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NASCAR Cup Series

Spire Motorsports South Point 400 Race Advance 2026

By PGORDON

  • In 31 previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS), Spire Motorsports has one pole and 10 top-20 finishes. Justin Haley earned the team's best result in March 2025 with a 14th-place effort. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the Cup Series with Daniel Suárez, Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar, respectively.
  • The NASCAR Cup Series will contest the fifth race of The Chase Sunday at LVMS. Hocevar and Suárez sit 11th and 16th, respectively in the championship standings. McDowell is 20th in points following last week's race at Kansas Speedway.
  • The South Point 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be televised live on USA Network Sunday, Oct. 4 beginning at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 31st of 36 points-paying races on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series calendar will also be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Daniel Suárez - Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

  • Daniel Suárez will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS).
  • Freeway Insurance was established in 1987. Freeway Insurance is one of the largest and fastest-growing personal lines insurance brokers in the United States, offering coverage through a “click, call, or come in” approach that connects customers nationwide. The company continually researches, grows, and diversifies its product offerings to stay responsive to the evolving insurance market. Freeway provides a wide range of options—from basic to premium coverage—in auto, truck, commercial vehicle, homeowners, renters, small business, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, fire, and flood insurance.  In 2008, Freeway Insurance became part of Confie, the nation’s leading personal lines insurance distribution company. Customers can access Freeway Insurance through neighborhood offices, online at www.freeway.com , opens in a new tab, or by calling (800) 300-0227.
  • In 18 Cup Series starts at LVMS, , opens in a new tab Suárez has earned two top-five, four top-10 and 13 top-20 finishes. He’s also led 168 laps, the most he’s led at any track on the Cup Series schedule. In his last 10 races at LVMS, the veteran driver has finished inside the top 20 in all but one.
  • In March’s trip at the “Diamond in the Desert”, Suárez started 13th and ultimately finished 18th.
  • Last fall at LVMS, Suárez ran inside the top 15 for much of the day but finished 20th after pit-road miscues hampered his day. 
  • The No. 7 Chevrolet team has delivered a 15.3 average finish in 30 races this season. Suárez has logged one win, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes, including 22 top 20s. He enters Sunday’s race ranked 16th in the standings, 13 positions better than he was at this point last season.
  • Last week at Kansas Speedway, Suárez started 14th and spent a portion of the day racing inside the top 10, before ultimately finishing14th, to earn his 16th top-15 finish of the season.
  • The newly minted father brings 352 Cup Series starts of experience to the field, along with victories at Sonoma Raceway (June 2022), Atlanta Motor Speedway (February 2024) and Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 2026). A 10-year veteran of NASCAR’s premier division, he has earned 27 top-five and 82 top-10 finishes since making his Cup Series debut in 2017. Suárez has also led 949 laps and collected three career poles.

Daniel Suárez Quote

Heading back to Vegas, what are your thoughts on the fall race?

“Vegas has been a really good track for me over the years and I feel like we’ve been able to find a good balance there. We’ve had some strong runs and led a lot of laps, so hopefully we can put everything together again this weekend. It’s a long race, but I’m looking forward to it and hopefully we can put ourselves in position to fight for a good finish.”

Ryan Sparks - Crew Chief, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

  • Ryan Sparks is the crew chief of Spire Motorsports' No. 7 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with driver Daniel Suárez in the NASCAR Cup Series.
  • Sparks has called 231 Cup Series races, earning five top-five and 12 top-10 finishes since making his debut in NASCAR's premier division atop the pit box in 2020.
  • The Winston-Salem, N.C., native’s best result at LVMS came in Spring 2022, where he led the No. 7 team to a 15th-place finish. Sparks has called 12 races at LVMS and overall, led the charge in 110 races on intermediate tracks, resulting in one victory, three top-five and six top-10 finishes.
  • Sparks joined Spire Motorsports in 2021, when he served as both Crew Chief and Competition Director, leading the organization’s competitive and technical efforts. In 2026, Sparks serves in a singular role as crew chief for Daniel Suárez. He brings more than a decade of experience across all three of NASCAR’s national touring series, highlighted by 13 seasons at Richard Childress Racing and contributions to title-winning campaigns in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (2011) and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (2013).

