Pit Stop Radio News

• The CRC Brakleen 175 will mark the third time Spire Motorsports will field a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) entry at Pocono Raceway. Austin Hill drove the team’s No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado in 2022 and 2023 at the uniquely configured 2.5-mile race course. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados full time in the 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 CRC Brakleen 175 from Pocono Raceway will be televised live on FS1 Friday, July 12, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 14th of 23 NCTS races on the 2024 schedule will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 

Connor Mosack – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

• Connor Mosack will make his third start of 2024 for Spire Motorsports driving the No. 7 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation/Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet Silverado in Friday’s CRC Brakleen 175 at Pocono Raceway.
• Friday’s 70-lap event will be his first at “The Tricky Triangle” behind the wheel of a truck. The Charlotte, N.C., native has made two starts at the track in the ARCA Menards Series (AMS), including a second-place finish in last year’s event.
• Mosack was last in a Spire Motorsports entry at Charlotte where he qualified seventh and finished eighth, securing his first top-ten finish in the Truck Series.
• The Charlotte, N.C., native will return to the seat of the No. 7 Silverado this fall at Kansas Speedway (Sept. 27) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 26).
• The 25-year-old has made 27 starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with his best finishes coming at Watkins Glen International (fifth), the Chicago Street Course (sixth) and Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (eighth). He drove the No. 19 entry for Joe Gibbs Racing last season at Pocono, qualifying fourth and spending most of the day inside the top-five before a blown brake rotor ended his day.
• Mosack has competed in select AMS events the past two seasons, bringing home his first career victory at Kansas Speedway last September and repeating the feat in the Sunflower State in May. He put the competition on notice with five top fives and an average finish of 3.5 over six starts in 2023.
• The “Road-Course Ringer” competes full-time in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli, piloting the No. 57 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet Camaro for Silver Hare Racing in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Class. The two-time class winner has six poles and 17 top-five finishes in 38 starts, while ranking third and fourth in the season-long point standings in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Mosack races alongside teammates Jake Drew, Boris Said, Jr. and Connor Zilisch.
• The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation will adorn the hood of the No. 7 Silverado on Friday afternoon. The Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for children battling pediatric brain tumors and other childhood cancers by pairing them with local teams, clubs and community groups. For more information, please log on to Friendsofjaclyn.org.
• After 13 races, the No. 7 team sits fifth in the 2024 NCTS owner point standings. The No. 7 team has compiled two wins with an average starting position of 8.4 and an average finish of 11.6 thus far this season. Kyle Busch led a race-high 33 laps en route the team’s first victory of 2024 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February and a race-high 112 laps in the team’s most recent triumph in Texas. Last time out, the team started 11th and finished 17th as Clint Bowyer made his return to Truck Series competition at Nashville Superspeedway.
• In his first season at Spire Motorsports, crew chief Brian Pattie has led the No. 7 team to two victories across the first 11 events this season, both with Kyle Busch (Atlanta Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway). The duo also won twice across five races last year with Kyle Busch Motorsports.
• Kyle Busch emerged victorious in Pattie’s lone race calling the shots in Truck Series action at Pocono Raceway last July, a victory that marked the 100th and final win for Kyle Busch Motorsports. In 28 Cup Series races at Pocono, he’s collected seven top-10 finishes, headlined by a second-place finish with Juan Pablo Montoya in 2009 and a fourth-place finish in 2014 with Clint Bowyer.
• Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-074 will be driven by Mosack on Friday, who was behind the wheel of the chassis at Charlotte (May 24), its most recent of eight starts. The truck visited victory lane at Las Vegas (March 3, 2023) and Atlanta (Feb. 24), both with Kyle Busch behind the wheel.

Connor Mosack Quotes
All three corners at Pocono are modeled differently and require a different approach. How much do you rely on your road racing background to tackle the track?
“Pocono has similarities to a road course in the sense that all three corners are very different. How you look at the optimal way to go through each corner is similar to how you would look at values on a road course. But, the track definitely races more like a normal oval when you look at momentum and dirty air.”
You were having a great day in the Xfinity Series race last year before a mechanical problem knocked you out. Are you eager to get back to Pocono and build on your success?
“The Xfinity race was going well for us last year before the rotor issue. I certainly learned a lot about how to keep my momentum going in traffic and completing passes. The speed was definitely there, so I’m excited to go back in a fast truck with Spire this year and build on that momentum.”

