Marco Andretti will return to the seat of Spire Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado for the final two NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) races of the 2023 season.
Group 1001 is an investor in Kin Insurance, which will be featured as the team’s primary sponsor for next weekend’s Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Meanwhile, Parity Week by Gainbridge® will then assume the primary position aboard Andretti’s Chevy Silverado for the November 3 NCTS season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
Andretti made his first career NCTS start for Spire Motorsports earlier this season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course where he started seventh and came home with a respectable 19th-place finish. The Nazareth, Penn., native is the 2022 Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) Series Champion.
“I had a lot of fun driving for Spire Motorsports at Mid-Ohio,” said Andretti. “The end result wasn’t reflective of the pace we had out of the gate, but I learned a lot about how these trucks handle and what to expect. I want to expand my limited stock car experience and get some laps in on the bigger ovals. Homestead and Phoenix are going to be very different from the ovals I raced with the SRX Series and, obviously, much different from Mid-Ohio, which is what I want.
“I’ve driven both of these race tracks in IndyCar, but with much higher g-forces and a lot more throttle. We’ll only have 20 minutes of practice and then we go right into qualifying. I’ll be thrown back into the deep end again, but that’s the best way to learn. I spent some time on the race simulator and that was promising, so we’ll see how that translates to the track. I love working with Bono (Manion) and everyone at Spire. I also really appreciate Group 1001 and Kin Insurance for their support. If I have it my way, we’ll just be getting started.”
Andretti, 36, has made 251 career IndyCar starts, having earned six pole positions, a pair of wins and 20 podium finishes. He’s made five IndyCar starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway and calls a runner-up effort in 2008 his venue best. His best finish in three races at Phoenix Raceway came in April 2018 when he finished 12th.
Kin Insurance is reimagining a 100-plus-year-old industry and modernizing it with technology and an aptitude to serve markets where insurance is harder to get due to extreme weather. Kin Insurance is growing rapidly in Florida and other coastal states, where it insures $45 billion in assets, attracting homeowners who aren’t being well served by other carriers.
“Group 1001 is proud to share the spotlight with Kin Insurance on Marco Andretti’s truck at Homestead,” said Micky Hervitz, head of G1001 Innovations, a Group 1001 company. “We are excited to work with an innovator like Kin Insurance that is growing exceptionally fast in Florida. They have doubled down in their commitment to insuring homeowners in Florida and that makes them a perfect fit for Homestead.”
Parity Week by Gainbridge® is a celebration of three pioneers in women’s sports centered around three flagship events the week of November 6-12, hosted by Billie Jean King, Annika Sorenstam and Lyn. St. James, respectively.
The namesake for “Parity Week” is Gainbridge’s sister company Parity, a brand sponsorship platform committed to closing the gender income and opportunity gap in professional sports.
The Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals, known as the “World Cup of Women’s Tennis,” will take place in Seville, Spain, November 7-12. The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican will feature the best of the LPGA Tour at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., November 9-12. The Women in Motorsports North America “Women with Drive III – Driven by Mobil 1” summit will be co-chaired by St. James at Phoenix Raceway November 7-8.
“Spire Motorsports is thrilled to have Marco Andretti back in our No. 7 Chevy Silverado for the final two NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races of 2023,” said Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson. “He qualified and ran really well at Mid-Ohio and if a couple things fall our way, he has a much better finish. Marco has plenty of experience at both tracks in an Indy car and there’s going to be a learning curve for him in the truck, but we expect him to do well and have some fun. We all know what’s at stake when the name Andretti is above the door. At the same time, we’re proud to welcome Kin Insurance for Homestead and to highlight an initiative as important as Parity Week by Gainbridge® at the season finale at Phoenix Raceway.”
The Baptist Health Cancer Care 200 from Homestead-Miami Speedway will be televised live on FS1 Saturday, October 21 beginning at noon Eastern Daylight Time. The 22nd of 23 races on the 2023 NCTS schedule will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Spire Motorsports PR
