After not having any NASCAR experience entering this weekend’s Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Race, Jonathan Davenport will exit with two starts under his belt. In addition to making his Cup Series début for Kaulig Racing on Sunday, he will enter Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series event in the #7 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports.
Nutrien Ag Solutions will sponsor his vehicles for both races.
“I’m really excited to run for Spire Motorsports in the Truck race and make one of the biggest weekends of my racing career even bigger,” said Davenport. “Being able to get in a truck for a team that has proven they can get it done will only boost my confidence for the weekend. With the added track time in the Nutrien Ag Solutions #7 Silverado, hopefully it’ll shorten my learning curve for both races.”
Davenport races in dirt late models, winning the inaugural XR Super Series championship in 2022 as part of a 24-win campaign that included victory over then-reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson. The year also saw him win the Eldora Million at Eldora Speedway, the first dirt track to host NASCAR since 1970.
Spire fields two full-time cars in the Cup Series but occasionally brings out the #7 truck for select starts. Corey LaJoie finished twenty-third in the rain-shortened season opener at Daytona, while a tyre issue prevented Alex Bowman from making the truck’s second and most recent attempt of the year at COTA. The truck ran eleven races in its first year in 2022 and won with William Byron at Martinsville.
“To be able to prepare our truck and work with a someone as accomplished as JD is a tremendous opportunity for Spire Motorsports,” commented crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion. “We expect to race for wins every time we unload and having JD in the seat Saturday night at Bristol raises the bar a little bit higher.”
Various drivers will run both the Truck and Cup races, including a handful of Cup regulars like Byron, Chase Briscoe, and Joey Logano.
