NASCAR analyst and part-time racer Corey LaJoie signed a nine-race Truck Series contract to drive for Spire Motorsports in June. He will now replace Andres Perez de Lara, who left Spire to join Niece Motorsports.

The announcement is the latest in a sequence of events that were offset after Kaden Honeycutt was fired from Niece Motorsports a few weeks ago.

Spire Motorsports Taps Corey LaJoie to Fill Crucial Seat in Season-Ending NASCAR Truck Race

Spire Motorsports announced Monday that LaJoie will replace de Lara as the driver for the last eight races of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. LaJoie signed for Spire Motorsports on Jun. 2. Under the original agreement, he was supposed to drive the No. 07 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire. He already raced at the DQS Solutions & Staffing 250 at Michigan on Jun. 7 and finished P5.

But now, he will switch to the No.77, vacated by de Lara. According to Bob Pockrass, Spire will not field the No.7 again this season and will transfer the points won by the No.7 earlier this season to the No.77.

In an official statement, Spire Motorsports President Bill Anthony explained why the team chose to part ways with de Lara. According to Anthony, the 19-year-old made “meaningful progress” at the team, but right now, Spire is uncertain about the future of the No.77.

“Andres has made meaningful progress this season, and we remain confident in his future,” Anthony said. “While we haven’t finalized our 2026 plans for the No.77 team, we wanted to give him the opportunity to look ahead and pursue other options for the remainder of this year and beyond.”

“He’s a hard worker, carries himself with humility, and brings a consistently positive attitude to the garage. He comes from a great family, and we fully expect him to continue making strides as part of Chevrolet’s driver development program. We’re proud to have been part of his journey and will continue cheering him on,” he added.

De Lara has joined Niece Motorsports for the rest of the season. After Honeycutt was let go mid-season, the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Mexico Challenge Series champion joined the team.

“Overall, I’m really excited about the upcoming races with Niece Motorsports,” said Pérez de Lara. “Making a change mid-season always has its challenges, but the team and I are working hard to be 100% by the time Richmond comes.”

“ I’m really focusing on having a good race there and feel very motivated with how the team has treated me. I feel the team is also motivated with having me there as well.”

Before leaving Spire Motorsports, de Lara raced the first 17 races of the ongoing Truck Series season and was 17th in the standings.

By NATE RYAN

Labeling statistics as “kind of an American thing,” Shane van Gisbergen avoids dwelling on his record-setting rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“It normally hits me on the plane ride home or at 4 a.m. after a few beers,” van Gisbergen said Aug. 10 after conquering the Watkins Glen International road course in New York for his fourth victory this year. “I try to reflect on it, but I also try and get to the next week pretty quick. I’ll try not to tweet at 4 a.m. this morning.”

If the laid-back Kiwi were into chest-pounding on social media, the list of heady accomplishments includes being the third driver with four consecutive Cup wins on road or street courses, joining 2020 champion Chase Elliott and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon.

It also includes being the first rookie with four victories — breaking a tie with seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson and three-time champion Tony Stewart — and the largest margin of victory (11.116 seconds) in Watkins Glen history and second largest this season behind his 16.567-second win at Mexico City that was the biggest gap from first to second since 2009.

The next achievement could be the loftiest yet for the driver from Auckland, New Zealand, who struggles massively on the ovals that comprise most of the season.

Can van Gisbergen be a legitimate championship contender in Year 1?

Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks, who put his reputation on the line and convinced sponsors to risk millions on an audacious plan to make the Cup playoffs with an inexperienced and unheralded rookie, suggests a deep run awaits the No. 88 Chevrolet.

“Shane just continues to go showcase why we’ve made a long-term commitment to him, why we brought him over here from New Zealand and built this team around him,” said Marks, who signed van Gisbergen to a multiyear extension last week. “Because in a sport like this where winning is so important and so hard to do, if you can catch some lightning in a bottle like we’ve got with SVG, you’ve got to really lean into it. That’s what we’ve done. It’s like seeing a plan come together.”

The plan now has a path to the doorstep of a Cup title.

The first round of 16 drivers is contested on three ovals, but van Gisbergen has a sizable 22-point cushion (victories are worth five points apiece for the playoffs) to overcome a 26.9 average finish on ovals.

Pared down to 12 drivers, the second round features a road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A win there would catapult a driver into the third round, where eight drivers will square off for four berths in the championship finale at Phoenix Raceway.

“He’s in a really good position,” Marks said. “I think we have a real opportunity to get to the Round of 8.”

The playoffs open at tricky Darlington Raceway, whose odd shape is among the most difficult layouts in NASCAR, but van Gisbergen is more concerned about the first-round cutoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway. He finished 38th in his April 13 debut on the Tennessee short track.

“I ran terrible there,” said van Gisbergen, who finished 20th a week earlier at Darlington. “Bristol was so far from anything I’ve ever done, and that’s a really tough place. That’s probably the biggest worry. Darlington, I feel fine, especially now that we have a lot of points. You’ve just got to have three solid weeks, and you might get through. We just have to play the averages, make no mistakes and make sure we’re in a good spot every week.”

Zilisch future

After pulling Connor Zilisch from the Cup race at Watkins Glen, Marks said it’s unclear when the Xfinity Series points leader will return from the broken collarbone he suffered while celebrating his series-high sixth victory Aug. 9. With approval from NASCAR, Zilisch could skip the final three regular-season races and still be eligible for the Xfinity playoffs.

“He’s a huge asset and a huge part of the future of the business,” Marks said. “We have to make sure that we’re not hurting any long-term opportunities by taking advantage of a short-term opportunity.”

