another shot and seeing if I can do better.”

Having notes and data now, how does that change going into Chicago this time?

“It’s definitely more than last year (laughs). I just have no idea what it would be like but the street could’ve totally changed with regular traffic out there and what’s getting dropped on it, gouges, new paint here and there. I know NASCAR will try to and make it the most similar but still, it’s another level of unknown.”

Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Celsius Camaro ZL1

What’s your perspective heading into this weekend?

“We ran 14th at the Chicago Street Course last year and our goal is to better that this weekend. Our road course program has been solid so we’re looking to have a great run in the Celsius Camaro. There’s no margin for error on the race track so we have to be perfect all weekend. I’m looking forward to going back to Chicago this weekend and putting on a great show.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Zone Camaro ZL1

What was your experience like last year at the Chicago Street Race?

“The Chicago Street Race last year was pretty exciting. I know we had the weather there and it kind of held up the start of things. I didn’t think we were going to race. I thought it was flooded, but it stopped raining, they got it kind of dried up, the standing water removed, and we were out there as it was still drying, running our wet tires. It was a challenging racetrack already with how narrow it was and how slick it was on city streets. Throw in the rain and wet aspect into it and it totally changes it for us. We struggled a little bit there early in the race, but we were able to turn it around. Our strategy worked really well, some breaks fell our way, and we were able to score a top-five.”

Last year you went nose first into the tire barrier but were able to bounce back and score a fifth-place finish. Were you surprised the car didn’t have more damage?

“I was thankful that the car didn’t have more damage than what it did. I was able to continue racing and was able to score a top five finish, which was really good for us. I felt like we had a top five car, so we achieved the finish that we should have so that was pretty good.”

Would you be okay with adding another street race to the schedule? If so, what would be a good location?

“I would say that another street circuit would be a pretty good idea. If we’re going to do it, we should go to an area that we’re not currently racing in. I wouldn’t change racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to run on the streets of Las Vegas. Let’s go somewhere different.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 13 Benesch Camaro ZL1

“I really liked the racetrack last year in Chicago. I thought it was really ‘racey’ for a street course. We definitely didn’t have the result we wanted to, but I’m pumped up to get back there and run both races. I believe with the things we have learned on the road courses, especially with the Cup car, we’ll be better there and have a great weekend.”

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1

Bowman on racing the Chicago Street Race:

“I’m excited to get there (Chicago Street Course). It is a really fun place to race. It’s honestly difficult, you know, just making laps there (Chicago Street Course) by yourself it’s so technical that it actually makes it really fun. I’m excited to get there from that stand point of things. I think our road course stuff has been really, really good. Last year, we had a good day going until we encountered a mechanical issue. Excited to go back to Chicago and looking for a little redemption.”

Blake Harris, Crew Chief, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1

Harris on calling the shots for the No. 48 team during NASCAR’s second consecutive Chicago Street Race:

“This weekend we are shooting to have a full solid race. I feel like road courses in general have been a strength of ours this year- so my eyes are set on a top-five finish and hopefully contending for a win. There is potentially a little bit of rain Sunday, so we’ll see how everything plays out. We ended the race a little bit early last year due to a mechanical failure, so I’m a little bit disappointed that we didn’t get more dry track time there. Of what we did run and even in the wet (tires) I thought we were super competitive though. I’m excited to get back there.”

Zane Smith, No. 71 Focused Health Camaro ZL1

Career best second-place finish last weekend in Nashville. How does that feel and how will you carry this momentum with you?

“It feels so good to put a solid weekend together. It was an awesome result and obviously it stinks to be 0.068 seconds away from my first Cup victory. You never know when you might get a shot at that again. But so proud of my team for pulling the second-place finish off and the strategy we chose. We know what our cars are capable of now. Going to build off this momentum and continue to learn and get better. I’m looking forward to getting to Chicago this weekend. I’ve heard how cool of an event it was last year and I’m excited to make my first start on a street course.”

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Camaro ZL1

Even though it’s your debut at the Chicago Street Race, you’ve been putting in extra prep time since last year. Has that extra effort made you feel more ready heading into race week?

“I did a lot of prep work in the SIM. It’s kind of weird to say, I’ve gotten a ton of laps on the Chicago Street Course but I’ve never raced there, so I’m really looking forward to just getting on the actual race track. The SIM was interesting last year without all the buildings, it was just completely bare so I’m excited to go and see the actual Chicago skyline everyone keeps talking about. The extra time makes me feel good about this week. I feel pretty good. I think we are going to have a fast car and I know we can continue to build and get better at road courses.”

Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Jockey x Folds of Honor Camaro ZL1

What are your thoughts on Sunday’s race in Chicago?

“I am very optimistic. We were good there last year. It was frustrating because we had a really good car and I thought we were going to be there at the end, but we ended up having too many issues. We had a good car all weekend and I think everyone knew we were there. I know we are good enough to win this race on Sunday.”

What is the key to winning?

“You have to survive. Stay out of trouble. You do that by qualifying well, making good pit stops, good strategy and having a little bit of luck.”

How important is Chicago to NASCAR?

“I think Chicago is very important. We need as many new markets as possible. We came up here two weeks ago for a Daniel’s Amigos and I was pleased with how enthusiastic everyone was about the upcoming race. The Amigo’s program is about bringing new fans to the sport and going new places is one of the best ways to do that.”

What are your thoughts on running a Jockey paint scheme honoring a fallen Georgia police officer?

“Jockey and Folds of Honor have come up with a great paint scheme to honor Chase Lee Maddox who lost his life in the line of duty. I’m honored to meet his family this weekend and thank them for his service in the military and as a police officer.”

 
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:

Total (1949-2023): 42

First title for Chevrolet: 1958

Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023

Drivers Championships:

Total (1949-2021): 33

First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)

Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021

Event Victories:

Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)

2024 STATISTICS:

Wins: 8

Poles: 6

Laps Led: 1,607

Top-five finishes: 35

Top-10 finishes: 72

Stage wins: 11

· Chase Elliott: 1

· Kyle Larson: 8

· Ross Chastain: 1

· William Byron: 1

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:

Total Chevrolet race wins: 859 (1949 to date)

Poles won to date: 749

Laps led to date: 250,782

Top-five finishes to date: 4,333

Top-10 finishes to date: 8,932

Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:

       General Motors: 1,193

       Chevrolet: 859

       Pontiac: 154

       Oldsmobile: 115

       Buick: 65



       Ford: 832                                                           

       Ford: 732

       Mercury: 96

       Lincoln: 4



       Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467

       Dodge: 217

       Plymouth: 191

       Chrysler: 59



       Toyota: 187

 

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

JUSTIN HALEY | KAZ GRALA
Chicago Street Race Advance
Event Overview

● Event: Grant Park 165 (Round 20 of 36)
● Time/Date: 4:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 7
● Location: Chicago Street Course
● Layout: 2.2-mile, 12-turn street course
● Laps/Miles: 75 laps/165 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 20 laps / Stage 2: 25 laps / Final Stage: 30 laps
● TV/Radio: NBC / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Justin Haley, Driver of the No. 51 Pinnacle Home Improvements Ford Mustang Dark Horse

● The NASCAR Cup Series takes to the streets of Chicago Sunday for the Grant Park 165. Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 Pinnacle Home Improvements Ford Mustang Dark Horse, started last year’s inaugural event on the 2.2-mile, 12-turn circuit in 37th after contact with the wall in practice, then fought through heavy rain and standing water on the course to take the lead during a caution on lap 48. Haley led 23 laps before giving up the top spot to eventual winner Shane Van Gisbergen with just four laps remaining and crossed the start-finish line near Buckingham Fountain in second for his best finish of 2023.

● Chicago marks the third of five road-course events on the 2024 schedule. In the season’s first, at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, Haley was running 17th on the final lap before the team’s result was disqualified during postrace technical inspection. Haley qualified 13th and spent most of the 68-lap race in the top-10. The second road-course event, at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, also saw the No. 51 Rick Ware Racing (RWR) machine in the top-10 before power steering issues ended Haley’s race 12-laps short of the checkered flag.

● In 21 Cup Series road-course starts, Haley has two top-five finishes and three top-10s. In addition to last year’s runner-up finish in Chicago, Haley finished fifth at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval in 2022.

● Haley is fresh off a 13th-place finish at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, his best result at the 1.333-mile, concrete oval and his second top-13 finish in the last three races. The 25-year-old driver was faced with a prerace inspection issue that required the team to serve a pass-through penalty. Haley passed leader Christopher Bell prior to the conclusion of Stage 1 to regain a lap. The move placed the No. 51 just one lap down to the leaders and in position to wavearound at the stage break to rejoin the lead lap.

● With 19 races complete, Haley is ranked seventh among drivers in laps completed (5,406) and first among Ford drivers.

