As Spire Motorsports prepares for its first season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the team has hired a veteran to break in the new programme. On Friday, the team announced Austin Hill will drive the #7 Chevrolet Silverado RST in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway on 18 February.
Hill is gearing up for his rookie season in the Xfinity Series, driving the #21 for Richard Childress Racing. It will be his first time in a Chevrolet after spending the last three years in a Toyota Tundra with Hattori Racing Enterprises, with whom he won eight Truck races during that stretch and the regular season championship in 2019. His final season with HRE saw him place ninth in points with two wins in the inaugural NASCAR race at Knoxville and the first Watkins Glen Truck race since 2000. His maiden race with HRE at Daytona saw him claim his first career NASCAR national series victory.
The #7’s sponsor United Rentals has partnered with Hill since 2017 when he was driving for Young’s Motorsports. The company will also support his Xfinity campaign.
“It’s a lot of fun to go to a track where I’ve have had success and won a race in the past,” said Hill. “Hopefully we can put on a good show for United Rentals and get back to Victory Lane.”
Spire, a Cup Series team since 2019, expanded into the Trucks for 2022 with leadership from manager Mike Greci and crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion. Greci worked with Hill at HRE, while Manion spent the last two seasons as the crew chief for Zane Smith at GMS Racing, during which Smith finished runner-up in points both years.
The news means the Spire #7 will likely be a multi-driver truck in 2022. Such a plan is not new for the team as its #77 Cup car does the same.
“When the opportunity to have Austin Hill drive for Spire Motorsports in the Truck Series race at Daytona presented itself, it was an easy decision,” commented Greci. “It was really a no-brainer and to have United Rentals on board is the icing on the cake. Austin is an exceptional driver and speedway racer. His work ethic is second-to-none, and he has the desire its takes to be successful. He’s not someone who just goes through the motions. He’s there to win. We have a great history with one another so we’re hoping to add another hash mark to our win column in Daytona.”
