Pit Stop Radio News

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

• Connor Zilisch will make his fifth and final appearance this season aboard a Spire Motorsports entry, piloting the No. 7 Austin Hatcher Foundation Chevrolet Silverado in Friday’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
• In his most recent CRAFTSMAN Truck Series appearance at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the Mooresville, N.C., native piloted the No. 75 Silver Hare Racing Silverado for Henderson Motorsports. He qualified 16th and finished in the 18th position.
• The Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer, through the generosity and support of Hixon Motor Sports, will serve as Zilisch’s primary sponsor. The Austin Hatcher Foundation is a leading nonprofit organization committed to helping families impacted by childhood cancer at no cost, for the entire family’s entire lifetime. The Foundation provides comprehensive, coordinated care through evidence-based therapies, counseling, family programs, grief groups, educational resources and more, fostering resilience and hope for families. The Foundation’s focus not only assists families coping in the present, but helps them thrive in the future following a childhood cancer diagnosis.
• The road-course ace made his NASCAR debut in Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Austin Hatcher Foundation Silverado at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. He set a track record while claiming the Cometic Gasket Pole Award by 0.714 seconds. Despite a pair of early-race miscues, Zilisch battled through the field twice to earn a spirited fourth-place finish.
• In September’s UNOH 200 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Zilisch claimed his second Cometic Gasket Pole Award of his young CRAFTSMAN Truck Series career and led the race’s first 41 circuits. Contact with another truck on Lap 109 sent the No. 7 Silverado for a spin, but the team rebounded to finish 19th.
• Zilisch closed the year second in points in the eight-race ARCA Menards Series East championship. He led 408 of the 1,310 laps contested (31.1 percent), claimed seven top-five finishes, owned an average finish of 2.9 and collected victories at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway (April 26), Flat Rock (Mich.) Speedway (May 18), Iowa Speedway (June 14) and Indianapolis Raceway Park (July 19).
• Through 21 races, the No. 7 has compiled two wins with an average starting position of 10.0 and an average finish of 13.5 thus far this season. Kyle Busch led 33 laps en route the team’s first victory of 2024 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February and led a dominant 112 laps in the team’s most recent triumph at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Last week at Homestead, Connor Mosack qualified 10th and, thanks to a gutsy fuel call by crew chief Brian Pattie, crossed the line in the third position.
• In his first season at Spire Motorsports, crew chief Brian Pattie led the No. 7 team to two victories across the first seven 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.
• Pattie has called three prior CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Martinsville, highlighted by a runner-up finish with Kyle Busch in 2023. Through 29 Cup Series races atop the box at “The Paperclip,” Pattie racked up five top fives with drivers Clint Bowyer and Juan Pablo Montoya.
• Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-056 will be driven by Zilisch on Friday night. The truck has two wins in its 23 starts, visiting Victory Lane with John Hunter Nemechek at Pocono (June, 2021) and Kansas (September, 2022).

Connor Zilisch Quotes
Martinsville is an aggressive race track. How do you presume the race will play out?
“It is going to be wild. It is a playoff cutoff race, and there is a lot on the line. There’s more incentive for guys to race with heightened aggression than usual. I’m looking forward to my first trip to Martinsville and I’m hoping to keep it in one piece and be up front at the end.”
Friday will mark your fifth and final truck race of the season with Spire. What will you take from your time with the team and working with a veteran crew chief like Brian Pattie?
“I’m sad it’s coming to an end. It seems like just yesterday we were sitting on the pole at COTA. I’ve learned a lot from Brian and had so much fun getting to work with all the Spire folks. We’ve had a lot of bad luck in our four races thus far, but I’m hoping we can end our time together on a high note!”