Kaz Grala, Driver of the No. 15 Remixers.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

● Kaz Grala, driver of No. 15 Remixers.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse, will make his street-course debut in the Cup Series on the circuit surrounding downtown Chicago’s Grant Park. In last year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the temporary, 12-turn layout, Grala started 25th and passed Connor Mosack for 10th place on lap 23, only seven laps into the second stage. Just two laps later, the race was red-flagged for lightning in the area. The race was eventually called with just 25 laps completed and Grala emerged with his third top-10 of the 2023 season.

● In four Cup Series starts on road courses, Grala owns one top-10 finish, a seventh-place result earned in the 2020 event on the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway road course.

● Grala earned a 27th-place finish in the first road-course event of the season at COTA and followed that up with a 23rd-place run at Sonoma in which he was plagued by power-steering issues.

● The 25-year-old Grala cut his teeth racing sportscars before making his way to NASCAR’s premier series. The experience making left- and right-hand turns led Grala to a pair of top-fives and five top-10s over nine road-course starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and four top-fives and eight top-10s in 19 Xfinity Series starts.

Rick Ware Racing Notes

● Modified driver and RWR Suspension and Driveline Specialist Tim Brown earned his 100th win at the famed Bowman Gray Stadium (BGS) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina last Saturday to become the first driver in NASCAR Regional history to accomplish the feat at a single track. It was Brown’s second win of the season and a victory earned by besting rival Burt Myers in a 25-lap sprint race. The winningest Modified driver in BGS history, Brown claimed his first win on May 8, 1993 and his first BGS Modified championship in 1996. In his more than three decades of racing at BGS, Brown has collected a record 12 Modified titles, the most recent coming in 2022, and 141 race starts from the pole.

● The Progressive American Flat Track (AFT) series will compete at the DuQuoin (Ill.) Mile for the 10th event of the season Friday and Saturday after having visited the Lima (Ohio) Half-Mile last weekend. AFT Singles rider and defending class champion Kody Kopp finished second at Lima, ending a three-race win streak. The runner-up finish was Kopp’s eighth podium in nine events completed. He holds onto the top spot in the championship standings by 32 points. Mission SuperTwins rider Briar Bauman finished fifth at Lima, and is currently fourth in the standings with two podium finishes, including a win at the Ventura Short Track in Chico, California.

● Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series Top Fuel driver Clay Millican picked up another first round win in last weekend’s events in Norwalk, Ohio. The racer is eighth in points as the series takes a break before heading to Northwest Nationals in Seattle, Washington July 19-21.

● Rick Ware has been a motorsports mainstay for more than 40 years. It began at age six when the third-generation racer began his driving career and has since spanned four wheels and two wheels on both asphalt and dirt. Competing in the SCCA Trans Am Series and other road-racing divisions led Ware to NASCAR in the early 1980s, where he finished third in his NASCAR debut – the 1983 Warner W. Hodgdon 300 NASCAR Grand American race at Riverside (Calif.) International Raceway. More than a decade later, injuries would force Ware out of the driver seat and into fulltime team ownership. In 1995, Rick Ware Racing was formed, and with wife Lisa by his side, Ware has since built his eponymous organization into an entity that fields two fulltime entries in the NASCAR Cup Series while simultaneously campaigning successful teams in the Top Fuel class of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, Progressive American Flat Track and FIM World Supercross Championship (WSX), where RWR won the 2022 SX2 championship with rider Shane McElrath.

Justin Haley, Driver Q&A

What do you think will be the biggest opportunity or challenge as the Cup Series visits Chicago for the second time?

“What’s good is we’ve been there. I think it was such a shock last year for the whole industry that you almost couldn’t focus on the racecar or the race. The ‘garage’ is on a street and the driver’s meeting is in a building down the street, you’re in a hotel instead of a motorhome, and you’re walking through a city to get everywhere. Everything was different than what we’re used to every other weekend. Plus, it was raining, and pretty heavily at times. So I feel like this year the initial shock of the whole street circuit is is kind of gone. We know the lay of the land. So now we can go and focus on the racing.”

How important is it to participate in the track walk before practice and quaifying?

“We don’t really know what we’re dealing with until the track walk. What’s changed with the road surface – potholes or other repairs, the location of the manhole covers, bumps, seams, paint – anything that could be an obstacle. Going into the second year, NASCAR probably refined a lot of things like barrier replacement or braking markers. I think the track walk is good at a place like Chicago. The bigger teams all have these big cameras and I don’t know what they do with them, but they take videos of every corner and pictures and stuff. And usually it’s just me and my teammate walking and doing the old foot scrub thing you do on the track. You’re like, ‘Well, you’ve got pavement,’ and then you go on with your day.”