Rajah Caruth – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

• Rajah Caruth will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado in Friday’s CRC Brakleen 175 at Pocono Raceway.
• In the series’ last time out, Caruth started fifth and finished fourth at Nashville Superspeedway, notching his third top-five finish on the season.
• HendrickCars.com is the online home for everything Hendrick Automotive Group. Visitors can shop thousands of new or pre-owned vehicles, locate centers for service and collision repair, receive a value to sell or trade their car, chat online with customer service, discover career opportunities, learn more about vehicle protections programs, and explore how the company gives back to the community.
• The Winston-Salem (N.C.) State University senior has one prior start in the NCTS at the 2.5-mile tri-oval, qualifying seventh and finishing 16th in last year’s event. He has also made one start in both the Xfinity Series and the ARCA Menards Series.
• Turn three of “The Tricky Triangle” is modeled after the Milwaukee Mile, a track in which Caruth registered a top-five finish in AMS competition in 2022.
• The 21-year-old is currently fifth in the NCTS championship point standings after 13 races. He has logged one pole, one win, six top-10 and 10 top-15 finishes. He’s recorded a 11.7 average start, an 11.3 average finish and completed 97.4 percent of the laps contested this season.
• With his first career NCTS win and pole position earlier this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Caruth became the third African American driver, alongside NASCAR Hall of Famer, Wendell Scott and current NASCAR Cup Series regular Bubba Wallace, to win a NASCAR National Touring Series race.
• Caruth raced his first full season in NCTS in 2023, earning four top-10 finishes and coming home 16th in the division’s championship point standings.
• Crew chief Chad Walter has called the shots in Truck Series action three prior times at Pocono, highlighted by a top-ten finish with Tyler Ankrum at GMS Racing in the 2020 event.
• The No. 71 Silverado racing on Friday afternoon is identified as Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-082. Caruth led the chassis’ maiden voyage at Kansas where it qualified fourth and finished 13th.

Rajah Caruth Quotes
Pocono is a much different racetrack than anything else on the schedule. What technique and experience at other tracks can you utilize to prepare?
“Pocono is a very unique racetrack in its own right. Turn One is a traditional corner at a majority of the racetracks we go to. Turn Two isn’t really applicable to anything we go to in terms of its character and its angle. Turn Three is super similar to Milwaukee, where I’ve run at a few times between ARCA and the truck race last year. You just have to do your due diligence in preparation before getting to the race track.”
Last time out, you earned a much-needed top-five at Nashville. How do you look to build on that with three races remaining before the playoffs?
“I’m trying to get my mind right and get into it mentally with the playoffs right around the corner. I’m really excited for the last few months of the season and to have a chance to compete for the big trophy come November. With that said, I prepare one race at a time. For right now, all focus is on Pocono. The momentum is there, and I hope we can parlay the successes from Nashville into this weekend and end of the regular season as a whole. Fourth in the regular season standings is still within reach and I think we have the speed to make it happen.”

Chase Purdy – Driver, No.77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado

• Chase Purdy will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No.77 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silveradoin Friday afternoon’s CRC Brakleen 175.
• The 24-year-old sits 14th in the NCTS driver points standings, 61 points behind the playoff cut line with three races remaining in the regular season.
• Last time out, Purdy started 10th and finished 21st in the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.
• The Meridian, Miss., native has four starts at Pocono Raceway in Truck Series competition, logging a best finish of 11th at the track in 2022.
• Purdy’s two ARCA starts at “The Tricky Triangle” are headlined by a third-place finish in 2018. He was part of a one-two-three-four finish for MDM Motorsports alongside teammates Zane Smith (first), Sheldon Creed (second) and Harrison Burton (fourth).
• Turn three of “The Tricky Triangle” is modeled after the Milwaukee Mile, a track in which Purdy finished sixth in last year’s truck race.
• On a quest for his first win, the CRC Brakleen 175 will mark Purdy’s 89th NCTS start and 14th behind the wheel of the No.77 Bama Buggies Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.
• Purdy will be piloting Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-079 on Friday afternoon for the seventh time. The chassis made its debut last season at “The Tricky Triangle” and has earned a pair of poles at Kansas Speedway.
• Crew chief Jason Trinchere has been atop the box three times at Pocono, all in Xfinity Series competition with Kaulig Racing. Trinchere called the shots for a pair of fifth-place finishes with A.J. Allmendinger and Daniel Hemric in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Chase Purdy Quotes 
How are you feeling heading to Pocono, a track in which you have ran well in the past.
“I feel confident for this weekend! This place is always one of my favorites to go to. I’m looking forward to this one and I think we have the opportunity for a great run.”

Spire Motorsports PR