Pit Stop Radio News

• Carson Hocevar will pilot the No. 77 Delaware Life Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports in Sunday’s South Point 400. 
• In last week’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Hocevar started 20th and survived mid-race carnage to secure a 12th-place finish. The result marked his fourth top 15 in the last five events.
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• Hocevar will make his third Cup Series start at “The Diamond in the Desert.” He earned a team/venue-best 15th-place finish while securing the most green flag passes (186) in the field and seventh-most quality passes (79) in the series’ March trip to LVMS.
• The 21-year-old has made four NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts in “Sin City,” collecting one top 10 and two top 15s while leading 36 laps. His four appearances are highlighted by a seventh-place run in 2023 in which he led the second-most laps of the event (19), converted the second-most quality passes (65), averaged the fourth-highest running position in the field (7.34) and spent 94.0 percent of the event in the top 15.
• Through seven races at intermediate tri-ovals in 2024, the 21-year-old has secured an average starting position of 16th and an 18.2 average finish. These starts are highlighted by the rookie’s first top 10 at Fort Worth’s Texas Motor Speedway in April. 
• The youngest NCS driver in the field ranks 21st in the division’s championship point standings and leads the Sunoco Rookie of The Year standings by 98 markers. Over the course of the season’s first 31 races, he’s notched one top-five, five top-10 and 12 top-15 finishes.
• Crew chief Luke Lambert has called three NASCAR Xfinity Series events at LVMS, including a pole position and third-place finish with Elliott Sadler in March of 2012 and a pair of runner-up finishes with Noah Gragson in 2022.
• Lambert highlighted 16 Cup Series races atop the box at Las Vegas with a third-place effort with Ryan Newman in March of 2015.
• Tune in to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. ET to hear Hocevar discuss his Cup Series rookie campaign with host Dave Moody. 

Carson Hocevar Quotes
As you are nearing the end of the season, you continue to build a significant points gap for Sunoco Rookie of the Year Honors. How do you plan to close the deal in the next few weeks?
“Our speed all season has helped get us to the position we are today. I believe we’re almost 100 points ahead so I feel pretty good. Our team has worked hard all year long to build that gap, so its truly been a team effort. We are going to continue to do what we have all season and it should take care of itself.”

• Zane Smith will make his second NASCAR Cup Series start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Sunday’s South Point 400.
• The track they call “The Diamond in the Desert” sits 289 miles from Smith’s hometown in Huntington Beach, Calif. He claimed multiple victories while rising through the ranks in Legends Car competition at The Bullring at LVMS, a facility located outside of Turn 1 of the 1.5-mile oval.
• The 2022 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion has seven starts in the series at Las Vegas, featuring five top 10s and a runner-up finish in the 2023 event.
• In March’s trip to “Sin City,” Smith qualified 24th and was credited with a 36th-place finish after mechanical challenges stifled his afternoon.
• The California native made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at LVMS in 2019 with JR Motorsports. After rolling off sixth, Smith kept This machine within the top 15 for the first 205 laps of the event. His day came to an end eight laps early after he was swept up in a Lap 206 incident.
• Last weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, Smith started 23rd and crossed the finish line 20th. The result marked his 13th top-20 finish of his rookie campaign.
• Smith will carry a special Focused Health paint scheme this weekend. The grey and orange Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 pays tribute to the United States Air Force. Focused Health CEO, Shawn Holt, is a retired Air Force Veteran.
• Focused Health is a National Health Insurance agency founded by industry veterans with over 60 years combined industry experience. Primarily focused on the government programs space, Focused Health partners with payors and employers to deliver health insurance solutions for individuals and families. For more information visit AtFocusedHealth.com.
• Crew chief Stephen Doran has visited victory lane at LVMS twice as an engineer for Kevin Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing, claiming victories in March of 2015 and 2018.

Zane Smith Quotes
How are you feeling heading out to the West Coast this weekend and racing at a track you are familiar with?
“I’m really looking forward to racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend. I classify Las Vegas as my home track so it’s always special when I get to come back here and race, especially in the Cup car. Only four more races left in the season and my No. 71 Spire Motorsports team still has more to prove. I’m thankful to have Focused Health aboard this weekend. The orange chrome numbers are awesome and the car looks great!”

• Justin Haley will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nev.
• In seven previous Cup Series starts at LVMS, Haley has earned one top-10 and three top-20 finishes. He finished eighth in the division’s 2023 spring visit to the mile-and-a-half race course. In NASCAR Xfinity Series competition, the 25-year-old racer has also logged six starts and notched four top-10 finishes including a series/venue best eighth-place showing in March 2021. Meanwhile, in CRAFTSMAN Truck Series action, Haley has made three starts and calls a third-place finish his best effort at the City of Lights motorplex.
• The veteran racer has collected four NASCAR Xfinity Series checkered flags and three NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series wins over the course of his career, making him one of just 41 drivers in history to have earned victories across all three of NASCAR’s National Touring Series.
• Haley is a veteran of 140 Cup Series starts and has notched one win, five top fives, 16 top 10s and led 102 laps in NASCAR’s premier division.
• Last weekend, Haley started 33rd and finished 26th in the Bank of American ROVAL 400 Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• In total, Haley has made 38 Cup Series starts for Spire Motorsports, with the bulk of those races coming during the 2021 season behind the wheel of the team’s No. 77 machine.
• Haley has signed a multi-year agreement with Spire Motorsports and will pursue NASCAR Cup Series championship honors behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevy in 2025. 
• Haley recorded top 10s at Darlington Raceway (May), Worldwide Technology Raceway (June) at Talladega Superspeedway (Oct.) this season. He has paced the field for 29 laps and completed 99.3 percent of the laps contested in 2024. 
•  Haley, a native of Winamac, Ind., made his Cup Series debut for Spire Motorsports on April 28, 2019 at Talladega Superspeedway on his 20th birthday. He picked up both his and the team’s first win – an upset of practically unprecedented proportions – less than three months later in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway behind the wheel of the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro.

Justin Haley Quotes
You have four races remaining this season. What do you look to accomplish in advance of next year?
“The last three weeks have been a whirlwind. I am definitely glad to get a head start on getting comfortable with things as the season comes to a close. When Daytona rolls around next year, we will be able to hit the ground running. The cars have had the speed we need, we just haven’t been able to close things out. It will be a successful end of the year if we can earn a top 10 or two.”

You’re three races into your return to Spire Motorsports. How would you assess the last three weekends? 
“I think we’re about where I thought we’d be. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to familiarize myself and understand the processes that (crew chief) Ryan (Sparks) has in place while getting to know the team and how those guys approach a race weekend. I know Spire Motorsports has made big strides in their intermediate track program so I’m looking forward to seeing how everything shakes out once we unload. From the driver’s seat, I think I’ve been better than my results show at Las Vegas, so hopefully we can make some noise this weekend and put a good finish on the board.”

• In 19 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS), Spire Motorsports has logged two top-15 and four top-20 finishes with nine different drivers. Carson Hocevar and Corey LaJoie both earned team-best 15th-place finishes (spring 2024/spring 2022) at the popular 1.5-mile oval. The Mooresville, N.C., team fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NCS with Justin Haley, Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
• The South Point 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be televised live on NBC Sunday, Oct. 20 beginning at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 33rd of 36 races on the 2024 NCS schedule will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Countdown to Green on NBC will take the green flag at 2 p.m. EDT.

Spire Motorsports PR