Spire Motorsports Sets High Expectations for 2024 After Major Acquisitions in Off-Season

Spire Motorsports Sets High Expectations for 2024 After Major Acquisition in Off-Season

When millions of dollars are spent on buying new race shops, equipment and adding stellar drivers to the line-up, you know that a team means business in NASCAR. No outfit did that more than Spire Motorsports in the 2024 offseason. With just a few days to go before it gets to reap the rewards for all the money it put into bettering its position on the racing hierarchy, star driver Corey LaJoie has opened up on the expectations.

Going over the arsenal that has been added to their garage, the #7 driver believes that the firepower could help the team function a lot better than when it was a single-car operation. The strategic partnerships with Trackhouse Racing and Hendrick Motorsports have also added extra strength to LaJoie’s belief of striking gold in 2024.

He said, “If we don’t make the playoffs, we’d be pretty frustrated”, and continued, “I think we could run 12th or 15th any given week, and then if we hit it we should be able to run in the top 10. We did that a couple of times last year and just didn’t execute the day.”

Last season was a bump up for him as he ended the year on an average finish of 20.8 from 24.3 in 2022. Former Truck Series champion Zane Smith and the rookie Carson Hocevar finished 7th and 4th in the 2023 Truck Series respectively.

Should LaJoie be able to maintain the overall improvement momentum that he has gathered, he could stun the field and lock himself in the postseason early. Hocevar and Smith have both provided strong glimpses of their abilities in the Cup Series grid and will vie for Rookie of the Year honors, if not more.

The positive work culture that the new additions have brought to Spire Motorsports

Expressing strong optimism, LaJoie added, “The culture is different, the expectations are different. We are gonna surprise people. So, if they are sleeping on us, let them sleep than wake them up.”

Both Hocevar and Smith have starts in the Cup Series. In the coming season, their guns will also be loaded with the experience of Stephen Doran and Luke Lambert. Doran, who will be leading Smith’s #71 team, spent the last 11 years with Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers. Lambert has been around the NASCAR scene since 2011 as a chief and most recently helmed the #42 car at Legacy Motor Club.

In just a few weeks fans and Spire Motorsports will get to see what splashing the cash in NASCAR can bring.

Post Edited By: Ankit Sharma
Corey LaJoie

About the author

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Gowtham Ramalingam

Gowtham is a NASCAR journalist at The SportsRush. Though his affinity for racing stems from Formula 1, he found himself drawn to NASCAR's unparalleled excitement over the years. As a result he has shared his insights and observations by authoring over 3000 articles on the sport. An avid fiction writer, you can find him lost in imaginary worlds when he is not immersed in racing. He hopes to continue savoring the thrill of every lap and race together with his readers for as long as he can.

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