Michael McDowell - Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

  • Michael McDowell will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Fly Alliance Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s South Point 400.
  • Fly Alliance is a global private aviation company providing on-demand charter, jet card memberships, aircraft management, maintenance, and parts services. Headquartered at Orlando (Fla.) Executive Airport, the company serves clients across North America, Europe, and the Middle East with a commitment to precision, performance, and concierge-level service. Led by CEO, President and Co-Founder Christopher Tasca, Fly Alliance is built on innovation and operational excellence. Chris brings those same values to Tasca Motorsports, where racing serves as a natural extension of the Fly Alliance brand and its pursuit of performance on and off the track.
  • After 25 Cup Series starts , opens in a new tab at LVMS, McDowell is still searching for his first top-15 finish at the popular mile-and-a-half oval, located just 17 miles north of the famous Las Vegas Strip. In March 2025, McDowell won pole for the Pennzoil 400 and went on the finish 16th. The top starting spot marked Spire Motorsports’ first Busch Light Pole Award after McDowell toured the racetrack in 28.833 seconds (186.961 mph). He matched that same finish when the series returned for the second time later that fall. In the division’s most recent visit this March, the veteran racer started 30th and finished 26th.
  • While McDowell originally hails from Glendale, Ariz., he and his older brother, Billy, moved to Las Vegas while he was still a teenager to pursue opportunities in the karting business where they built, sold and raced karts.
  • The 2021 Daytona 500 Champion has made a pair of NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at LVMS, highlighted by a sixth-place finish in 2009.
  • Last weekend at Kansas Speedway, the father-of-five started 22nd, persevered through handing issues, but came away with a disappointing 27th-place finish.
  • Over the first 30 races of the season, McDowell has led 24 laps while logging three top-five and six top-10 finishes. He’s recorded a 16.7 average start, a 19.1 average finish and currently sits 20th in points.

Michael McDowell Quotes

Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been a challenge for you in the Cup Series. What are your thoughts heading into this weekend?  

“Building on our 1.5-mile program is important with Las Vegas and Charlotte coming on back-to-back weekends. We have had some speed on those types of tracks. We sat on the pole at Las Vegas last spring, and Daniel (teammate Daniel Suárez) won at Charlotte this year. We had mechanical issues in March so that kept us from finishing better. We certainly expect to see some improvement this weekend.”

You’ve also got some personal history in Las Vegas.

“Outside of the racetrack, Vegas was an important part of my career. It is where my brother and I first took the first steps in my professional racing journey. We built and raced go-karts not too far from LVMS, and I learned so much during that time. That’s an important reason I always look forward to racing in Las Vegas.”

Travis Peterson - Crew Chief, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

  • Travis Peterson serves as the Crew Chief for driver Michael McDowell and Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series.
  • Across 142 starts serving in the crew chief role , opens in a new tab, Peterson has captured one win, eight poles, 10 top-five, and 29 top-10 finishes.
  • In seven previous races at LVMS, Peterson has led his team to one pole, four top-20, and six top-25 finishes, all with McDowell at the wheel.
  • Peterson is a mechanical engineering graduate of the Williams States Lee College of Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The West Bend, Wis., native earned his degree in 2012.

