Spire Motorsports Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube Race Report

Justin Haley – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

Justin Haley started 33rd for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Winamac, Ind., native lost communication with the team early in the event and spent several laps on the track without radio transmissions until the team could diagnose and address the issue. The 25-year-old narrowly avoided a race-ending incident by splitting a pair of spinning cars in Turn Three on Lap 195. The No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet restarted outside the top 20 on the ensuing restart, returning to green flag conditions with under 70 laps remaining. An on-track incident set up a 20-lap shootout, for which Haley restarted 18th. In what marked the event’s final restart, the driver pressed forward to cross the line in the 14th position.

Justin’s Post-Race Comments

“We had a strong Gainbridge Chevrolet this weekend. We lost the radio in Stage One and had a couple pit road issues that set us back. Despite the circumstances, our No. 7 team kept fighting and recovered for a decent day. Thank you to Gainbridge for their support and everyone at Spire Motorsports for all their hard work. Our focus shifts to Homestead next week.”

Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

Michael McDowell earned Spire Motorsports’ first Busch Light Pole Award in the team’s short history during Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session and led the field to the green flag for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The No. 71 team fought a potential issue with the diffuser and underbody for the bulk of Stage One and Stage Two. To add to the difficult circumstances, as the Group 1001 Chevrolet ZL1 hit pit road for the first time on Lap 32, an unfortunately timed caution eliminated the much deserved track position for the Arizona driver. After making several attempts at solving the issue, the team discovered the air pressure-sensitive flap on the rear diffuser had been triggered, causing a blockage to the diffuser’s central channel and hindering the car’s rear downforce. As the crew had solved the issue, the father of five was nabbed for speeding on pit road, forcing him to the tail of the field for the Lap 120 restart. At the end of Stage Two, crew chief Travis Peterson made the call for the team to remain on the race track, as most of the field pitted, in order to stay head on tire strategy. The 40-year-old once again brought the field to the green flag, totaling five laps led on the afternoon. A caution on Lap 187 allowed McDowell to hit pit road without losing the valuable track position they had gained. Over the course of the final 75 laps, the Glendale, Ariz., native remained inside the top five until a yellow flag with 20 laps remaining forced the field to pit road and bunched them up one final time. When the late-race restart turned physical, McDowell was shuffled outside the top 10. He hung on to cross the line in 16th.

Michael’s Post-Race Comments

“It was an up-and-down day for the No. 71 Group 1001 team. We had an issue early on with the diffuser flap falling down, but didn’t figure it out the end of Stage Two. Once we fixed that, we were back in the game but were a couple adjustments behind. I thought we would have a shot at the top 10, but the car got really tight on the last run. It’s unfortunate to lose spots at the end. You never want to do that. We’ll keep building our notebooks and growing together and we will get it right.”

Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1

Carson Hocevar started 25th for the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway but found himself in the top 10 within the first 30 laps. The driver of the Delaware Life Chevrolet ZL1 was seventh when the first caution flag was displayed on Lap 32. He reported his car was too tight on exit and made a trip to pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment. Hocevar continued to run inside the top 10 when the race returned to green and collected a total of eight stage points for a ninth-place finish in Stage One and a fifth-place effort in Stage Two. The Portage, Mich., native began the Final Stage in 23rd after he was blocked in his pit stall and lost positions. Once again, Hocevar powered to the front, reaching the 10th position 12 laps into the run on Lap 172. The field saw the seventh yellow flag of the day on Lap 187 and the No. 77 team elected to pit for right-side tires. Hocevar made contact with a competitor when leaving his stall, forcing to the team to return to pit road for left-side tires and repairs before the race resumed. As a result of the damage, Hocevar struggled to maintain track position throughout the remainder of the race due to the damage and ultimately made a green-flag pit stop for adjustments that put the No. 77 two laps down. The 22-year-old driver crossed the finished line in 30th.

Carson’s Post-Race Comments
“We had another really fast Delaware Life Chevrolet this weekend. I hate that we didn’t get the finish to show it, but it gives us a good place to start making the little changes that will get us a win soon . I’m really looking forward to Homestead next week and the opportunity to turn things around for the No. 77 team.”

Up Next…

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next Sunday, March 23 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Straight Talk Wireless 400 will be televised live on FS1 at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

The sixth of 36 points-paying events on the Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

To stay up-to-date on all the latest news and exclusive content, follow Spire Motorsports on Facebook, X and Instagram, and visit Spire-Motorsports.com.

About Spire Motorsports …

Spire Motorsports earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on Feb. 22, 2025, when Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

In 2025, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team will also field the Nos. 07, 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and the No. 77 Chevrolet in the ARCA Menards Series in select events.