As Spire moves forward, Haley says Childers’ departure ‘was a fit thing’

Posted on April 26, 2025April 26, 2025 by Zack Albert

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Ryan Sparks’ hiatus from atop the pit box lasted all of nine NASCAR Cup Series races. The Spire Motorsports competition director had shed his crew-chief duties in the offseason to focus more on his primary role, helping to shape an organization that’s grown steadily and aggressively in recent years.

Now, at least in the interim after a personnel shake-up, he’s back in a familiar place.

Justin Haley heads into Talladega Superspeedway with a new-look No. 7 Chevrolet crew behind him for Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 (3 p.m. ET FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The team parted ways with veteran crew chief Rodney Childers after the Cup Series’ off weekend, ending their partnership just a quarter of the way through the Cup Series season.

Haley heads into Sunday’s 500-miler ranked 23rd in the Cup Series points, with one top-10 finish (10th at Homestead-Miami) through the opening nine races. That stretch included at least a promising run to 13th place at Bristol Motor Speedway in the circuit’s most recent event, but besides the performance, the 25-year-old driver said the move was an unexpected change, indicating that chemistry was a prime factor in making the move and saying, “it was a fit thing.”

“Nothing super wrong that stood out,” said Haley, who starts 37th in Sunday’s 39-car field. “I think at the end of the day, we’re in the Cup Series to compete, and on a Sunday in the Cup Series, everything has to be right. If one little thing isn’t right, you’re not going to win races, and that’s what we’re trying to do. That’s what Spire is trying to do. They’ve been putting some much time, effort and resources, money, ability, put people in the right places to try to win races. I don’t think they’re scared to do anything to win a race. …

“We had to onload a lot of people, and through that, there’s going to be differences, not direct Lego pieces that go together. I’m thankful for my time with Rodney, who taught us a lot as an organization. He’s a super-great person. I really enjoyed getting to know him and work with him. At the end of the day, it’s a business and just trying to be successful on Sundays.”

Haley said he was notified of the shift after the team’s Tuesday morning meetings, indicating that he did not have input in the personnel decision. Childers had arrived at Spire for the 2025 season after signing a multiyear deal last summer, one of several sizable shake-ups in the organization’s evolving driver/crew chief roster. His credentials were and still are impressive, with 40 Cup Series wins and the 2014 championship with Kevin Harvick. Syncing with a new group was another matter.

“You know, there’s never a good time for this, right? But all I know is us at Spire, we don’t waste time,” Sparks told NASCAR.com. “So we saw or felt what we think wasn’t going to work long-term, and it was really just a fit thing. The 7 just came off a great run of Bristol, so it’s more of just a fit and personality deal moving forward for long term, so we’re looking to the future more than anything. Like I said, not really performance-related or nothing directly related to Rodney at all. His time here was well-spent. We appreciate it and everything like that, but we’re just thinking about the future.”

Spire has seemingly been looking forward ever since it started as a fledgling one-car outfit during Haley’s first stint with the team in 2019. The organization grew to a two-car operation in 2021, then expanded to three full-time cars last season. Haley was phased back in full-time after a seven-race audition at the end of 2024, and Spire signed veteran Michael McDowell as another key piece to the driver rotation. Spire’s longest-tenured driver is relative newcomer Carson Hocevar, who earned Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors last season.

Beyond that, Spire has expanded its footprint in the Craftsman Truck Series. When the organization purchased the assets of Kyle Busch Motorsports in the fall of 2023, it was here at Talladega where team co-owner Jeff Dickerson explained the reasoning behind the move, saying he understood the sometimes-healthy skepticism, but adding: “I don’t know how many more of these deals we have to do before people know we’re for real.”

Sparks referenced that message here this weekend, noting the team’s willingness to take bold measures, but also the seeming urgency to reach Victory Lane.