The track was new last year, and weather conditions were not ideal, but you led laps late in the race and finished second. Is there anything you can take from the experience for this weekend?

“Last year was the most unprepared I’ve ever felt as a racecar driver when showing up at a track. We started last after I got in the wall during practice and we were all going into the start of the race having no idea what was about to happen. Thankfully, being at the back, I had a little more room to work with than the guys up front going into turn one. But yeah, I think the overall experience is going to be a big opportunity. We’re all more prepared, but running up front and having the information from last year to lean on really helps. I can say that I’m definitely going in with more confidence this year and I think we’ve been so good lately that we’re going to have a lot of fun this weekend.”

Kaz Grala, Driver Q&A

Passing has been a hot topic. Do you feel qualifying is where the race will be won or lost?

“Rain or shine, that could very well be the case. It’s just so narrow and passing is already very tough to do. You could argue that Chicago may be as bad or worse than anywhere else. There’s not a lot of room to pass. I do think qualifying will matter a lot, but with Chicago being so difficult from a track standpoint, there will be mistakes made. If your Saturday isn’t as good as you hope for it to be, if you can at least get through Sunday mistake-free and execute a really, really good race, then I think that will still pay off. We’ll have to make sure to execute Sunday because what would be a small mistake elsewhere is likely going to be a big mistake in Chicago.”

Were you impressed with the course last year for the inaugural street course event?

“I loved the event and I love the track. I was impressed with how nicely it was put together for being our first attempt at a street course. The track layout was great and I thought they did a nice job setting it up from a safety standpoint. I’m sure they picked up on some things to improve on for this year, but I loved the event. I’ve been looking forward to it all year. Speaking from the Xfinity side, the track raced really well and there were opportunities to make passes and it was just a lot of fun. I’ve been waiting for this race to come up on the schedule.”

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Wood Brothers Racing Announcement | Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Wood Brothers Racing announced that Josh Berry will drive the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the NASCAR Cup Series starting in 2025. The team held a press conference earlier today and answered questions from the media about the move.

JON WOOD, President, Wood Brothers Racing – WHAT WENT INTO THE DECISION TO HIRE JOSH? “I think Josh was the obvious choice. We had to look at Chase (Briscoe) first with the relationship that we had with Ford and he had with Ford, but when it was obvious that wasn’t gonna work out, Josh was by far and away the top prospect. He being a Ford driver works, but his results speak for themselves aside from that. We’re just happy it worked out.”

JOSH BERRY, Driver, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT DOES THIS OPPORTUNITY MEAN TO YOU TO BE WITH SUCH AN ICONIC TEAM? “First and foremost just the history, the heritage, the family atmosphere that the Wood Brothers provide. It just really feels like a great fit for me. I feel like I fit their brand and who they are and how I’ve gotten here and how they’ve gotten here. I feel like this is a great fit. I’ve really enjoyed my relationship with Ford and to continue that on was something that’s important to me and I appreciate and I’m thankful to have that opportunity. It just really means a lot to drive an iconic car like the 21. I feel like it’s a great opportunity for me. I feel ready to provide results and I think that, all in all, it’s gonna be a great relationship.”

EDDIE WOOD, Chief Executive Officer, Wood Brothers Racing – THERE ARE SO MANY FACTORS THAT GO INTO THIS DECISION. WHAT WERE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT MADE YOU LAND ON JOSH? “Basically, like Jon said, we had to talk to Chase first because he had a relationship with Ford Motor Company, Ford Performance, through the development series that went back a number of years. So, that didn’t seem like that was gonna work out. He already had an offer when the got there, but we had Josh in the back of our mind anyway and when everything unfolded like it did, we were just really excited to get to talk to Josh and we didn’t waste any time doing it. I think we met the Monday after Sonoma, which was right away, and it was a real easy process. We’re just happy that he’s with us.”

LEN WOOD, Chief Operating Officer, Wood Brothers Racing – WHAT QUALITIES HAVE YOU SEEN IN JOSH THAT MAKE HIM A GOOD FIT FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION? “We started hearing Josh’s name like, who won Hickory? Josh Berry. Who won Tri-County? Josh Berry. That kind of stuck in the back of our head from years ago. I think when he came in and drove for Chase Elliott when he had his leg problem, he did really well. He adapted quickly. I think it was Darlington where he didn’t have a good qualifying lap and started in the back, but he finished third. That kind of catches your eye. And then the last few weeks he’s been pretty much up front at the end of each race, so that’s what we’re looking for.”

