Latest news with #SpireMotorsports
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Sonoma Raceway Fatality Is Third Animal Death in 2025 NASCAR Season
Sonoma Raceway Fatality Is Third Animal Death in 2025 NASCAR Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Justin Haley started 29th on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway and had a solid day, finishing 15th for his first top 15 since he recorded that same result at Texas back in early May. While it was a good day for the No. 7 driver, he didn't leave wine country with all positive vibes. Advertisement That's because later in the race during a caution with 13 laps to go the Spire Motorsports driver had an unfortunate accident when he hit a fast-running rabbit crossing the track. The driver mentioned it on the team radio right after it happened. 'Oh God, I just hit a bunny,' he told his crew. A few minutes later and after a lap around the 1.99-mile circuit, the 26-year-old's mind returned to the sad incident. 'I can't believe I killed a bunny. Oh, I feel horrible. He was running so fast.' The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Race at Sonoma Raceway. Interestingly, Haley's isn't the first such incident this year where animal has lost to machine. There have been two other deaths during the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Advertisement The first occurred back in late April at Talladega when Josh Berry obliterated a bird on his windshield coming toward the start-finish line. The most recent occurred last month in Michigan when Ty Dillon was heading down pit road and just as the No. 10 driver began turning into his pit box, a squirrel unsuccessfully tried to cross in front of his car. 'I think I just murdered a squirrel getting into my damn pit box,' the Kaulig Racing driver told his team. They confirmed it and mentioned how one team member surprised everyone with a loud scream when it happened. It's always an unfortunate circumstance when it occurs but something most drivers face off the track just like everyone else. Advertisement Related: Furious Denny Hamlin Explodes in Chicago and Lets Joe Gibbs Know About It This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Carson Hocevar crash forces early 7-car pileup in NASCAR Chicago street race
Carson Hocevar caused a seven-car pileup to open the NASCAR Chicago street race. Hocevar clipped the inside of the turn 11 curve, ricocheting him to the outside wall on turn 11 on lap 3 of the Grant Park 165 street race in Chicago. Hocevar crashed off the outside wall and moved up to the inside before twisting back toward the outside wall. Advertisement Austin Dillon was the first to be collected as he had nowhere to go with Hocevar's car in front of him. Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez, Todd Gilliland, Will Brown and Riley Herbst also were collected in the crash. The crash forced a red flag to stop the race, allowing racing officials to untangled the cars. More: NASCAR Cup Series race at Chicago street: Live updates, highlights, leaderboard for the Grant Park 165 More: What channel is the NASCAR Chicago street race on today? Time, TV schedule for the Grant Park 165 The Hocevar crash came after the Spire Motorsports driver qualified third for the NASCAR Chicago street race. Advertisement Shane van Gisbergen, who won the July 5 Xfinity race at Chicago, sat on the pole for the Cup Series race. Michael McDowell was second. Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@ and on the X platform @Kreager. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Chicago race: Carson Hocevar crash damages seven cars
Hindustan Times
05-07-2025
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Road course specialist Shane van Gisbergen earns pole position in Chicago
CHICAGO Road course superstar Shane van Gisbergen pulled of the second qualifying double of his fledgling NASCAR career during Saturday's time trials on the Chicago Street Course. HT Image After securing the pole position for Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race, van Gisbergen blitzed the rest of the field on his final run for the top starting position in Sunday's Grant Park 165 on the 2.2-mile, 12-turn street circuit . van Gisbergen posted a respectable lap on his second run, only to see it surpassed by recent Pocono winner Chase Briscoe. But van Gisbergen responded with a lap at 88.338 mph to beat eventual second-place qualifier Michael McDowell by 0.468 seconds, a huge margin in the competitive Gen-7 environment. The Busch Light Pole Award was van Gisbergen's first on the Chicago Street Course, his second this season and the third of his career. Last fall, he swept the Cup and Xfinity poles at the Charlotte Roval. "I'm a lucky boy-I got some great cars today," said the three-time Australian Supercars champion. "Xfinity pole, Cup pole-pretty special. Hopeful for the race tomorrow. "Practice wasn't that great, and I went out in qualifying, and the car felt really good ... I learned a lot in the Xfinity car this morning, and that just gives you a great leg up for the Cup car." Carson Hocevar, McDowell's Spire Motorsports teammate, will start third after a lap at 87.824 mph. Tyler Reddick claimed the fourth spot on the grid, followed by Briscoe, who was second fastest behind van Gisbergen in the first of two qualifying groups. Hocevar and Reddick are head-to-head opponents in the In-Season Challenge, with the second round to be contested in Sunday's race. Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs and Austin Dillon claimed the sixth through 10th starting positions respectively. Defending race winner Alex Bowman will start 11th. There will be plenty of speed at both ends of the field. Denny Hamlin blew the engine in his No. 11 Toyota on his first practice lap and did not make a qualifying run. Neither did William Byron, who slammed the outside wall with less than a minute left in practice-after setting the fastest time in the session. Chase Elliott also sustained damage to his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and did not qualify. Byron, Elliott and Hamlin will start 38th, 39th and 40th respectively on Sunday. Bubba Wallace, facing an In-Season Challenge matchup against Bowman, spun twice and backed into a Turn 2 tire barrier during time trials and will start 37th. Katherine Legge will be the first female driver to compete in the Chicago Street Race after knocking the unchartered car of Corey Heim out of the field late in the Group B session. Legge earned the 33rd spot on the grid with a lap at 85.744 mph. By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Chicago Tribune
