Spencer Pumpelly will make his return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday at the Chicago Street Course, driving the #07 Chevrolet Camaro for SS-Green Light Racing. Somewhat ironically, the Chevrolet will be sponsored by Sam Sweis‘ Volkswagen dealerships in Orland Park and Oak Lawn.
Pumpelly has been tasked as a road course ringer in the Xfinity Series since 2021, racing for JD Motorsports and SSGLR with a best finish of nineteenth at COTA in his maiden series start. However, his starts afterwards have been plagued by misfortune as he has not finished an Xfinity race since and failed to qualify in his latest attempt at Watkins Glen in 2022.
He raced for SSGLR at the 2022 Portland event, where he was involved in a late crash and finished twenty-ninth.
“We are looking forward to having Spencer back with us this weekend in Chicago,” team owner Bobby Dotter stated. “We had Spencer in our car at Portland last year, and he did a good job all weekend, and we’re confident that we can do that again this weekend. Racing in downtown Chicago is a big deal for myself personally, as a Chicago native, so running well here would really be a great feeling.”
In his main trade, Pumpelly is one of the top GTD drivers in IMSA with a pair of class wins at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. He finished second in class in the most recent edition in January; one of his team-mates Andy Lally is also a NASCAR road course specialist. Pumpelly has also raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, making four starts in the 2010s with a best finish of fourth in GTE Am in 2012 and 2018.
The Xfinity Series is not Pumpelly’s first foray in a stock car. In 2009, he finished third at New Jersey Motorsports Park in what is now the ARCA Menards Series.
“The opportunity to race in the first ever NASCAR street race is a dream come true,” said Pumpelly. “Thanks to Volkswagen of Oak Lawn and SS-Green Light, we will be able to take on this track and hopefully bring some of my street racing experience in IMSA and SRO to the confines of this new circuit. Street courses offer an exciting way to bring fans into the sport and we look forward to racing in the unique setting.”
The #07 is thirty-eighth in owner points. Blaine Perkins was supposed to drive the car for the full season but was released after struggling through the first five races, leading to a revolving door of drivers including Dawson Cram, Carson Hocevar, Stefan Parsons, David Starr, and Daniel Suárez. It has yet to record a top twenty, with its best finish being twenty-second by Perkins at Atlanta and Parsons at Dover.