Carson Hocevar - Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

  • Carson Hocevar will race Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s South Point 400, the fifth of 10 races in The Chase.
  • Spectrum is a suite of advanced communications services offered by Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR), the leading broadband and video company in the nation and the fastest growing mobile provider in its footprint, with services available to more than 70 million homes and small to large businesses across 45 states. Founded in 1993, Charter has evolved from providing cable TV to streaming, and from high-speed Internet to a converged broadband, WiFi and mobile experience. Over the Spectrum Fiber Broadband Network and supported by our 100% U.S.-based employees, the Company offers Seamless Connectivity and Entertainment with Spectrum Internet®, Mobile, TV and Voice products. 
  • Hocevar and the No. 77 team, alongside teammate Daniel Suarez and Spire Motorsports' No. 7 team, are competing for 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship honors. The opportunity marks the first appearance in The Chase for Hocevar and the first time a Spire Motorsports team will compete for a Cup Series title. Through four of 10 races in The Chase, the No. 77 team sits 11th in points, just 10 markers behind ninth.
  • Through 30 races, the Portage, Mich., native has already set career-highs in multiple categories:
    • Season-to-date results - one win, six top fives, 11 top 10s
    • 198 laps led
    • 785 points scored
    • 12.2 average start
    • 16.3 average finish
  • The 23-year-old driver has been one of the most improved on the circuit throughout the 2026 campaign. The team’s average starting position has improved by over five spots compared to this point in 2025, while its average finish has improved by 4.4 positions. Hocevar is on pace to improve his average finish by 5.3 positions by season’s end – the fourth-best of all drivers – while his 11th position in points is a 13-position improvement compared to the end of 2025 – the third-best improvement across the field.
  • Hocevar owns six career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas, , opens in a new tab where he secured a venue-best 15th-place finish last March.
  • In the series’ first of two 2026 visits to the “Diamond in the Desert” in March, Hocevar started 19th and worked his way inside the top 10 by Stage 2. Unfortunately, a tire issue with five laps remaining in the second segment forced him to pit road under green-flag conditions where he lost a lap to the leaders, ultimately leaving him 22nd in the final rundown.
  • The six-time CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race winner owns four previous starts at LVMS, registering a series/venue-best seventh-place result in March 2023.
  • Last Sunday at Kansas Speedway, the driver of the No. 77 Chevy started and finished fourth in Stage 1, scoring seven stage points. He continued to manage top-10 track position in Stage 2 until contact on a Lap-121 restart left him with right-front and splitter damage to his machine. The No. 77 team worked to complete repairs, but the change in balance and grip made advancing through the field difficult, ultimately leaving Hocevar three laps off the pace, with a 33rd-place finish.
  • Hocevar registered his first-career victory earlier this season at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. He survived a late-race restart with three laps remaining and brought home the checkered flag to register Spire Motorsports’ second Cup Series win and first since the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400.

Carson Hocevar Quote

Coming off a tough week at Kansas, are you optimistic looking at the remainder of the schedule?

“I think so. There are some really good tracks coming up for us. Last week we were fast until we got caught up in that crash. It looked like a bunch of guys in the Chevrolet camp showed a lot of speed too, so I think there is a lot to look forward to.”

Luke Lambert - Crew Chief, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

  • Luke Lambert is the Crew Chief of Spire Motorsports' No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series with driver Carson Hocevar.
  • Lambert is in his third season at Spire Motorsports and fourth with Hocevar. The duo has logged two pole awards, one win, nine top-five and 26 top-10 finishes in 110 races.
  • The 16-year veteran crew chief has called 20 NASCAR Cup Series events at LVMS, earning one top five and four top 10s, highlighted by a third-place finish with Ryan Newman in March 2015.
  • In three NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races at Las Vegas, Lambert-prepared cars have yet to finish outside the top-three. He and driver Noah Gragson earned a pair of runner-up finishes at the venue in 2022.

About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports fields full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing.

The team, co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executive Jeff Dickerson and TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss, 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 July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado its first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent victory came May 24, 2026, when Daniel Suárez won the NASCAR Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

In 2026, Spire Motorsports campaigns the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Nos. 7 and 77 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The Mooresville, N.C., organization also fields the No. 77 410 sprint car in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing competition.