JON WOOD CONTINUED – “When he substituted for Hendrick that was pretty eye-opening. I mean, he can tell you, but I can’t. These cars are monsters and to have no experience in a Next Gen car or a Cup car and to hop in that thing and go like he did at different types of tracks, I mean, it gave every one of us pause and you don’t really know it at the time. It’s not something that you’re aware of. You’re not like, ‘Well, this might be our next driver,’ but you still remember it and it stood out.”

QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION:

JON WOOD CONTINUED – CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE CREW CHIEF JOSH WILL BE PAIRED WITH? “We’re stunned that that’s a question first and foremost (laughter). The crew chief part hasn’t been worked out yet. There’s a lot of good people at Team Penske. We have a really good team now and that’s just not something that we’ve really addressed.”

JOSH BERRY CONTINUED – TO LAND WITH A TEAM THAT HAS SO MUCH HISTORY AS THE WOOD BROTHERS, HOW CAN YOU SUM UP WHAT THESE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS HAS BEEN LIKE? “It’s definitely been a whirlwind from going – 2020 was the weekly series national champion on the NASCAR side of things, late model racing full-time and really didn’t believe that opportunities outside of that were coming my way, and I’ve just been very thankful and very fortunate to have a lot of great people behind me that have given me opportunities, but also opportunities that have provided results and allowed me to continue on this path. It’s been a lot going on the last few years. I’m really thankful for Dale and Kelly, LW, everybody at Junior Motorsports. I called Tony last night. Tony was super excited for this. He spoke so highly of the Wood Brothers and the people that they are and they feel like this is a great fit for me and I’m thankful for Tony and Gene and the opportunity that I had at Stewart-Haas Racing. That landed me here and now I have a new opportunity ahead of me for next year, which I’m really excited for. I think it’s a great fit for me. I have a great opportunity to come in here and help be a part of getting them back to running where they want to run and where they expect to run and I have the same expectations. I feel like between everyone here at the Wood Brothers, between the affiliation at Team Penske and Ford, I think we have the pieces in place to be competitive, and I think where I’m at with the Next Gen car we’ll be able to hit the ground running.”

WHAT IS IT THAT IS GOING TO CARRY THIS ORGANIZATION FORWARD BEYOND WHAT YOU HAVE GONE THROUGH THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS? “From my side of things, I feel like they’re getting somebody that’s not gonna quit. I’ve worked way too hard at this and done it for so long that you can’t beat somebody that gives up and I’ve had to grind it out for years to get to this point, and I feel like I’ve proven myself over and over again, and I feel like I’m ready for this challenge next.”

JON WOOD CONTINUED – WHAT DO YOU FEEL THE TEAM HAS BEEN MISSING THE LAST FEW YEARS? “We need to be better. There’s no secret in that. This is a business that’s based on chemistry and it’s a sport that’s based on results and, right now, we’re just not having those results. If Harrison shares some of the responsibility, if it’s on us, we’re not pointing fingers. We’re not here to say this one is at fault or that one is at fault, we’re just not where we need to be. Finding that right chemistry and balance to have those results in performance, that’s what we’re looking for.”

EDDIE WOOD CONTINUED – “Like what Jon said, a race team is not unlike a football team or a baseball team, probably more like a football team. You can have the greatest people in the world and it not work. You can’t really figure out why. I used to make fun of people when they would say, ‘Well, the chemistry is not working. You need this and that.’ I believe that now, especially with this race car. This race car is so different from what we grew up with and worked and raced all our life. It’s just so different. We used to go to Talladega and Daytona four times during the winter just to get ready for the 500. You would be there four days each to gain one-tenth, and you felt like you had done something if you did that. Then you’d go home and cut the body off and do all that. Now, it’s like you race speedways every week. Road courses, short tracks, everything matters. Everything on the cars matter. Where you are. Your track position, pit crews, the tiniest thing matters and there’s no leeway. You used to have a little bit of a cushion. If you got a little bit behind you could make it up in the pits or sometimes change two tires versus four. There was always a way, but now you’ve got to do it all right all day long and when things aren’t working and, like I said, we’ve struggled. We can’t figure it out, either. It’s really hard.”

JON WOOD CONTINUED – “The cars are just so equal.”

EDDIE WOOD CONTINUED – “And then that. It’s just hard. People get with other people and it clicks and you don’t know why, but if you’re one of the fortunate ones when you get together with a group and it clicks, you don’t ask why, you don’t care. It’s just a really hard sport right now.”

