Spire Motorsports names new NASCAR Cup competition director

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Spire Motorsports named its new competition director for its three NASCAR Cup Series teams, beginning in 2026.

Matt McCall, who previously served as Brad Keselowski’s crew chief at RFK Racing before joining Spire as their director of vehicle performance in 2025, will move up to the role of competition director.

This move quashes a rumor about Joe Gibbs Racing competition director Chris Gabehart leaving JGR for the same role at Spire. Reports indicate, however, that Gabehart is out at JGR ahead of 2026. 

After speculation about its future, Spire’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team will return in 2026.

Brian Pattie will be the No. 7 team’s crew chief and Chad Walter will be the No. 77 team’s crew chief. Kevin “Bono” Manion is back as competition director.

In the NASCAR Cup Series, Ryan Sparks will focus solely on being the crew chief for the No. 7 team and new driver Daniel Suarez in 2026. Sparks first joined the No. 7 team in 2021 with Corey LaJoie and rejoined the team with driver Justin Haley after Rodney Childers left the team in early-2025.

Meanwhile, Spire’s other Cup Series crew chiefs will stay put in 2026. Travis Peterson will work with Michael McDowell for a second year at the No. 71 team while Luke Lambert and Carson Hocevar will return for a third year at the No. 77 team.

Peterson moved from RFK Racing to Front Row Motorsports in 2023 to become McDowell’s crew chief. Their success at FRM spurred McDowell to retain Peterson as his crew chief when he moved to Spire in 2025. 

Lambert is a veteran NASCAR Cup Series crew chief who spent eight seasons as a crew chief for Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman and Daniel Hemric at Richard Childress Racing and two seasons as a crew chief for Chris Buescher and Newman again at RFK Racing.

Then, in 2022, Lambert went back to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with Noah Gragson in 2022. While Lambert and Gragson had a stellar season and moved up to the Cup Series with Legacy Motor Club in 2023, the 2023 season turned out to be a disaster even before an indefinite suspension sideline Gragson.

In the interim, Hocevar was paired with Lambert for eight races — leading to their current pairing at Spire.

Hocevar and Lambert have seen success, nearly winning multiple races, including the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the races at Nashville Superspeedway and Michigan in June.

Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.

A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.

Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.

Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com