Spire Motorsports’ “Perfect” Start at Iowa With Teammates Wrecking Each Other Causes Early Stoppage

The NASCAR Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway started with signs of yellow fever. While the controversial repave was expected to spin the cars around, it looks like the Spire Motorsports teammates took matters into their own hands, earlier than expected. It was Zane Smith who orchestrated an early caution on Lap 3 when he made contact with Carson Hocevar’s No. 77 car.

The domino effect came to a halt, but it came at the expense of their own teammate, Corey LaJoie, as the No. 7 Chevy took a spin across the racetrack. The rear bumper of the No. 7 made contact with the safer barrier and avoided a big accident in the early exchanges. Fortunately, the damage to the race car was not too severe, which got Corey LaJoie back in the mix.

However, Spire Motorsports wasn’t pleased to say his teammates were trying to create a ruckus early in the race. Sharing his frustrations, he was heard saying this sarcastically on the radio, “Perfect.” It got so intense that he even asked to keep the ice packs ready when he came onto the pit road.

Apart from the already treacherous racing surface and battling against their competition, it seems like drivers will have to deal with unforgiving heat at Iowa Speedway.

Where did the Spire Motorsports driver lineup finish at Iowa?

Zane Smith, out of the three drivers, had the worst finish to the race. The Trackhouse Racing star, like many drivers, had trouble saving his tires and was forced to make a pit stop. The right front tire on the No. 71 car was flat during the early run of the race. Despite making a recovery, Smith just wasn’t able to gain track position or make passes. Ultimately, with the drop of the checkered flag, he found himself finishing the race in 31st position. This was his eighth P30 or worse race-finishing result since the start of the season.

Meanwhile, Corey LaJoie, who almost crashed out of the race early, was also at odds with RCR driver Austin Dillon. The driver of the No. 7 race car bumped into Dillon’s No. 3 Chevy, and this gesture wasn’t appreciated by team owner Richard Childress, who even asked his driver to return the favor later in the race. “Take care of business when you get back to him.”

Apart from this, the No. 7 car was all over the place on the race track and even came close to crashing into the safer barrier. But luckily, LaJoie was able to get his car across the finish line in the 21st spot, which is 13 positions higher than Kyle Larson.

Out of all three drivers, it was Carson Hocevar who bagged the best finish. A P14 finish for the rookie driver was indeed impressive and only goes on to show his talent and ability in the Cup Series. The driver of the No. 77 car by far has the best runs and finishes compared to his teammates. This was his seventh finish inside the top 20, and during this season, he also scored two top-10 finishes. With today’s run, Hocevar finds himself placed 22nd in the points standings and is very much in the hunt for the playoff spot.

With Zane Smith expected to return to Trackhouse Racing after the end of his loan spell, Hocevar could transition into the lead role at Spire next season and get into a better race car or even contest for wins. But surely, it is too early to write him off this season, as he might pop up with a surprise win to his name in 2024.