“We’ve pretty much improved at every race track, but I know for people to take us seriously, we’ve got to win,” Sparks said. “So I mean, that’s all we’re focused on is winning. This is hard. It’s the Cup Series. I mean, we’re racing against the greats and companies that have been in business for over 50 years. So we feel like we’ve hired the right people and put them in the right places to be able to accomplish that quicker than most would expect. It’s not going to be easy, and they’re not going to give it to us. I tell people all the time, they don’t give these things away. You’ve got to want it more than them, you’ve got to work harder than them, so that’s what we’re going to try to do. There’s no guarantees, right, but we’ve just got to stay focused, stay positive, and like I said, we’ve got all the right puzzle pieces in place, and we just … time to rock and roll.”

MORE: At-track photos: Talladega

The crew-chief swap is just the latest in what’s already been a season of change for the No. 7 group. After the seventh race of the year, Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 team swapped in four pit-crew members from Spire’s No. 7 bunch, sending a quartet of over-the-wall personnel to Haley & Co. through their pit-crew development arrangement.

“Our relationship with Hendrick Motorsports, we get our pit crews from those guys, so we trust their process,” Sparks said. “The coaching staff over there is great. They’ve got an awesome facility. We’ll go be a part of pit practice whenever we can, for behind-the-wall support, and they’re a big part of our team on Sundays. So we make sure our car suits their needs on Sundays and they can do their job, but yeah, no complaints there. We love that relationship and hey, we ain’t getting any slouches, I can tell you that. So they’re hungry, and they want it more than ever, so that’s pretty exciting to have a mad pit crew.”

Haley was familiar with Sparks from his first stay with Spire, and the two paired together for the final seven races of 2024 — including the playoff race at Talladega. Their bond, Haley says, has clicked back into place, and Sparks says he’d made efforts to help his driver open up.

“He’s just fun and bubbly,” Haley says. “He pushes me to be better, and we had good communication at the end of the season. It was fun yesterday being in the garage and hauler with him and cutting it up. At least I have something I know to expect.”

Sparks noted that 27 weekends remain in the Cup Series schedule, including 17 races before the cutoff for the 16-driver playoff field. That’s where that overriding urgency also stands out.

“There’s one goal, and that’s to put it in the show, so we don’t take it lightly,” Sparks says. “There’s been a lot of movement at Spire and a lot of effort to make these cars faster. I think we’ve seen that a lot on Saturdays (in qualifying), but not carried over to Sundays as much as we would like. So, I’m gonna bring the vibe and we’re going to make it happen.”

Posted on April 26, 2025April 27, 2025 by Holly Cain

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Front Row Motorsports maintained its strong position out front at Talladega Superspeedway with 24-year-old driver Zane Smith convincingly claiming the first pole position of his NASCAR Cup Series career — the third consecutive at the track for his team.

Smith, the 2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, will lead the field to the green flag in Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at the sport’s biggest track with two-time series champion Kyle Busch starting alongside Smith on the front row — his best start since earning pole position at Dover Motor Speedway last spring.

Smith earned his first pole position with a lap of 182.174 mph in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford — bettering Busch’s time by a slight 0.132 seconds on the 2.66-mile circuit.

“Obviously a lot of speed,’’ said Smith, who was fastest in opening-round time trials and improved that time in the final round. “Just really proud of how our whole team has been working together before our one-week break [last week], and I feel like that one-week break was perfect not to reset but to digest and think about what we need to rebuild on.

“And now we’re off to a good start for this next long stretch. Proud of the speed and everything we’ve been doing, just need to execute a little bit better but a ton of speed this weekend. Long race tomorrow and a lot of things are going to happen and go on, but obviously we have the speed to do it. We’ll see how it goes.’’

Seven Fords, a pair of Chevrolets, and a single Toyota advanced to that 10-car final round.

Reigning series champion and Team Penske’s Joey Logano, along with Roush Fenway Keselowski’s Ryan Preece, will start from row two.

Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon, RFK’s Chris Buescher, Penske’s Austin Cindric, Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry, Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs (the only Toyota) rounded out the second-round qualifiers.

Defending race winner Tyler Reddick will roll off 26th in the 23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota. Championship points leader and Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron will start 16th on the 39-car grid.

Posted on April 26, 2025April 26, 2025 by Staff Report

The No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet for driver Justin Haley failed pre-qualifying inspection twice Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR officials announced.

As a result, car chief Doug Powers has been ejected for the remainder of the event weekend at the Talladega, Alabama track. The No. 7 team will also lose pit selection for Sunday’s Jack Link’s 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: Talladega schedule | Race weekend hub

Spire Motorsports announced earlier this week that it parted ways with crew chief Rodney Childers, effective immediately. Competition director and former No. 7 pit boss Ryan Sparks will once again be atop the box for Haley in Sunday’s race and for the foreseeable future as interim crew chief. Childers joined the Spire organization in the offseason after 11 years at Stewart-Haas Racing, which folded at the end of the 2024 season. Spire signed him last July to a multiyear deal, and he began this year working with Haley.

The Indiana native, currently 23rd in points, has a pair of top 10s at Talladega in 10 starts, each coming in the past three races at the track. 2.66-mile facility. His lone Cup Series victory came at another drafting track, Daytona International Speedway, in 2019.

Posted on April 25, 2025April 26, 2025 by Staff Report

See where your favorite NASCAR Cup Series driver will pit for the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

See where your favorite NASCAR Xfinity Series driver will pit for the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on April 25, 2025April 25, 2025 by Dustin Albino

TALLADEGA, Ala. — NASCAR’s show-and-tell returned on Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, with Jesse Love’s No. 2 Chevrolet rear suspension from Rockingham Speedway last weekend on display.

Eric Peterson, managing director of the Xfinity Series, stood the No. 2 car’s left-side truck arm, the rear-end housing, the U-Bolt saddle and the lowering block. The rule violated at Rockingham was that all the mating surfaces between the U-Bolt saddle and the truck trailing arm were not in complete contact with each other. A significant gap was visible.

With the entire assembly not being tightened, Love had an aerodynamic advantage that eventual Rockingham winner Sammy Smith pointed out from the No. 8 team’s radio toward the end of the event.

“What happens when you go into the corner and all this stuff is not tight is the load on the suspension moves left,” Peterson said, “and the cornering load moves right with the body and will move the right rear of the body towards the wall and adds side force to the car which is where the performance advantage comes from. It skews it out.”

After each race, the top two cars in the finishing order are inspected, along with a random car. The evaluation involves putting the car on jack stands where a feeler gauge (measuring the gap between two surfaces) is entered. If the feeler gauge goes through, NASCAR digs deeper into the issue. Before the race, the rear assembly is visually checked.

Peterson said this was the newest violation that he’s seen after inspecting more than 600 cars since joining NASCAR in 2019. He admitted that the issue could have occurred during the 256-lapper that saw 14 cautions.

“I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily intentional,” Peterson said. “It’s hard to judge whether it was or wasn’t with this one. It came back this way, and certainly there are things you could do to make things like this happen — I’m not saying this happened in this case. It was swayed and an aero advantage.”

Love was credited with a 37th-place finish at Rockingham. Justin Bonsignore was also disqualified for having more than two missing lug nuts.

Posted on April 25, 2025April 27, 2025 by Track Release

Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano traded his fire suit for a flak jacket as Mission 600 kicked off its 2025 campaign with a visit to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune on Tuesday.

Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Mission 600 is an annual campaign that pairs drivers and regional military bases as a build-up to the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Weekend. Tuesday’s visit, which also comes ahead of the Marine Corps’ 250th birthday celebration later this year, provided the Coca-Cola Racing Family driver with an immersive day meeting Marines from the 2d Combat Engineer Battalion. The 2d CEB provides close-combat engineer support to the 2d Marine Division in order to enhance mobility, counter-mobility and survivability.

