Spire Motorsports - Chicago Street Course Race Advance: Grant Park 165

In five NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Chicago Street Course, Spire Motorsports has logged one top-15 and two top-20 finishes. Corey LaJoie earned a team-best 14th-place finish in the inaugural Grant Park 165 in July 2023. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet ZL1s in the Cup Series for Justin Haley, Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
The Grant Park 165 will be televised live on TNT and streamed on MAX, Sunday, July 6 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 19th of 36 points-paying races on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

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

Justin Haley will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165.
Haley has recorded two Cup Series starts at the Chicago Street Course, highlighted by a second-place finish in the inaugural 2023 event where he started 37th and led 23 laps. Over those two starts, the 26-year-old Cup Series regular has logged a 9.0 average finish, posting one top-five and two top-20 finishes.
Chicago marks the third-of-six road course events of the 2025 season. He finished 16th and 17th, respectively, in the series’ stops at Circuit of the Americas and Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Last week in Atlanta, Haley started 22nd, led three laps and raced with the leaders for much of the night, but ultimately came home 23rd after being collected in a late-race incident.
Haley is one of just 41 drivers to have won races in all three of NASCAR’s National Touring Series. The driver of Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevy has collected one win in the NASCAR Cup Series, four in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and three in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.
The Indiana native is a veteran of 162 Cup Series starts and has earned one top-10, completed 4,513 of 4,571 laps (95 percent) and recorded a 22.3 average finish in 2025. Over the course of his career, Haley has notched one win, five top fives, 16 top 10s and led 106 laps in NASCAR’s premier division.
In total, Haley has made 61 Cup Series starts for Spire Motorsports, including his first start in NASCAR’s premier division at Talladega Superspeedway on his 20th birthday.

Justin Haley Quote

What are your thoughts heading to Chicago?
“Chicago is one of my favorite races of the year. The atmosphere and crowd are incredible, so it’s always a special weekend. I’ve been looking forward to the Chicago Street Race all season. Our cars were fast at both road races this season, so I’m eager to see how we’ll do on the street course.”

Atop the No. 7 Box – Crew Chief Ryan Sparks

Ryan Sparks serves in a dual role as both Spire Motorsports Competition Director and crew chief for driver Justin Haley. He was first paired with Haley at Bristol Motor Speedway in September 2024.
The Winston Salem, N.C., native has called 184 NASCAR Cup Series races where he’s earned three top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
In total, Sparks has called two Chicago Street races, both with driver Corey LaJoie and calls a 2023 14th-place finish a venue best.

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

Michael McDowell will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 DePaul Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ Grant Park 165 through the streets of The Windy City.
The Glendale, Ariz., native owns two starts at the 12-turn, 2.2-mile street course, earning one top-five and two top-10 finishes in NASCAR Cup Series competition. He qualified third and registered a venue-best fifth-place finish in last year’s contest.
The 2021 Daytona 500 champion will have a familiar voice on the spotter stand this week where McDowell’s cousin, Jason Noll, will assist primary spotter Michael Fisher during the Cup Series’ third visit to Grant Park.
Across his two attempts at the Chicago Street Course, the father-of-five has an average start of 4.5, a sixth-place average finish and has yet to finish outside the top seven.
McDowell survived what seemed to be a full-field wreck in last weekend’s race in Atlanta, and after considerable work to repair damage to the rear suspension of the Delaware Life Chevy, McDowell and Co., rallied to earn a hard-fought 18th-place result.
The two-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner owns an 18.0 average start and a 20.7 average finish at road courses over 18 seasons, a career-best at track configuration.
McDowell collected the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Road America, where he led 24 of 48 laps on an overcast Saturday afternoon, making the trip to Victory Lane in his lone start behind the wheel of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 Chevrolet.
DePaul University will serve as the primary sponsor for this weekend’s 75-lap contest. An educational fixture of Chicago, DePaul University is the largest Catholic university in the United States offering over 22,000 students a place to study 130 undergraduate and 170 graduate programs.
As part of Spire Motorsports’ partnership with DePaul University, Chicago Street Race promoters have provided DePaul students a 20-percent discount on select race tickets.
In collaboration with the NASCAR Chicago Street Race, DePaul’s School of Hospitality and Sports Business introduced a special topics course, HSB 198: A NASCAR Experience. As part of the curriculum, students will play an integral role in designing and executing the newly created College Tailgate at Turn 7—a fan engagement event tailored to college students during the race. Further anchoring this collaboration in the local community, the longstanding NASCAR internship program will continue to empower DePaul students and alumni, offering them leadership roles and on-the-ground experience during one of Chicago’s most prominent sporting events.
DePaul University provides exceptional academics and real-world experiences to prepare students for a changing world. With more than 21,000 students across more than 300 academic programs, DePaul has two campus locations in Chicago. Students richly benefit from the city’s many opportunities. In turn, DePaul is one of the forces that shapes Chicago’s future. The university was founded in 1898 by the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians), a Roman Catholic religious community dedicated to following the ideals of St. Vincent de Paul. DePaul is among the nation’s top universities for diversity because of its long tradition of providing a high-quality education to students from a broad range of backgrounds. DePaul is one of the largest private, nonprofit universities in the Midwest and one of the largest Catholic universities in the nation. Visit DePaul.edu to learn more.
DePaul’s 15 intercollegiate athletic teams compete in the NCAA Division I, BIG EAST Conference. DePaul University began sponsoring athletics teams in the early 1900’s, with intercollegiate athletics coming to fruition in the 1920’s. Legendary coach Ray Meyer helped put DePaul on the map in the 1970’s as the men’s basketball program helped elevate the university to national prominence. Through a bold new vision for the future, DePaul Athletics looks to become the premier program in the BIG EAST Conference through a focus on winning championships with integrity, building champion students through education and intentional development, and serving as a visible ambassador for DePaul University and the Chicago community. DePaul Athletics has a storied tradition and is uniquely positioned to support the university’s mission and commitment to academic excellence, real world experience, community engagement, and systemic change. Further, the department is steadfast in its commitment to grow the university’s national exposure and enrollment through athletics. Visit DePaulBlueDemons.com to learn more.
The No. 71 team earned a $100,000 payday and a trip to Victory Lane after winning the Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge during NASCAR’s All-Star Weekend at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. The crew’s blazing 12.587-second stop topped all entries for both the NASCAR All-Star Open and NASCAR All-Star Race, earning the title of the fastest team on pit road.
McDowell has claimed three Xfinity Fastest Lap awards this season, clocking the fastest lap in the Daytona 500, Phoenix Raceway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
McDowell secured Spire Motorsports’ first Busch Light Pole Award at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. His 28.833-second lap marks the fastest lap in NASCAR’s seventh-generation Cup Series car (2022-present) at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval.