JOSH BERRY CONTINUED – CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE RANGE OF EMOTIONS YOU’VE GONE THROUGH THIS YEAR? “I think we’ve been through this for a decade. She’s been with me through late model racing all the way up to this change in our lives, but, really, the message throughout all that was really simple and that was to go out on the track and perform the best we can. I mentioned this a month ago, but it brought me back to a conversation I had with Dale Jr. last year when I was at Hendrick. He called me almost every week and talked me through all of my emotions and what I was dealing with at that time. He’s like, ‘Man, you’re at your best when your back is up against the wall and you have to go out and perform. That’s what makes you, you.’ I thought back to that this year with everything going on and obviously Stewart-Haas going away, that just provided us an opportunity to go out and perform. That was the only option, really. The emotions of it, yeah, it’s difficult sometimes, but we’ve raced together and we’ve always focused on performing, whether we’re at Hickory or Martinsville or Charlotte. That’s what ultimately my character and what I bring to the race team and being able to keep these opportunities and get these opportunities is what got me here, but also performing on the racetrack. So the main focus all the time was to do everything we could to do that and I think over the last couple of months I thought we did a good job of doing that.”

HOW MUCH CAN A DRIVER MAKE A DIFFERENCE? “From my side of things it’s gonna be a new challenge. I know that we spoke early on the Rodney piece. Rodney and I have had a great relationship for sure, but this opportunity came about and they came to me and said, ‘Hey, we want to get you signed up first. We want to get our driver that we want and then we’re gonna go to work with you and whoever else that we’re gonna meet with, whether that’s at Team Penske or wherever and try to iron this out and figure out what’s the best fit. What I have learned this year is, and I think they spoke on it, how important the culture is and the fit and the belief between the driver and the crew chief and the ownership and the management and the team. That’s what I’ve learned the most about this year is how important that is and that’s just another layer, to me, that I’ve learned to appreciate and understand, and I think now we’re gonna attack this together and go through and make whatever changes or no changes that we feel we need to make to give me what I need and give us what we need to go be competitive. Really, that’s the extent of it, but everyone was very clear to me that they wanted to get this part first. They wanted my commitment first before they went to building around me and I appreciated that and understood it.”

JON WOOD CONTINUED – “I think when you plug a driver into a new team, it seems this car the results change faster than any other prior car. You look at Justin Haley. I mean, who would have imagined that? I’m not really wanting to give him credit for it, but Hocevar (laughing). It’s the same thing. You can use your own judgment in how you feel about this, and if I’m right or wrong, but just those two changes they started having results and it gets back to the chemistry thing. It’s not that it’s the driver’s fault that it’s not working out. It just seems like a driver can make a change with this car quicker.”

EDDIE WOOD CONTINUED – “To add to that, can anybody in this room explain dirty air? I mean, you’ve got a car and this is just kind of off subject, but let’s say you’re running 25th and you can’t even see the car in front of you, you don’t pick up, but the leader if he’s in that spot, he’s half a second or three quarters of a second faster than you. I’ve never understood that in my whole life, but to answer the question, we’ve had all different ages of drivers. We had Bill Elliott and he was over 50 and all of that worked. It gets back to what Jon and Josh said, it’s about chemistry.”

JON WOOD CONTINUED – HOW HAS YOUR NEW ROLE GONE? “I don’t really see that my role has changed that much. The way that our family runs this business is we all just pull together and address whatever issue or whatever task needs to be handled. We never really worried about titles. It never really mattered. Now, I feel like today’s NASCAR is a little different. It kind of calls for those titles and names, but outside on paper that doesn’t really mean anything. We all do what needs to be done and we all just get along and get it done. I don’t really have any other way of explaining it.”

WHAT DO YOU SEE THE WOOD BROTHERS ROLE IN NASCAR GOING FORWARD? “Well, if you would have asked me 10 years ago would we be sitting here in this position I would have felt like I would have been watching it from home. We’ve had so many close calls, so many opportunities that other teams did and would have failed, and somehow we made it through. Whether that’s making a right decision or whether that’s relationships, being good people. Them being good people (Eddie and Len). I’m questionable (laughing). I don’t know what did it, but to make it 74 coming up on 75 years you had to have done something right. A lot of people a lot of times question the decisions we make. That makes it tough to be on Twitter and Facebook anymore, but they give us a hard time at times and you kind of have to take that and brush it off because the mindset and the decisions that they make in the end seem to be right, so I just trust them in their judgment and try to do right.”

