Spire Motorsports will field the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados full time in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS). 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.
The Fresh from Florida 250 from Daytona International Speedway will be televised live on FS1 Friday, Feb. 16, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The first of 23 NCTS races on the 2024 schedule will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Corey LaJoie – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado
Corey LaJoie is set to make the fifth NCTS start of his career in Friday night’s Fresh from Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway driving the No. 7 Bluegreen Vacations Chevrolet Silverado. Across his first four NCTS starts, the 32-year-old driver has posted an average finish of 16.5 with a best result of 10th coming at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2014.
The third-generation driver also opened last season at the controls of the No. 7 Chevy Silverado at the “World Center of Racing” where he started fifth and led a race-high 19 laps. He was the class of the field before getting shuffled out of the top spot during the late-race goings. He ultimately finished 23rd when rain forced NASCAR officials to call the race, 21 laps short of the scheduled distance.
Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation, a subsidiary of Hilton Grand Vacations, markets and sells vacation ownership interests and manages resorts in popular leisure and urban destinations. The Bluegreen Vacation Club is a flexible, points-based, deeded vacation ownership plan with 70 Club and Club Associate Resorts and access to nearly 11,300 other hotels and resorts through partnerships and exchange networks. The Company also offers a portfolio of comprehensive, fee-based resort management, financial, and sales and marketing services to, or on behalf of, third parties.
The 2024 season marks LaJoie’s fifth year collaborating with Bluegreen Vacations and the vacation company’s first venture into NCTS competition.
LaJoie will be pulling double duty this weekend, as he heads into his fourth full-time season behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) for Spire Motorsports. Sunday’s event will mark his eighth career start in The Great American Race. The North Carolina native has recorded two top-10 finishes across his first seven starts in the 500. Chili’s Grille & Bar will serve as the primary sponsor of LaJoie in the prestigious event.
LaJoie’s father, Randy, was a three-time winner in NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) action at Daytona. The two-time series champion won the NXS season opener in 1997, 1999 and 2001.
The No. 7 Silverado, which competed in 11 NCTS events in 2023 will graduate to a full time-effort in 2024 with multiple drivers competing for an owner’s championship. Veteran crew chief Brian Pattie will lead the team. Details regarding the rest of the No. 7 team’s driver lineup are forthcoming.
Both of Spire’s NCTS wins have been registered by the No. 7 team. William Byron collected the organization’s first-ever Truck Series win at Martinsville Speedway in April of 2022 and Kyle Larson was victorious last May at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Corey LaJoie Quotes:
You get to have a little fun and mix it up on Friday night, plus it’ll be your first weekend with Bluegreen in 2024.
“We ran the truck race last year, led the most laps and it rained. I knew the rain was coming and I was working with a new spotter in my ear. There was one instance where he called the bottom lane was coming and we were working the lanes, trying to play defense, and I looked in the spot mirror and didn’t quite trust if I was clear or not and I didn’t cover it – I actually didn’t cover Zane (Smith) – and that was the difference. It started raining two-three laps later and they called the race. I thought we had a good enough truck to take the win, so I was irritated about that. I’m still irritated about that so I’m glad I get a chance to do it again this year.
“We’ve been working with Bluegreen Vacations now for four years so it’s cool to continue to grow that partnership. They sponsor the Duals on Thursday night so we always try to do a good job for them because they have such a big presence during Speedweek at Daytona. Having them on our truck and giving them a chance to root for me, hopefully we can get those guys in Victory Lane. That would be really cool.”
From the Top of the Box
Brian Pattie – Crew Chief, No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado
Brian Pattie comes to Spire Motorsports from Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM), where he earned two victories last year, both with team owner-driver Kyle Busch.
In addition to his three NCTS wins, Pattie was atop the pit box for six wins across 14 seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series and has 11 career victories as a crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Pattie’s drivers have two wins at Daytona, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the July Cup Series race in 2017 and Joe Nemechek in the July NASCAR Xfinity Series event in 2002.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