RELATED: Buy Coca-Cola 600 tickets

Alongside Charlotte Motor Speedway president and general manager Greg Walter, Logano learned about the battalion’s explosive ordinance capabilities, including watching the preparation and detonation of 40-pound shaper and crater charges.

Following a tour of the base in a UTV and lunch with a group of Marines, Logano and Walter faced off head-to-head in a heavy-equipment race designed to simulate digging trenches or breaching anti-tank ditches. The pair drove a JCB High Mobility Engineer Excavator (Combat Tractor) and a 30-ton D7 bulldozer to highlight the role engineers may play in combat situations.

“To get to see firsthand, a little bit of how these guys train, one, helps us go back and talk to our race fans to explain that what they are doing for our safety here in America,” Logano said. “But, I also take some stuff back to my race team. I get to see the way these teams work and how everyone works together. What these men and women are able to do, I’m proud to be here with the Marines and proud to be American.”

For leadership at Camp Lejeune, having someone like Logano visit is great for morale, but also for highlighting what these men and women do in service to the Marines.

“I think every Marine that chooses to join has a different path as to why they came here,” said Maj. Nicholas King. “Ultimately, it’s a great opportunity, especially around our 250th Marine Corps birthday celebration, to really capture that legacy and then show that bond to the future Marine Corps and to our civilian counterparts — not just an average civilian, but a NASCAR champion.

“The smiles on the Marines’ faces, actually getting to meet, interact with him and realize he’s just a genuine, down-to-earth person was something to remember.”

At Charlotte Motor Speedway, Memorial Day Weekend provides the opportunity to pay tribute to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, particularly those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. With the support of the U.S. Department of Defense, the patriotic Coca-Cola 600 pre-race show includes representation from all six major branches of the military.

“When you think about the commitment that it takes, the discipline that it takes to be in our military, it makes me proud to live in this country every day,” Logano said. “They’re putting their lives on the line for strangers, people that they’ve never met before. How grateful we all should be to be living in a country like this where, we have people that are willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice.”

Posted on April 25, 2025April 25, 2025 by Staff Report

Prime Video announced Friday that the first two episodes of “Earnhardt” will premiere May 22, three days before the outlet kicks off its NASCAR Cup Series broadcast coverage at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600.

The docuseries, premiering exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide, will have four episodes total. The final two episodes will air May 29.

“Earnhardt” will dive into the rich history of Dale Earnhardt, one of the sport’s most influential figures to ever compete at NASCAR’s highest level. Through rare archival footage, thrilling races and emotional interviews from his children, colleagues and closest friends, the docuseries will depict Dale Earnhardt’s rise to NASCAR stardom and nationwide fame. Earnhardt’s navigation of family dynamics — including that of his son, Dale Earnhardt. Jr. — will also be explored.

An icon to millions of race fans, “The Intimidator” won 76 Cup Series races and claimed a record-tying seven Cup Series championships over 27 years. He died in a last-lap crash during the 2001 Daytona 500, just two months before his 50th birthday.

“Earnhardt” is produced by Imagine Documentaries, NASCAR Studios and Everyone Else, in association with Dirty Mo Media. The series is directed by Joshua Altman and executive produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Sara Bernstein, Christopher St. John and Justin Wilkes of Imagine Documentaries; TJ Martin and Dan Lindsay of Everyone Else; and Tim Clark and John Dahl of NASCAR Studios.

Prime Video

Posted on April 24, 2025April 25, 2025 by Track Release

Ahead of next month’s historic 66th running of the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Weekend, Charlotte Motor Speedway continued its 2025 Mission 600 campaign Wednesday, visiting the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg with Coca-Cola Racing Family driver Daniel Suárez.

Now in its eighth year, Mission 600 brings together NASCAR drivers with units from regional military bases in an effort to educate the NASCAR community about the day-to-day lives of the men and women who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces and to build meaningful connections between the worlds of motorsports and the military.