JOSH BERRY CONTINUED – DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN CONTINUE THIS SOLID RUN AT SHR TO FINISH OUT THE SEASON? “Yeah, I feel like we can continue that. We have a great group over there and they’re all really motivated to continue to get better like we have throughout the season. It’s gonna get harder and harder as we probably lost people here or there. It’s definitely gonna get more and more difficult as the distractions get more, but, all in all, we have a great group. I think our cars have been running well and I see no reason to think that the wheels are gonna fall off the wagon, so to speak. I feel like we can keep doing what we’re doing. I’m not gonna let us fail, just like Rodney said. I’m gonna do everything I can to keep that deal going as strong as we can week in and week out. I owe it to those guys for the opportunity that they gave me and for how they believed in me and I’m fully committed to continuing to battle all the way to Phoenix.”

IS IT FAIR TO SAY THE LEAST STRESSFUL PART OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE IS DRIVING RACE CARS THESE LAST FEW YEARS? “I don’t know. I don’t really feel like I carry a lot of stress throughout this whole process. Four years ago I was racing late models, building late models, driving my truck and trailer to the racetrack racing with my buddies and winning all over the southeast. Getting an opportunity to go drive in the Xfinity Series and now the Cup Series, I’m still really grateful to be here and have this opportunity. I enjoy doing this and I think back to who I was five years ago and to tell that person that I would be sitting here with Len and Eddie Wood and Jon and getting ready to go drive the 21 car I wouldn’t believe it, just like I wouldn’t have believed that I was replacing Kevin Harvick. At this point I feel like anything is possible and I feel like my resume even outside the race car has helped me tremendously and in the race car as well, and I just feel like even through all this I felt like if we just went out and performed, everything would take care of itself. Obviously, I have a ton of great supporters with Josh Jones and Kevin Harvick at KHI Management and everything we’ve worked through I felt confident that if I just went and did my job, that things would work out and thankfully they did.”

DO YOU FEEL WORKING WITH DIFFERENT CREW CHIEFS AS A FILL-IN DRIVER LAST YEAR WILL HELP YOU ADAPT TO WHOMEVER YOU WORK WITH NEXT YEAR? “I think I’ve grown tremendously in that area. Working with several different guys, I think I have a much clearer picture. When I first sat in and got in an Xfinity car I didn’t really have a clear picture on what I needed as a driver or what I wanted necessarily. I was kind of just happy to be there in a way, and now after working with several different guys I think I have a clearer picture of what I’m looking for and I think that will help us through the process. Like I said earlier, we’re gonna work together through this and find the right fit. Everybody is gonna have a fair opportunity at figuring out what we want to do, but I feel like I have a good understanding and I think that should help the process too.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK IT SAYS ABOUT YOUR PERFORMANCE DURING YOUR ROOKIE SEASON THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO LAND THIS RIDE WITH A RELATIVELY SHORT TIME TO SHOW WHAT YOU CAN DO? “I think it goes back to even last year with the opportunities at HMS, working through that and a couple different cars, and then this period I still, even though we’ve had some bumps in the road and things I wish I could do over or mistakes that I’ve made, I mean, we’re outside the playoffs but we’re on the grid. We’re in the picture, which is cool and I think we can win a race. I think that says a lot for a rookie in this series. We’ve been in contention the last few weeks and I think we have some good tracks coming up that if we do the right things and execute, we could find ourselves in that position again.”

• In last year’s inaugural Chicago Street Race, Spire Motorsports finished 14th and 35th with drivers Corey LaJoie and Ty Dillon. In 2024, Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NCS with LaJoie, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
• The Grant Park 165 from Historic Grant Park in downtown Chicago will be televised live on NBC Sunday, July 7, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 20th of 36 races on the 2024 NCS schedule will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Corey LaJoie – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• Corey LaJoie heads to the NASCAR Chicago Street Race Weekend behind the wheel of the No. 7 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
• The Grant Park 165 will mark LaJoie’s second start at NASCAR’s Chicago Street Course. LaJoie started 19th and finished 14th in last season’s inaugural event.
• CELSIUS® is a better-for-you, premium alternative to sugary energy drinks. Made with 7 Essential Vitamins, CELSIUS has the perfect balance of flavor and energy that serves as an awesome pick-me-up for active lifestyles. CELSIUS was created to help people LIVE FIT, exceed their goals and elevate their everyday lives.
• In addition to Sunday’s Grant Park 165, CELSIUS will also be showcased as LaJoie’s primary sponsor later this summer at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
• LaJoie recorded a series-best 11th-place finish in road-racing competition in the 2023 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
• LaJoie started 21st and finished 20th in last weekend’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. The 32-year-old, father of three has led 38 laps in 2024 and is currently 29th in points.
• Over 255 career NCS starts, LaJoie has earned four top-five and nine top-10 finishes and led 161 laps in NASCAR’s premier division.

