Spire Motorsports at Daytona International Speedway: In 16 NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) Spire Motorsports has logged one win, two top-five and six top-10 finishes. Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at DIS on July 7, 2019. The Mooresville, N.C.,-headquartered team will field the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the Daytona 500 with drivers Corey LaJoie, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
Flag-to-Flag Coverage: The 66th running of the Daytona 500 will be televised live on FOX, Sunday, February 18 beginning at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The first 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 is heading into his fourth full-time season behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports in the NCS. 2024 marks LaJoie’s eighth career start in The Great American Race.
As the series heads to the high banks of Daytona, Chili’s Bar & Grill will serve as the primary sponsor of LaJoie in the prestigious event. Chili’s known for their margarita beverages will showcase their ‘Rita’ branding on LaJoie’s race car as the ‘Catch a Rita’ No. 7 Chevy takes to the track on February 18th.
Since joining Spire in 2021, LaJoie has finished no worse than 16th in the Daytona 500 with that 16th-place finish coming last February. His other two finishes in the 500 in the No. 7 include a ninth-place finish in 2021 and a 14th-place finish in 2022.
The 32-year-old North Carolina native had a career year in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023 earning two top-five, three top-10 and eight top-15 finishes while leading a total of 66 laps. LaJoie’s best career finish in NASCAR’s premiere series is a fourth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March of 2023.
2024 will mark LaJoie’s eighth start in the Daytona 500.
LaJoie has two-top 10 finishes in The Great American Race coming in 2020 (eighth) and 2021 (ninth). Overall, in his seven previous starts, he has only finished worse than 18th twice (2017 – 24th & 2018 – 40th).
LaJoie has led one lap in the Daytona 500, which came in the 2020 race but has led 8 laps total at the speedway in NCS competition. Furthermore, he has completed 86.6 percent of the laps he has attempted (2,205 of 2,546).
LaJoie’s average finish at Daytona International Speedway is 18.1 with four Top-10 finishes overall.
Corey LaJoie Quotes:
Daytona 500. New season. New opportunity. Obviously Spire made a lot of moves in the last six months and its bursting at the seams. There’s a lot going on. You’re a good speedway racer. Talk about your thoughts as we head towards the Daytona 500.
“It’s the granddaddy. Everybody is pumped up. Everything is new. We’re all excited. New paint schemes. New people coming for different places. Also, bringing in a new partner like Chili’s into the fold is huge for our team. I was texting with (Spire Motorsports co-owner) Jeff Dickerson when we were doing a 12-hour production day with those guys for their TV spot and I said ‘Look at us. We literally went from a white board in the conference room to 150 people and we’re filming a commercial with Chili’s to be on national television.’ It’s a pretty wild journey that we’ve been on. For us to get to a place where a brand like Chili’s would consider partnering with us for the biggest race of the year is something I take a lot of pride in. I’m proud of us. Hopefully we can do a great job for them. They’re investing heavily outside of the partnership with Spire Motorsports to activate the program and hopefully we can continue to grow that.
“Everybody has a chance to win Daytona. With T.J. Bell, my spotter and I have really dialed in what communication we need throughout the race to put ourselves in a good position to try and take advantage at the end. My crew chief Ryan Sparks and I have really worked on strategy in terms of fuel timing of where we need to be and when we need to be there. But, it also comes down to fate. Hopefully we can put ourselves in position to take advantage of a little luck and whatever happens, let it happen.”
The million-dollar question is always when is the right time to make a move and go? Is it three laps to go or two to go? Is it one to go? Is it coming off Turn Four, heading to the checkered flag?
“I think, anymore, you have to go from lap one. These Next Gen cars don’t build runs. It’s hard to get track position. You can’t drive them like the old cars and go from 20th to the lead in three laps. The cars don’t punch as big of a hole in the air as the old ones, so the runs don’t come as quick. The mirrors in these cars are a lot easier to cover. You can see runs coming from further away with the rear-view camera. So, if someone wants to make a move on you, you can cover it easier than you could with the old mirrors and the spotters are so good. They can see energy. The can see things building. That’s why you don’t see a whole lot of mixing, and moving and shaking, because everyone knows how guys are trying to get positions. It’s really a track position game all day. I feel like we have to have the same demeanor about track position at Daytona as we do at Martinsville. We want good track position early and maintain it all day long.
“If you happen to be in position where a wreck catches you up, that’s just part of the deal. I love the fact that we’re in a place now where we don’t have to go in and ride around in the back all day and then try and make something happen with five to go. We can afford to put ourselves in position to win the race. However we see necessary to do that, we can go do it.”
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 NASCAR Cup Series.
Sparks, a Winston-Salem, N.C., native, has been paired with LaJoie since 2020.
Combined, Sparks and LaJoie have earned three top-five and six top-10 finishes, including a pair of top fours in 2023.
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 May 20, 2023, when Kyle Larson took the checkered flag in the Tyson 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