01-07-2025
- Automotive
- Chicago Tribune
DePaul partners with Spire Motorsports ahead of NASCAR Chicago Street Race
A familiar logo to the city's sports fans will be zooming through the streets downtown when the 2025 NASCAR Chicago Street Race takes place Saturday and Sunday. DePaul University has partnered with Spire Motorsports for the weekend's events as the main sponsor of the No. 71 Chevrolet ZL1. DePaul's colors will be on the car, driver and pit-crew gear and pit-stop signage, and fans can buy Blue Demons-themed gear before the race. Piloting the DePaul Chevy will be Michael McDowell, who joined Spire this season. The Glendale, Ariz., native is a 17-year veteran with 518 starts. That includes a victory in the 2021 Daytona 500, three top-five finishes at Talladega and starts in all three of NASCAR's national series (Cup, Xfinity and Truck). 'It's always exciting when you can bring somebody into the sport that you know hasn't been there (before) and bring a new design and a fresh look,' McDowell said. 'You're going to have some fans and you're going to have some support immediately. It's been a great response. 'I've had a lot of people in particular comment about the paint scheme, how well it looks, and (they're) excited to see it on track. The paint scheme turned out nice; the colors look great.' DePaul's NASCAR partnership is a way to promote the school beyond Chicago. 'Partnering with Spire Motorsports for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race allows us to spotlight DePaul on a national stage while embracing a global event in our own backyard,' athletic director DeWayne Peevy said in a press release. 'This collaboration will extend into our classrooms this fall, offering our students a hands-on look at the business and science behind professional racing. It's the perfect example of how we're using sports to elevate our visibility and create real-world learning experiences for our students.' DePaul's School of Hospitality and Sports Business introduced a NASCAR-related course this summer, titled HSB 198: A NASCAR Experience. Students created and implemented designs for the college tailgate that will be at Turn 7 of the street race. McDowell will make virtual appearances in classes in the coming weeks. Along with an offered NASCAR internship program, DePaul students can get tickets at 20% off for the street race. 'One thing that I've learned over the last few weeks is that DePaul is a household brand that people know, especially in (Chicago) and in the country,' McDowell said. 'It's cool to have their athletic fan base join ours.' The best-case scenario for the partnership is the Demonmobile — name is still in the workshop — taking the checkered flag. McDowell called road courses a 'strong suit' and his 2023 win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course is proof. He led the race for 54 laps and narrowly beat Chase Elliott for his second Cup Series victory. 'We know that's an opportunity for us to win and to run up front,' McDowell said. 'The excitement is there for sure, and you feel the pressure of trying to get yourself locked into the playoffs and trying to get a win. Chicago is an opportunity for us to do that.'
Associated Press
26-06-2025
- Automotive
- Associated Press
T.J. Puchyr agrees to buy Rick Ware Racing with plans to build a 3-car NASCAR team
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — One of the founders of Spire Motorsports has entered an agreement to purchase the NASCAR team owned by Rick Ware and is jumping back into the stock car series because he believes the current charters are grossly undervalued. T.J. Puchyr, who in 2018 alongside Jeff Dickerson launched the Spire team to take over the charter that Furniture Row Racing could not unload, told The Associated Press on Thursday he and Rick Ware Racing have a deal for him to take over Ware's organization next season. When Puchyr and Dickerson bought the Furniture Row charter, the market for NASCAR's version of franchise models was essentially dead. Their agency had been hired by Furniture Row owner Barney Visser to sell the charter and when they couldn't find a buyer, the two decided to purchase it themselves for $6 million and launch their own team. That decision jump-started the charter market and the most recent charters sold — when Stewart-Haas Racing went out of business at the end of last season — went for approximately $30 million. Puchyr and Dickerson are largely credited with pumping life and value into an otherwise dormant charter system. Puchyr last year sold his shares of Spire to Dan Towriss, the CEO of TWG Motorsports and header of the new Cadillac F1 team. Puchyr has spent 2025 consulting with various teams, including RWR and Legacy Motor Club. He's watched the market closely and has attended several of the recent court hearings involving NASCAR against 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, who have filed an antitrust lawsuit over the charter agreement those two teams refused to sign last September. There are only 36 Cup Series charters, which guarantee a team entry into every NASCAR race and a steady revenue stream. Puchyr believes they are greatly undervalued and in one of his final deals with Spire, he helped acquire a charter from Live Fast Motorsports for $40 million. 'I am bullish on wanting to build a three-car team. I believe in the France family and the direction of the sport and I want the rest of the shareholders and industry to know that I believe the charters are worth $75 million or more,' he told AP. ___ AP auto racing:
