Spire Motorsports

Spire Motorsports is an American auto racing organization currently competing in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is a subsidiary of Spire Sports + Entertainment, and currently fields the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for multiple drivers.

Spire Motorsports
Owner(s)Jeff Dickerson
T. J. Puchyr[1]
BaseMooresville, North Carolina
SeriesNASCAR Cup Series
Race drivers77. Ross Chastain, Reed Sorenson, J.J. Yeley, Garrett Smithley, B.J. McLeod, James Davison
Sponsors77. AdventHealth, Bon Secours, Greenville Swamp Rabbits, Aquesta Bank, Formula One Imports, OilFire Rye Whiskey
ManufacturerChevrolet
Opened2018
Career
Debut2019 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Latest race2020 Pocono Organics 325 (Pocono)
Races competed49
Drivers' Championships0
Race victories1
Pole positions0

Car No. 77 history

On December 4, 2018, Spire Sports + Entertainment announced they purchased their charter from the now-defunct Furniture Row Racing. At the same time, the team announced they will use the No. 77 and field Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s.[1][2][3] FRR President Joe Garone joined the team to serve the same position.[4]

2019 season

In January, Quin Houff signed with Spire for a part-time schedule in the No. 77 in 2019 starting at ISM Raceway.[5] Spire Motorsports formed a partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing to field the No. 40 for Jamie McMurray at the 2019 Daytona 500 and Advance Auto Parts Clash, using the newly-acquired No. 77 charter to effectively renumber it to the No. 40 for a one-off and guarantee it qualified for the race.[4][6] Prior to Houff’s debut, Garrett Smithley and Reed Sorenson drove the car at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, respectively.[7][8] Prior to the Atlanta race, car chief Shane Callis was ejected from the track after the No. 77 failed pre-qualifying inspection multiple times.[9] D. J. Kennington joined the team for the Martinsville Speedway race.[10] In April, NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Justin Haley made his Cup debut with the team at Talladega Superspeedway.[11]

On July 7, the team won their first Cup race at Daytona in their 18th race at the rain-shortened 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400, with Haley behind the wheel. Haley and the team were not eligible for the Cup Series Playoffs, but did receive the Daytona winner's check and entry into numerous exclusive big-money events. Note that this eligibility rests with Haley; should he drive for a different team, Spire will no longer be eligible to appear in these events.[12]

On September 29, Blake Jones was announced to drive the No. 77 at the October Talladega race.[13] Timmy Hill drove for the team at the Kansas and Martinsville playoff races.

On November 27, the team was docked 50 owner points and listed owner TJ Puchyr fined $50,000 for manipulating the results of the Homestead-Miami race: Sorenson was heard ignoring multiple calls to pit late in the race before finally obliging. The team then retired the car with an official reason stated being mechanical issues. Along with Rick Ware Racing also exiting the race, this enabled the No. 27 of Premium Motorsports to secure the highest Open (non-chartered) team in the final point standings.[14]

2020 season

Spire and Chip Ganassi Racing rekindled their partnership in 2020, fielding the No. 77 for Ross Chastain at the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600.[15]

Car No. 77 results
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Owners Pts
2019 Jamie McMurray 40 Chevy DAY
22		 36th 132
Garrett Smithley 77 ATL
36		 CAL
36		 TEX
32		 MCH
35
Reed Sorenson LVS
36		 GLN
37		 BRI
38		 DAR
30		 IND
23		 LVS
37		 RCH
37		 CLT
39		 DOV
37		 PHO
37		 HOM
37
Quin Houff PHO
30		 BRI
32		 RCH
34		 DOV
36		 KAN
34		 CLT
28		 POC
29		 MCH
32		 CHI
38		 KEN
34		 NHA
31		 POC
31		 TEX
33
D. J. Kennington MAR
32
Justin Haley TAL
32		 SON
34		 DAY
1
Blake Jones TAL
31
Timmy Hill KAN
39		 MAR
34
2020 Ross Chastain DAY
25		 CLT
21		 -* -*
Reed Sorenson LVS
34		 CAL
36		 PHO
30		 DAR
29		 TEX DOV KAN MCH POC POC IND KEN NHA MCH GLN DOV DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL CLT KAN TEX MAR PHO
J. J. Yeley DAR
28		 CLT
34		 ATL
36
Garrett Smithley BRI
26		 MAR
36
B. J. McLeod HOM
35		 TAL
31
James Davison

References
  1. Crandall, Kelly (December 6, 2018). "Marketing agency Spire buys Furniture Row charter". racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  2. Nguyen, Justin (December 5, 2018). "Spire Sports buys Furniture Row charter, to field #77". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  3. Seelman, Jacob (December 4, 2018). "Spire Purchases Charter From Furniture Row". Speed Sport. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  4. Long, Dustin (January 18, 2019). "Jamie McMurray to race in Daytona 500 with Spire Motorsports". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  5. Page, Scott (January 22, 2019). "Quinn Houff to drive for Spire Motorsports". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  6. "Spire Motorsports partners with CGR to field Daytona 500 car for Jamie McMurray". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 18, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  7. McFadin, Daniel (February 18, 2019). "Garrett Smithley in Spire Motorsports car at Atlanta as entry lists released". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  8. Nguyen, Justin (February 27, 2019). "Reed Sorenson joins Spire Motorsports for Las Vegas". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  9. "Three car chiefs ejected this weekend following inspection failures at Atlanta". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 22, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  10. "Spire Motorsports partners with Go-Parts for STP 500". Spire Motorsports. March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  11. "Spire Motorsports partners with Go-Parts for STP 500". Spire Motorsports. March 20, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  12. Cain, Holly (July 7, 2019). "Haley wins weather-shortened Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  13. Page, Scott (September 29, 2019). "Blake Jones to run Cup race at Talladega for Spire Motorsports". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  14. Nguyen, Justin (2019-11-27). "Premium, Spire, Ware receive race manipulation penalties". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  15. McFadin, Daniel (January 9, 2020). "Ganassi, AdventHealth deal includes Daytona 500, Coke 600 starts for Ross Chastain". NBC Sports. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
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