MARTINSVILLE, VA - MARCH 28: Daniel Suarez 7 Spire Motorsports Group 1001 Chevrolet watches qualifying during qualifying for the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Cook Out 400 on March 28, 2026, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA. Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire AUTO: MAR 28 NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2603281048
MARTINSVILLE, VA - MARCH 28: Daniel Suarez 7 Spire Motorsports Group 1001 Chevrolet watches qualifying during qualifying for the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Cook Out 400 on March 28, 2026, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA. Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire AUTO: MAR 28 NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2603281048
May 25, 2026, 11:12 PM CUT
“They Shouldn’t Rule Us Out”: Daniel Suárez’ Ally Makes Their Presence Known to NASCAR Heavyweights
Daniel Suarez’s win at Charlotte may have come in conditions that seemed chaotic, but for Spire Motorsports, this represented a victory far sweeter than any other.
After years of being viewed as an underdog, Suarez's crew chief Ryan Sparks made it clear that the No. 7 team must now be considered a challenger against traditional NASCAR heavyweights.
This emotional win at Charlotte also marked Sparks’ first victory in his role as crew chief. “No, I don't think they should rule us out,” Sparks admitted after the race. “Like I said, we've still got a long ways to go to get to where we want to be, right? We want to be contenders each and every week to win these things.”
May 24, 2026; Concord, North Carolina, USA; Spire Motorsports driver Daniel Suarez (7) celebrates his win during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
May 24, 2026; Concord, North Carolina, USA; Spire Motorsports driver Daniel Suarez (7) celebrates his win during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
Even after capturing one of NASCAR’s crown jewels, Sparks was free to acknowledge the long road ahead. “I do think we're a playoff team. I don't think we're a championship team just yet, but we've got several weeks to get everything in order to give ourselves that opportunity.
"I think we're 10th or 11th in the points right now, so tonight was a great night for us.”
After the race, the team celebrated in the rain, hugging each other throughout pit road, and Sparks commented on the same.
“There's a lot of guys on my team that have never been to Victory Lane in any of the top three series,” Sparks revealed. “He had an opportunity to go work on the five car at Hendrick Motorsports earlier in the year and he chose us. So I like what we're doing. I like what we're building… We are huggers. We love each other… that's real. That's how we are.”
Spire’s newfound key to success comes against the backdrop of an agreement with Chevrolet. Let’s take a look at how this changed everything.
Spire’s Chevrolet alliance is quietly becoming dangerous
Chevrolet’s alliance with Spire is now beginning to show excellent results. The former now provides engines and technical support to the latter, bringing them into Chevrolet’s elite performance infrastructure.
The jump in speed is palpable. At Phoenix, Daniel Suarez qualified fourth, Carson Hocevar seventh and Michael McDowell sixteenth, placing all three Spire Chevrolets ahead of multiple Penske and Gibbs entries.
Kansas strengthened the narrative further. Carson Hocevar qualified sixth, with Daniel Suarez right behind in eighth, showing that this once modest team could now genuinely challenge NASCAR’s giants.
Add Hocevar’s Talladega win and Suarez’s strong finish at Charlotte into the mix, sprinkle in Michael McDowell’s veteran feedback alongside the boosted Hendrick engineering support, and Spire could possibly become one of the strongest teams in the garage.
Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!
Written by
Uday Jakhar
Edited by
Suyashdeep Sason