“I have always appreciated the military — what all the men and women do for this amazing country,” said Suárez. “But when you get to experience exactly what they have to do 24/7, it’s just a completely different level… Huge respect for them. The level of discipline is pretty high. I very, very much appreciate the opportunity.”

RELATED: Buy Coca-Cola 600 tickets

During his visit, Suárez spent the day learning about the equipment and training that paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne receive. With coaching by the 3rd Brigade Combat Team and 16th Military Police Brigade, the Trackhouse Racing driver strapped on parachutes and gear, then leaped from the installation’s 34-foot jump tower. Suárez also participated in live-fire exercises, learning weapons systems ranging from grenade training to firing the M4 Carbine and a Howitzer, a 105mm weapon that uses a six-man team — much like a NASCAR pit crew — to aim and fire. He finished the day behind the controls of two helicopter flight simulators.

“I never thought they were going to let me jump out of the tower, or try to fly in the simulator or get on the big machine gun — the big, automatic one. I think I burned 150 bullets in a minute,” Suárez said. “Doing all these different things, for them, it’s normal, but for me — today was the very first time I grabbed a 9mm gun. I think they call it a ‘pistol.’ It’s quite an experience and I feel very fortunate to be part of it.”

Fort Bragg is the largest military installation by population in the U.S., providing the infrastructure and training that enables a ready, capable force to fight and win the nation’s wars. The 82nd Airborne Division is America’s immediate response force – ready to deploy and answer the nation’s call in 18 hours.

Posted on April 24, 2025April 24, 2025 by Press Release

NEW YORK (April 24, 2025) — Prime Video is revving up for its inaugural season of NASCAR Cup Series coverage, introducing an electrifying anthem that brings together country superstar Eric Church and rock legend John Fogerty. “Up Around The Bend (Amazon Music Original)” with Eric Church and John Fogerty is a reimagined version of Fogerty’s original classic and transforms the iconic song into the signature sound for NASCAR on Prime, capturing the excitement of race day with a high-energy track.

Fans will get their first taste of the collaboration when the song debuts today as part of the new NASCAR on Prime marketing campaign. The commercial, produced by 77 Ventures and Boomshot, features racing icon and Prime Video analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr., veteran analyst Steve Letarte, and Cup Series star Chase Elliott, with a classic Chevelle serving as a visual bridge between NASCAR’s heritage and future, with production spanning five days at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“Working with both Eric Church — an incredible artist who is a genuine NASCAR fan — and the legendary John Fogerty to put a fresh spin on his iconic hit gives our coverage a distinctive sound that matches the energy of the sport,” said Stacey Rosenson, Head of U.S. Sports Marketing, Prime Video. “Incorporating the anthem into our new commercial featuring the legendary duo of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte, alongside current Cup Series star Chase Elliott, taps into the heartbeat of NASCAR and highlights our commitment to delivering a unique, fun and exciting viewing experience for fans.”

Grammy Award winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Fogerty will mark his 80th birthday on May 28, 2025 — and he’s celebrating all year long with concerts, new music releases and more. As the leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fogerty helped shape the sound of American music, and has received multiple awards and honors for his undeniable impact on the culture, including induction in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Baseball Hall of Fame and much more.

The @NASCAR Cup Series on Prime is coming Up Around The Bend! :notes:

Eric Church and John Fogerty team up for our new signature anthem, debuting May 25th ahead of the Coca-Cola 600. pic.twitter.com/bknA8564Ve

— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) April 24, 2025

The NASCAR on Prime anthem consists of Church and Fogerty joining forces to create a dynamic new version of the timeless hit. The anthem will premiere during Prime Video’s presentation of the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 25, and will be woven into broadcasts throughout the exclusive five-race NASCAR Cup Series package.