Corey LaJoie Quotes
You raced your way to the front of the field last weekend at Nashville and while your finish wasn’t reflective of your overall performance, it was still a good run. Now, we flip the script from an oval to the Chicago Street Race. What’s your perspective heading into this weekend?
“We ran 14th at the Chicago Street Course last year and our goal is to better that this weekend. Our road course program has been solid so we’re looking to have a great run in the Celsius Camaro. There’s no margin for error on the race track so we have to be perfect all weekend. I’m looking forward to going back to Chicago this weekend and putting on a great show.”

Zane Smith – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

• After posting a career best second-place finish at Nashville Superspeedway Sunday night, No. 71 Focused Health Chevrolet driver Zane Smith hopes to continue that momentum Sunday in the NASCAR Cup Series’ second running of the Chicago Street Race.
• The Spire Motorsports driver survived a record-breaking five overtime attempts, battled three abreast with the leaders in the final turn before falling just 0.068 seconds short of capturing his first checkered flag in NASCAR’s premier division.
• Smith’s runner-up finish at Nashville Superspeedway marked Spire Motorsports’ second top-two effort since its 2019 inception. Justin Haley earned the team’s lone NCS win when he took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7, 2019.
• The rookie driver makes his 29th-career Cup Series start on Sunday but has never raced on a street course. He’s enjoyed two of his best results this season on road courses, a 19th-place finish at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas in March and a 16th-place finish at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in June.
• 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.
• Race fans can order Focused Health No. 71 Zane Smith merchandise at Zanesmithracing.com.

Zane Smith Quotes
Career best second-place finish last weekend in Nashville. How does that feel and how will you carry this momentum with you?
“It feels so good to put a solid weekend together. It was an awesome result and obviously it stinks to be 0.068 seconds away from my first Cup victory. You never know when you might get a shot at that again. But, so proud of my team for pulling the second-place finish off and the strategy we chose. We know what our cars are capable of now. Going to build off this momentum and continue to learn and get better. I’m looking forward to getting to Chicago this weekend. I’ve heard how cool of an event it was last year and I’m excited to make my first start on a street course.”

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

• Carson Hocevar will make his first NCS start on the Chicago Street Course this weekend in the Grant Park 165 driving the No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports.
• Hocevar started 15th and finished 16th in last Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
• Zeigler Automotive Group is one of the largest privately-owned dealer groups in the U.S. with 84 franchises across 41 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Vehicle brands represented include all the domestic and the majority of the imported manufacturers. Founded in 1975, the organization employs over 2,500 people, ranking among the top one percent of automotive dealers in the nation with estimated annual sales of $2.2 billion for 2023. The family-owned and -operated company is well known for its commitment to both customer service and employee satisfaction. Zeigler is regularly recognized as one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation, also earning similar accolades in Wisconsin, Chicago, and Michigan. Besides these prestigious accolades, Zeigler is also one of Glassdoor’s 100 Best Places to Work in the U.S. for 2024, and among Glassdoor’s top 10 U.S. companies for work-life balance.
• Over the course of the season’s first 19 races, Hocevar has notched two top-10 and five top-15 finishes.
• Hocevar has two NCS roadcourse starts on his resume and has recorded an average start of 15.5 and an average finish of 19.5. The Portage, Mich., native finished 22nd at Circuit of the Americas in March and 17th last month at Sonoma Raceway.
• Hocevar will be a guest on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 Saturday at 11 a.m. Central Time.
• Fans can also join Hocevar on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Chevy Display in the Fan Plaza.

Carson Hocevar Quotes
Even though it’s your debut at the Chicago Street Race, you’ve been putting in extra prep time since last year. Has that extra effort made you feel more ready heading into race week?
“I did a lot of prep work in the SIM. It’s kind of weird to say, I’ve gotten a ton of laps on the Chicago Street Course but I’ve never raced there, so I’m really looking forward to just getting on the actual race track. The SIM was interesting last year without all the buildings, it was just completely bare so I’m excited to go and see the actual Chicago skyline everyone keeps talking about. The extra time makes me feel good about this week. I feel pretty good. I think we are going to have a fast car and I know we can continue to build and get better at road courses.”
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 fourth-place finish 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 April 12, 2024, when Kyle Busch took the took the checkered flag in the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway.