Spire Motorsports heads to Kansas Speedway for Sunday\u2019s AdventHealth 400 looking to continue building momentum at the 1.5-mile tri-oval.<\/p>\n
Across 28 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas, the organization has recorded one top-10 and five top-20 finishes, with its best result coming from Zane Smith\u2019s 10th-place finish in September 2024.<\/p>\n
Spire Motorsports will field three Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s:<\/p>\n
No. 7 \u2013 Daniel Su\u00e1rezNo. 71 \u2013 Michael McDowellNo. 77 \u2013 Carson Hocevar<\/p>\n
The AdventHealth 400 will be televised live on FOX on Sunday, April 19, beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Radio coverage will be provided by the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90). The race marks the ninth of 36 points-paying events on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.<\/p>\n
Daniel Su\u00e1rez \u2013 No. 7 NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1Driver NotesSu\u00e1rez will pilot the No. 7 NationsGuard Chevrolet in Sunday\u2019s race.He has made 18 Cup Series starts at Kansas, earning:2 top-10 finishes10 top-20 results32 laps ledOwns an average starting position of 17.7 and finishing position of 20.9 at the venue.Best Kansas result came in 2017 (7th).Was collected in an incident during last spring\u2019s Kansas race, finishing 34th.Of Su\u00e1rez\u2019s 330 Cup Series starts, 159 have come on intermediate tracks:1 win (Atlanta, 2024)11 top fives38 top 10sIntermediate-track results in 2026:Atlanta \u2013 5thPhoenix \u2013 30thLas Vegas \u2013 18thDarlington \u2013 7thSits 15th in the Cup Series standings after eight races.Averaging a 16.3 finish, four positions better than this point in 2025.Daniel Su\u00e1rez Quote<\/p>\n
On racing at Kansas:<\/p>\n
\u201cI really enjoy racing at Kansas. It\u2019s a great track with multiple grooves, which gives you a lot of options during a run. Track position is important, so if qualifying were to get washed out and we start around 13th, that wouldn\u2019t be a bad place to begin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Atop the No. 7 Box \u2013 Crew Chief Ryan SparksHas called 210 Cup Series races since 2020.Earned five top fives and 12 top 10s.Best Kansas finish: 18th (September 2025) with Justin Haley.Has led teams in 100 intermediate-track races.Joined Spire Motorsports in 2021; serves exclusively as Su\u00e1rez\u2019s crew chief in 2026.Brings championship experience from the Truck Series (2011) and O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series (2013).Michael McDowell \u2013 No. 71 Delaware Life\/Triad Partners Chevrolet Camaro ZL1Driver NotesMcDowell will drive the No. 71 Chevrolet featuring its traditional Delaware Life livery with Triad Partners on the hood.In 29 Cup starts at Kansas, owns:24.7 average start26.3 average finishOver his last five Kansas starts:13.6 average start20.4 average finishFinished 10th in May 2024 and 14th last September.Sits 19th in points, just seven points below the playoff cutline.Last week at Bristol:Qualified 19thFinished 24th following penalties and contactWest Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame first-time nominee (voting begins May 21).Michael McDowell Quote<\/p>\n
What makes Kansas unique:<\/p>\n
\u201cKansas is one of the easiest tracks to get multiple lanes going right away. You can move around a lot, especially early in a run, and it usually creates a really good race. Managing tire wear and adapting as the track changes is key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Atop the No. 71 Box \u2013 Crew Chief Travis PetersonHas led teams for six Cup races at Kansas.Owns a 15.2 average start and 21.3 average finish at the track.Former race engineer at JR Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports.Helped Regan Smith to a third-place Kansas finish in 2013.Part of Dale Earnhardt Jr.\u2019s 2015 third-place Kansas effort.Carson Hocevar \u2013 No. 77 Chili\u2019s Ride the \u2019Dente Chevrolet Camaro ZL1Driver NotesHocevar will make his sixth Cup Series start at Kansas.Sports a rhinestone-studded Ride the \u2019Dente Again\u2019te livery, inspired by Nudie Cohn.Through eight races, Hocevar and the No. 77 team rank 13th in points.Career highs through eight races:2 top fives3 top 10s11.5 average start15.8 average finishAt Bristol:Averaged 6.13 running positionEarned his third top 10 of the seasonHocevar won the 2025 Truck Series race at Kansas, leading 75 laps.Owns six Truck Series starts at Kansas with:1 win2 top fives3 top 10sCarson Hocevar Quotes<\/p>\n
On Kansas Speedway:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can move around a lot, but the top lane has been the fastest. Managing tires is huge, and restarts are crazy. We\u2019ve shown speed at intermediates, and I know we can continue that this week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Atop the No. 77 Box \u2013 Crew Chief Luke LambertEnters his third season at Spire Motorsports.The Lambert\u2013Hocevar pairing owns:1 pole5 top fives18 top 10sHas called 24 Cup races at Kansas, earning:Led Noah Gragson to a 2022 O\u2019Reilly Series win at Kansas.<\/p>\n
Spire Motorsports PR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spire Motorsports heads to Kansas Speedway for Sunday\u2019s AdventHealth 400 looking to continue building momentum at the 1.5-mile…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":604663,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[1701,49,48,716,374,4384,720,634,721,1704,722,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-604662","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-1701","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-channel","12":"tag-fox","13":"tag-hendrick-motorsports","14":"tag-motor","15":"tag-nascar","16":"tag-series","17":"tag-speed","18":"tag-speedway","19":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}