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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

NASCAR Cup Series team Spire Motorsports has made significant reinforcements to its team ahead of the 2024 season. Having made their debut in 2019 in the Cup Series, they are looking to shift gears quickly and compete against the best teams. They bought the Live Fast Motorsports charter for a reported fee of $40 million and followed it up with the takeover of Kyle Busch Motorsports for their Truck Series expansion. Moreover, they also added fresh faces to their team lineup with the signings of Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith. Spire is looking strong going into the 2024 season, but money and rampant changes are just the groundwork, which does not guarantee results.

Speaking along these lines, Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, explained the harsh reality and competitive nature of racing in the Cup Series. He even went on to make a bold prediction for the team’s run in the 2024 season.

Jumping positions in the Cup Series won’t be a cakewalk for Spire in 2024

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Spire Motorsports has made seismic changes to its Cup Series and even added the firepower that is needed to make that huge leap on the grid. But while Spire is looking for a huge turnaround in their performances, Freddie Kraft has now come out to give them a reality check.

Speaking on the Door Bumper Clear show by Dirty Mo Media Productions, Kraft said, “You can’t just easily make a five-position jump on the sport you know. If you look at the caliber of driver, just go from a driver that runs 20th every week to a guy that runs 15th every week. That’s a guy that just outside the playoffs. And that is a gigantic jump and it’s going to take time. You’re not going from where they are to putting all three cars in contention to make playoffs.”

If you are to go by the statistics, Freddie does have a point. Spire’s sole full-time entry last season was Ty Dillion driving the No. 77 Chevrolet, and he was winless throughout the campaign. Moreover, the team failed to register a single top-ten finish and could only put up a P32 overall finish in the championship standings. In fact, the only win the team has achieved in their run so far in the Cup series was back in 2019 at the Coke Zero 400 event at Daytona.

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Despite being pitted against some tough competition, the senior driver at Spire believes that he will open his winning account after 8 years of racing in 2024.

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Corey LaJoie is looking to break his winless streak

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The no. 7 drive of Spire Motorsports, Corey Lajoie, is yet to taste his first win in the NASCAR Cup Series, even after 236 starts. The 32-year-old will be taking up the role of a senior driver with the addition of Hocevar and Smith, who are still in their novice stages. However, on the back of a strong off-season and adding more strength to the team, Lajoie feels confident and even predicts that the team will reach the playoffs.

“If we don’t make the playoffs, we’ll be pretty frustrated…we’re gonna surprise some people. We will win. I would be very upset and probably frustrated and feel like internally we probably didn’t meet our marks if we didn’t win or find ourselves in the playoffs,” the driver of the #7 car said.

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Corey Lajoie and Spire Motorsports are well within their rights to aim for the playoff spots going into the 2024 season. If a team like 23X1 can make it happen, they can have a go themselves. Needless to say, they will be one of the teams to watch out for in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.

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