Fans can discover a wide range of official NASCAR products and merchandise with filters for their favorite drivers by searching ‘Shop The Race’ on the Amazon Shopping App, and can also shop items from Field & Stream, the outdoor brand Eric Church, Morgan Wallen, and a group of brand builders acquired and relaunched in 2024, by visiting amazon.com/fieldandstream.

Starting on Sunday, May 25 with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Prime Video will exclusively stream five consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races to conclude the first half of the season.

In addition, Prime Video will present exclusive coverage of practice and qualifying for almost the entire first half of the NASCAR season (excluding the NASCAR All-Star Race). Adam Alexander serves as race announcer, alongside analysts Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte in the booth, with Trevor Bayne, Kim Coon, and Marty Snider patrolling pit road. Danielle Trotta hosts Prime Video’s extensive on-site studio coverage, joined by analysts Carl Edwards and Corey LaJoie. Fans in the U.S. will be able to watch NASCAR live at home or on the go, and across hundreds of compatible devices, streaming from the web, or using the Prime Video app on smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, game consoles, and connected TVs. For a complete list of compatible devices, visit amazon.com/howtostream.

Posted on April 24, 2025April 24, 2025 by Staff Report

As long as NASCAR has been racing, cars have been wrecking. And as the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the track this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, no track has the ability to produce more chaos than the 2.66-mile high-banked behemoth.

No wrecks are more terrifying than when a stock car leaves the racing surface and goes into the air, and that’s the topic of a special mid-week edition of NASCAR Inside the Race hosted by Steve Letarte.

Joining Letarte on Inside the Race is Dr. Eric Jacuzzi, NASCAR’s vice president of vehicle performance innovation aero, who walks through three unique wrecks in the Next Gen era when a car has gone into the air — and explains how NASCAR’s best attempts at keeping the car grounded sometimes get overruled by the laws of science.

Michigan was the site of one of the airborne incidents highlighted by Letarte and Jacuzzi on Thursday’s episode. During last year’s Cup race, Corey LaJoie spun down the backstretch and flipped upside down, sliding hundreds of feet on his lid before finally landing on all four wheels in the grass near Turn 3. That incident, according to Jacuzzi, was primarily due to a strong headwind that pushed the car into the air when LaJoie spun.

Letarte and Jacuzzi also analyzed Ryan Preece’s airborne crashes at Daytona International Speedway in 2023 and 2025, both of which had separate causes. (You can see the full interview with Jacuzzi below.)

“We spent a lot of time looking at this. … When Ryan’s car crossed from the track, it hit the lip of the bus-stop chicane, which was protruding about 2 inches. So we had a pretty significant tire mark there and a chunk of asphalt missing,” Jacuzzi said of the horrifying Preece wreck in the 2023 Daytona summer race.

“The other part … I went and looked at some helicopter research and when you hover a helicopter over pavement, the engine power is let’s say ‘100.’ When you move over to grass you need ‘120’ or ‘130’ — I believe it was 30% more power. That’s because of that surface. To me, it makes a lot of sense that the grass, we would have lost some of that downforce we had.”

Jacuzzi also revealed that NASCAR is in the final stages of developing a new aerodynamical device intended to decrease the chances of airborne crashes at high-speed tracks, such as Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta and Michigan.

A new flap added to the A-post on the Next Gen car may debut beginning with the August race at Daytona. The flap is expected to increase the chances of a car staying on the ground in a 90-degree spin by 40 to 50%, Jacuzzi said.

After months of testing, the new flap hit the track for the first time when three Cup Series teams participated in a Goodyear tire test at Michigan earlier this month.

“It started out as a concept that wasn’t really viable, and then we had a couple brainstorms and sort of came up with this idea,” Jacuzzi told Letarte. “It proved to be very, very effective.”

By adding the additional flap, the goal is to decrease lift in the early part of the spin and ultimately reduce the amount of airborne crashes.

“We think that the less lift that we can have on the car early in the spin, that’s more tire contact with the ground, more slowing it down, which is all good for us,” Jacuzzi said.