The dirty air surrounding Corey LaJoie has finally affected his seat at Spire Motorsports. On July 25, an official statement by The Athletic confirmed that a new driver will be wheeling the #7 in 2025.

And with that, a three-year-long winless association finally comes to an end. It looks like owners TJ Puchyr & Jeff Dickerson are pushing for some drastic changes next season. After all, only a few weeks back, they brought in Rodney Childers as the future crew chief of their #7 Chevrolet. With LaJoie’s departure, the big question now facing the organization is- who will be driving the car tuned by Childers and team in 2025.

Although predicting an answer is pretty hard, here are a few drivers who have been heavily linked with Spire Motorsports for next year.

Kyle Busch

Yes, Rowdy’s contract is supposed to run through till next year at Richard Childress Racing, but so was LaJoie’s at Spire. Granted, the odds of seeing Kyle Busch drive the #7 are slim. Nevertheless, a 2025 switch under the guidance of Rodney Childers could be the breath of fresh air that his career desperately requires. And let’s be honest, none of the pairings have exactly worked out for the #8 team this season.

Only a couple of weeks ago at Pocono, he was embroiled in deep controversy with LaJoie after the latter had contentiously spun him out to face global backlash. Busch even went on Pat McAfee to voice his frustrations against Corey. It sure is a sorrowful thought for LaJoie, but having a former 2x Cup champ potentially bid goodbye to his current frustrations to help take Spire’s #7 operations to the next level could benefit everyone in the bigger picture.

Additionally, Kyle Busch already holds some well-established ties with Spire Motorsports. He sold the operations of his 2x Truck Series championship-winning race team, Kyle Busch Motorsports to Spire late in September last year in a ‘seven-figure’ deal, according to SBJ. Ironically, Kyle Busch is not completely winless this season because of Spire Motorsports rotational #7 Chevy Silverado. He gave the race team two out of its three wins in the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series, first at Atlanta, and then at Texas.

Rajah Caruth

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Speaking of the Truck Series, Rajah Caruth gave Spire that third win at Vegas earlier in March. With it, he became only the third African-American NASCAR driver to win a race in the top-3 National Touring Series. All in all, Rajah is one of the most highly touted prospects in recent times. 

But first, to clear out misunderstandings, Rick Hendrick & co. have had their eyes on him for quite some time now. He made his debut in the race team’s #17 Xfinity Camaro last year at the championship finale in Phoenix, and this year he is being backed by the Hendrick Automotive Group for all 23 races of the Truck Series. Jeff Gordon to Kyle Larson, everyone has been gushing about Rajah at Hendrick Motorsports. And considering he is running 5th in the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series points table with seven races left for the championship, their interest in the Atlanta, GA native will only elevate.

However, some would argue that at 21 years of age, Rajah isn’t exactly Cup-ready. And they’re not wrong since there is a lot left for the young gun to accomplish in order to stake his claim as a full-time Cup driver. But, if Hendrick Motorsports ever intends to skip a step and push him up to the premier tier, Spire’s #7 car could be the perfect platform to help him get more familiar with the workings. 

Moreover, Spire is already harboring a similar developmental deal with Trackhouse Racing’s Zane Smith, who drives the #71 Camaro full-time in the Cup Series. Smith is permanently under contract at Trackhouse but is technically on loan at Spire for a year. This aids in his acclimatization to the top tier. Hendrick Motorsports could take a page from this theoretically promising formula under use by Trackhouse to field Rajah Caruth as Spire’s third entry in 2025.

Justin Haley

The Rick Ware Racing driver certainly has his admirers inside Spire Motorsports. After all, he won Spire and himself their first-ever Cup race back in 2019. The Coke Zero 400 was only Haley’s third race in his premier-tier NASCAR career. Yet he won it starting from 34th after a red flag delay for rain cut the race short with about 30 or so laps to go. Haley was only 20 years old at the time.

Their association was glorious but short-lived. Justin Haley’s 2021 rookie season was run with Kaulig Racing, another race team actively looking for drivers in the 2025 silly season. That will surely throw a wrench in a potential Justin Haley return to Spire Motorsports. 

If that’s not all, Bob Pockrass of FOX recently released his lineup projections and it suggests that Haley’s “performance does have other teams talking to him but at least at the moment, he said he will remain at Rick Ware Racing, who has shown the most belief in him the last couple of years.” However, following the news of LaJoie’s departure, Pockrass advises against dismissing the possibility of Haley returning to Spire, who as the journalist noted “has a past relationship with the team”.

Sam Mayer

The 21-year-old Wisconsin native drives the #1 Chevy for Dale Jr & Kelley Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports banner in the 2024 Xfinity Series season. He has won two races this season and has been strong throughout with five more top-5 finishes in the remaining 18 races run till now.

Recent rumors link Sam Mayer to a potential seat at either Kaulig Racing or Front Row Motorsports, who recently bought a third charter from Stewart-Haas in the reported ballpark of 20-25 million dollars. Nevertheless, much like Justin Haley, this young driver is now caught up in the 2025 Silly Season rumors, with potential ties to Spire Motorsports.

Bob Pockrass rightfully noted that Mayer brings “some funding” to whichever team he decides to associate himself with in the future. As it happens, Sam’s father, Scott Mayer, a former IndyCar driver, sponsors his son full-time in the Xfinity Series through his company – QPS Employment Group. The allure of a brand-new sponsor will eventually play a big hand in getting Mayer a Cup ride soon. 

Christian Eckes

A former Kyle Busch Motorsports alum, Christian Eckes leads the Truck Series points table with three race wins in the 2024 season. At just 23 years old, this New Yorker has championship pedigree written all over him, He won the 2019 ARCA Menards Series trophy and has been a force to reckon with throughout 2024 in McAnally-Hilgemann’s #19 Chevy Silverado. Many would agree that Eckes has been knocking at the doors of the Cup Series for at least a couple of years.

He used to be a developmental driver at JR Motorsports and later Toyota. Regardless, any manufacturer would be eager to keep a talent like Eckes on their roster. Now whether it will be Chevrolet with Spire Motorsports is a guess to make. According to Pockrass, Eckes is one more driver who has “flirted” with the idea of possibly running a full-time season with Kaulig Racing.

According to other sources, Eckes could be making his Xfinity Series debut in one of those Kaulig cars next year. But all of it is merely speculation for now.

Ryan Preece

The often-overlooked Stewart-Haas #41 driver is yet to sign with a team as the rest of his stablemates have already found permanent homes for the 2025 season. Noah Gragson is going to Front Row, Chase Briscoe will replace Martin Truex Jr at Joe Gibbs, and Josh Berry will drive the #21 entry for Wood Brothers Racing. Amid all these developments, Ryan Preece.

With the clock ticking down, he must decide soon. Preece has also found his name in rumors associated with Kaulig Racing’s #16 car. However, a better option could instead be the #7 seat at Spire Motorsports. With LaJoie’s absence, the team desperately needs the calming presence of a veteran Cup Series driver. Kyle Busch & Preece are the only ones on this list on the other side of 30.

Spire’s other drivers, Carson Hocevar & Zane Smith (who is technically not a Spire Motorsports driver) are both under 25. They have both shown tremendous potential in their rookie 2024 season. Add to that the veteran guidance of someone like Preece, and it could truly help the young guns take their games to the next level come next season.

But who would you rather have in Spire’s #7 car under the guidance of championship-winning crew chief Rodney Childers in 2025? Let your thoughts rip free in the comments below!