Motorsports
Spire Confirms Truck Return, Announces Promotions
Spire Motorsports announced its crew chief lineup and competition director roles for the 2026 season on Dec. 12 and in doing so confirmed its return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
The team will field a pair of trucks, the Nos. 7 and 77, in the series alongside its previously announced three-car NASCAR Cup Series effort.
Both the Cup crew chief lineup (Ryan Sparks, Travis Peterson and Luke Lambert) and Truck roster (Brian Pattie for the No. 7, Chad Walter for the No. 77) remain unchanged.
2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Awards
Matt McCall, who had been the team’s director of vehicle performance, is now the Cup competition director, while Bono Manion, previously crew chief of the team’s No. 71 entry in the Truck Series, will be its Truck competition director.
Spire has not yet announced who will drive its Truck entries. In 2025, the Nos. 7 and 77 were piloted by a variety of drivers, while the No. 71 was driven by Rajah Caruth, who has since moved to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Executive Editor at Frontstretch
Kevin Rutherford is the executive editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2025 after being the managing editor since 2015, and serving on the editing staff since 2013.
At his day job, he’s a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio — you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.