In three NASCAR Cup Series starts at Iowa Speedway, Spire Motorsports has logged one top-15 finish. Carson Hocevar earned a team-best 14th-place finish in last season’s inaugural Iowa Corn 350. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet ZL1s in the Cup Series for Justin Haley, Michael McDowell and Hocevar, respectively.
The Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol will be televised live on USA Sunday, Aug. 3 beginning at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 22nd 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 Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway.
In last season’s inaugural Cup Series visit to Iowa, Haley started 19th and raced his way to a respectable 13th-place finish.
Last weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), the Winamac, Ind., native finished 11th, a venue best. He led 15 laps and survived multiple attempts at NASCAR Overtime to collect the result. He crossed the line behind teammate Carson Hocevar, who secured a team-best 10th-place finish at IMS.
In the first 16 events of the 2025 Cup Series campaign, Haley tallied an average finishing position of 22.5. The No. 7 team has improved to a 17.83 average finish in the last six races, dating back to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.
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In three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Iowa, Haley recorded a venue best eight-place effort in July 2019. He finished 10th in his best of two CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at the 0.875-mile facility.
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.
Haley is a veteran of 166 Cup Series starts and has notched one win, five top fives, 16 top 10s and led 118 laps in NASCAR’s premier division.
Justin Haley Quote
Coming off your best career result at Indianapolis, your home track, what are your thoughts heading into Iowa?
“Iowa was one of my favorites last season and I’ve always enjoyed racing there. I have raced at Iowa in all three NASCAR series and have good seat time there. We’ve had a good stretch lately with the No. 7 team and we’re building momentum each week. I feel like we are in position for a good result this weekend.”
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 the No. 7 team. He and driver Justin Haley were first paired up at Kansas Speedway in September 2024.
Sparks has called one Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway and is credited a top 25 in last season’s Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol.
The Winston Salem, N.C., native has called 189 NASCAR Cup Series races where he’s earned three top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1
Michael McDowell will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet ZL1 in Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway.
In last season’s inaugural NASCAR Cup Series event at “The Fastest Short Track on the Planet,” McDowell started 22nd and finished 23rd.
The Glendale, Ariz., native tallied eight Xfinity Series starts at the 0.875-mile oval, collecting two top fives and seven top 10s, highlighted by a runner-up finish in August 2014.
While transitioning from open-wheel racing to stock cars, McDowell made a pair of ARCA Menards Series appearances at Iowa in 2006 and 2007, finishing seventh and second, respectively.
Bell Salvage will be featured as an associate sponsor for this weekend. The Ames, Iowa company, located just under an hour from Iowa Speedway, will be present on the rear quarter panels of the No. 71 Chevrolet ZL1.
The No. 71 team earned a $100,000 payday and a trip to Victory Lane after winning the Mechanix Wear Pit Crew Challenge during May’s NASCAR 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.
The 40-year-old has claimed three Xfinity Fastest Lap awards this season, clocking the fastest lap in the Daytona 500, Phoenix Raceway and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The team is one of three in the series to tally three or more bonus points via the program.
The No. 71 team secured Spire Motorsports’ first Busch Light Pole Award at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. The 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. Three weekends ago, the team also earned the first stage win in team history during the Grant Park 165 on the streets of downtown Chicago.
Michael McDowell Quote
What did you learn at Iowa last year and what are you expecting to see this Sunday?
“Iowa was great. It was a fun weekend. I’ve raced there a bunch in Xfinity and ARCA. Even in years when I wasn’t running full-time in Xfinity, I’d still do the standalone races for (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) or whoever.
It was honestly my best track in Xfinity from a results standpoint, but going back there last year—it was so different. The track had aged in some areas, but then there was new asphalt and patches. It was a very different racetrack.
It was still fun. Big crowd, big event. Going back this time, I think everyone is looking forward to having their cars drive a little better, getting over that bump in Turn 1 a little smoother, and not being so caught off guard by how challenging the track is. It’s another big opportunity for us.”
Atop the No. 71 Box – Crew Chief Travis Peterson
Crew chief Travis Peterson calls the shots for Michael McDowell and the No. 71 team, and will stand atop the “war wagon” for the second time at the Newton-oval.
During his time as an Xfinity Series race engineer at JR Motorsports, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte engineering graduate collected one top five and three top 10s, highlighted by a fourth-place result with Chase Elliott in May 2014.
Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ZL1
Carson Hocevar will pilot the No. 77 MINER Chevrolet ZL1 for Spire Motorsports in Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway. The event will mark Hocevar’s second NASCAR Cup Series start at the 0.875-mile track following a 14th-place effort in his first outing last year.
Hocevar has made 11 Cup Series starts on tracks measuring less than one-mile in distance. His lone top-10 finish on short tracks came in August 2024 when he piloted his Spire Chevy to eighth at the 0.75-mile Richmond Raceway, a track that served as 2013 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Rusty Wallace’s inspiration for the layout of Iowa.
In the ARCA Menards Series, Hocevar started seventh and finished fourth in the 2019 Fans with Benefits 150.
The Portage, Mich., native earned a 10th-place finish in last Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the best finish for both Hocevar and Spire Motorsports at the 2.5-mile oval and marked the driver’s fifth top-10 finish of the 2025 season.
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Carson Hocevar Quote
How do you feel about the Cup Series’ second visit to Iowa Speedway?
“I feel pretty good about it. We finished well there last year, and for the most part, we’ve been able to improve on those good finishes when we go back places. Iowa is a really fun track and the fans are always so excited when we come to town. It’s a great atmosphere that matches the racing on track.”
Atop the No. 77 Box – Crew Chief Luke Lambert
Like his driver, crew chief Luke Lambert will call just his second NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa this weekend.
The Mount Airy, N.C., native has called 68 short track races over his 13-year career in the Cup Series, resulting in four top-five and 18 top-10 finishes.
The 44-year-old has been atop the box for two previous NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Iowa, both coming in 2012. On May 20, 2012, Lambert led Elliott Sadler to the pole position and a runner-up finish. When the series returned to Iowa later that August, Sadler started from the pole and led 60 laps en route to the win.
Spire Motorsports PR