Michael McDowell Quote

What are your thoughts heading back to a track where you have back-to-back top-10’s and how do you feel about NASCAR’s attempt at street racing?
“I am looking forward to Chicago, it is a fun track and hopefully we can get a smooth weekend with no rain. It is a place we have finished in the top five and top 10 a couple of times, and I feel confident going there. Our road course program is getting better each race and I really feel like we are building on something. We still have things to learn, but I feel like going into Chicago and Sonoma back-to-back gives us a couple of good opportunities to win, and get into the playoffs.”

Atop the No. 71 Box – Crew Chief Travis Peterson

Crew chief Travis Peterson heads to Chicago having called 12 NASCAR Cup Series races on road courses. Peterson called McDowell’s win in the 2023 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 34-year-old Cup Series topkick has earned a 14.7 average finish at road courses, his best average finish at any track type with a minimum of 10 attempts.
Peterson has called 95 races in NASCAR’s premier series, securing one win, five top fives, 19 top 10s and seven pole awards.

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

Carson Hocevar is back behind the wheel of the No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet ZL1 for Spire Motorsports as the NASCAR Cup Series takes to the streets of Chicago for the Grant Park 165. Sunday’s race will mark the third event held at the 12-turn, 2.2-mile street course that will see drivers race down Michigan Avenue, past the Buckingham Memorial Fountain and through Grant Park.
Hocevar started 13th in last year’s event Grant Park 165, his first start in the Chicago Street Race, and finished 24th.
In two road course starts this season, Hocevar has a best finish of 13th earned at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Hocevar owns a total of seven Cup Series starts on road courses highlighted by a third-place effort in last year’s Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

Carson Hocevar Quote

How does a street course differ from the traditional road courses the Cup Series typically visits?
”The biggest difference, which is also the most obvious, is we’re racing on a surface that sees high traffic on a daily basis compared to a purpose-built track that holds events a few times a year. The City of Chicago and NASCAR do a great job making sure the course is prepared for us and we’ve seen improvement each year the series has gone back to Chicago. Because we’re racing on streets that are built for people to navigate through a city, the corners are usually a bit more narrow and that’s where we’ve seen a lot of incidents in the past. You run out of room quickly when everyone is fighting for the preferred line. Weather has been a factor the last two years so I guess we’ll see what comes of that, but that’s pretty normal for this time of year, anywhere we race. I’m really excited for this weekend’s race. There’s always a lot of action on track and a lot of fun things to do in the city.”

Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Luke Lambert

Crew chief Luke Lambert will call his 39th Cup Series road course race from atop the pit box, including the 2023 and 2024 races in Chicago.
While the Mount Airy, N.C., native has yet to visit Victory Lane as the winning crew chief on a road course, he’s collected a total of two top-five and four top-10 finishes in the Cup Series and four top fives and seven top 10s in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

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 May 30, 2025, when Rajah Caruth took the checkered flag in the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.

In 2025, Spire Motorsports campaigns the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolets in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team also fields 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.