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

• Rajah Caruth will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado in Friday’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
• Caruth and the No. 71 team qualified for the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoffs via their win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and ending the regular season fifth in points. Heading into the third and final race of the Round of 8, Caruth and Co. are seeded fifth on the playoff grid, 22 points below the Championship 4 cutline.
• In the second race in the Round of 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the Washington D.C., native started third and managed his equipment throughout the day to finish eighth.
• In April’s visit to Martinsville, Caruth started 16th and converted a race-high 43 quality passes en route to a seventh-place finish. The result marked the team’s fourth top 10 of 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.
• “Concrete Caruth” has a 5.5 average finish on concrete tracks this season with finishes of eighth, seventh, fourth and third at Bristol Motor Speedway (March 16), Martinsville (April 5), Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway (June 28) and Bristol (Sept. 19), respectively.
• The 22-year-old owns a pair of NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Martinsville, both of which resulted in 12th-place efforts with Alpha Prime Racing.
• The 2024 season has marked a career year for Caruth. He’s totaled one win, a pair of Cometic Gasket Pole Awards and five top-five finishes, all of which are the first of his young career. The 12 top-10 finishes on the season triples Caruth’s total of four in 2023, while his average starting position of 10.2 is nearly five positions better than last season and his 10.6 average finish is an impressive seven positions higher.
• With his first career CRAFTSMAN Truck Series 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 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season in 2023, earning four top-10 finishes and closing the year 16th in points.
• Crew chief Chad Walter has called four CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at the half-mile oval, highlighted by Caruth’s seventh-place effort this April.
• Caruth will pilot Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-003 for the fourth time this season. Last year, Kyle Larson led 138 laps with the truck en route to victory in the first NASCAR National Series event at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996.

Rajah Caruth Quotes
Seven drivers are battling for the three remaining spots in the Championship 4. How do you believe the aggression level will ramp up at Martinsville?
“I think it will feel just like the Cup race we will see on Sunday. You can think back to all the wild moments over the years at Martinsville to punch a ticket to the Championship 4. Jeff (Gordon) winning his final race to get to Homestead in 2015 comes to mind. Or Denny (Hamlin) and Chase (Elliott) getting together in the closing laps in 2017 while battling for the win and the Championship 4 spot. I expect nothing different.”

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

• Chase Purdy will drive Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado in Friday’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
• In March’s trip to Martinsville, Purdy qualified 11th and earned a season-best third-place finish.
• The Meridian, Miss., native has made five CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Martinsville, including one-top five and two top-10 finishes.
• The Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 will mark Purdy’s 97th CRAFTSMAN Truck Series start and 22nd behind the wheel of the No. 77 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports.
• Purdy finished third in the 11-race Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge series within the 2018 ARCA Racing Series season. He racked up six top fives and nine top 10s while achieving a sixth-place average starting position and a 6.9 average finish.
• While racing for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2023, Purdy had the best statistical season of his career. He earned three top-five, 11 top-10 and 14 top-15 finishes while notching a career-best finish of second at Texas Motor Speedway (April 1) and claiming his first career CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Cometic Gasket Pole Award at Kansas Speedway (Sept. 8). He would snag his second career pole two races later at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (Sept. 30), a race where he led a career-high 11 laps.
• Crew chief Jason Trinchere has called the shots for six NASCAR Xfinity Series events at Martinsville Speedway, highlighted by a runner-up finish with Landon Cassill in 2022. Purdy’s third-place showing in April stands as Trinchere’s lone time atop the box in CRAFTSMAN Truck Series competition at Martinsville.
• Purdy will pilot Spire Manufacturing chassis SMT-038 on Friday in its 32nd start. This chassis has led nearly 900 laps, recorded an average finish of 6.7 and visited Victory Lane seven times, most recently at Texas Motor Speedway in 2021 with John Hunter Nemechek behind the wheel.

Chase Purdy Quotes 
Martinsville is an aggressive short track, rich in history. Where does it fall in terms of your favorite tracks on the circuit?
“It is one of my two favorite tracks. I grew up racing Late Models on short tracks similar to Martinsville. I’m comfortable every time I’m out there. When we show up, I’m confident we can go out and win, especially after our great run in the spring.”
What does it take to run up front at Martinsville?
“Track position is key at Martinsville. You need to have a good day from the time you unload for inspection. Qualifying is huge and execution on pit road is a necessity. We have a strong notebook from last fall and earlier this year. We are going into the weekend looking to improve by two spots from the spring and take home a grandfather clock.”

• In four NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Spire Motorsports has logged one win, two top-five and four top-10 finishes. William Byron led a race-high 94 laps en route to victory in the 2022 Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200. The triumph marked the first for the team in CRAFTSMAN Truck Series competition in just its third race in the series. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets full time in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. An all-star driver lineup will rotate throughout the 2024 season in the No. 7 Chevy. Rajah Caruth drives the No. 71 entry and Chase Purdy rounds out the team’s fleet of Chevrolet Silverados in the No. 77.
• The Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 from Martinsville Speedway will be televised live on FS1 Friday, Nov. 1, beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 22nd of 23 NCTS races on the 2024 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series schedule will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Spire Motorsports PR