Having raced with a broken collarbone in 2021, van Gisbergen believes Zilisch could return for the Aug. 22 race at Daytona International Speedway.

“I had a weekend off and raced the next week, so pretty much what he’s going to go through,” van Gisbergen said. “I’d get a plate put in and then take it out at the end of the year. It’s obviously going to be in pain. My biggest problem was tightening the belts. I could really feel the plate through the skin, and it was a horrible feeling. But I raced the next week and did pretty well. For sure with some good doctors and some good drugs, he’ll get through the race fine.”

Impressing the boss

With team owner Michael Jordan in attendance, Bubba Wallace finished eighth at Watkins Glen (a spot ahead of 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick) for a season-best fourth consecutive top 10. The stretch includes the Brickyard 400 victory that qualified Wallace for the playoffs and relieved enormous pressure from the No. 23 Toyota driver.

“Indy was life-changing,” Wallace said. “It allowed me to not harp on all of the mistakes that I usually make at a road course. The big boss was here, so it’s good to get MJ a couple of top 10s.”

Originally Published: August 11, 2025 at 4:56 PM EDT

Photo: Copeland Motorsports

Copeland Motorsports will expand into a seven-car Toyota GR Cup North America operation for the remainder of the season, having added Jeremy Fletcher to the single-make series beginning with this weekend’s pair of rounds at Road America.

The Mazda MX-5 Cup series veteran, who had previously driven with the Dean Copeland-led operation, will make his debut at the wheel of a Toyota GR86 Cup car.

“Joining Copeland Motorsports in the GR Cup is an exciting step for me,” said Fletcher, who is continyniung to also race in MX-5 Cup.

“It’s a great opportunity to get my name out there in another professional series, broaden my horizons, and continue developing my skills.

“I know the team well from our time together in MX-5 Cup, and I’m confident we can hit the ground running this weekend.”

Dean Copeland added: “Jeremy is an incredibly talented young driver with a strong track record in competitive environments.

“We have seen firsthand his speed, determination, and adaptability, so having him come join us in our GR Cup program was a natural fit. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can achieve in this new chapter of his career.”

Fletcher will also contest the GR Cup rounds at Barber Motorsports Park and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which closes out the season in October.

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John

Connor Zilisch, the NASCAR Xfinity Series points leader, picked up another win on Saturday but his celebrations quickly came to an unexpected end when he broke his collarbone slipping off his car.

The 19-year-old driver was climbing onto the roof of his No. 88 Chevrolet car to celebrate his latest victory at Watkins Glen International in New York but as he attempted to move, his left foot apparently got caught on the window netting.

Zilisch then tumbled awkwardly and took a hard fall onto Victory Lane.

Following the fall, Zilisch lay still on the floor before being surrounded by those in close proximity. The driver was taken to the trackside medical center and transported to a local hospital in an ambulance for further evaluation.

Zilisch later shared news of his injuries on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Thank you everybody for reaching out today. I’m out of the hospital and getting better already,” Zilisch posted Saturday evening.

“Thankfully, CT scans for my head are clear, I just have a broken collarbone. Thankful for all the medics for quick attention and grateful it wasn’t any worse.”

Zilisch leads the NASCAR Xfinity Series with 823 points – seven points clear of Justin Allgaier in second. Zilisch has won a series-leading six races this season.

The winged warriors of NASCAR’s aero wars are the stuff of legend, and now one of the most significant examples is heading to auction. Hall of Famer Bobby Allison piloted this genuine 1969 Dodge Hemi Daytona NASCAR, a one-of-one artifact from the peak of the superspeedway era. After Pat McKinney discovered it in a barn, restorers brought it back to its former glory, and it will cross the Mecum block in Monterey this August.

The History of this NASCAR Dodge Hemi Daytona

This is not just a tribute car; it’s the real deal, and it has the paperwork to prove it. A handwritten letter from Bobby Allison himself, dated November 10, 1999, proves the car’s incredible history. In the letter, he confirms he personally inspected and verified its authenticity. This is the very car that, on August 24, 1969, Allison drove for four laps at more than 200 mph during testing before the Daytona’s official competition debut.

A Pure NASCAR Build

Under the hood sits a period-correct, 426 ci Hemi V8 that the legendary drag racer Dick Landy built and dyno-tested to produce 650 horsepower. It’s a full-on race engine, featuring a dry-sump oil system and the iconic single four-barrel “Bath Tub” racing intake manifold. The rest of the 1969 Dodge Hemi Daytona is just as serious, with a four-speed manual transmission, a heavy-duty 9-inch Ford rearend, and a full NASCAR performance suspension with dual shocks at all four corners.

A Concours-Winning Restoration

After Pat McKinney pulled it from a barn, the car underwent a full restoration. The restoration team finished it in the correct red and gold Coca-Cola No. 22 livery that Bobby Allison ran in that era. The quality of the restoration is so high that the car took home a First Place award at the prestigious 2005 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, a rare achievement for a rough-and-tumble race car. The LeMay Car Museum also recently displayed it, cementing its status as a top-tier collector piece.

An Irreplaceable Piece of History

This Daytona is a direct link to the days when the Ford and Chrysler went to war on the superspeedways, pushing the boundaries of speed and aerodynamics. The very legends who created and drove it authenticated this machine with its ironclad history. With an auction estimate of $1.1 to $1.4 million, this car represents a rare opportunity to own a genuine piece of American racing folklore, a one-of-one artifact from the wildest era in NASCAR history.