Fans will start heading south toward Daytona soon since there are only 5Â Days to Daytona left. Today marks the final article that will feature an individual team. Taking ownership of Live Fast’s 36th spot in owner points is the #71 Spire Motorsports team. Spire bought the charter from Live Fast and will have Trackhouse Racing’s Zane Smith behind the wheel. The two teams have formed a working relationship for (at least) 2024.
#71 Spire Motorsports
Driver: Zane Smith
Crew Chief: Stephen Doran
Sponsors: WeatherTech, Focused Health, Ambetter Health
2024 Season Preview
Spire or Trackhouse?
Technically, the 71 car is the property of Spire Motorsports. They will prepare the cars, the team, and everything else that has to do with the 71. Meanwhile, Trackhouse is leasing out Zane Smith to Spire for the 2024 season. With one of their drivers on loan, Trackhouse will surely have their hands on the 71’s operation at times. Trackhouse would not simply let Spire handle Smith however they wanted. As of this writing, Zane Smith (or the 71 Cup car) is not featured on Spire’s website. It will definitely be an interesting dynamic to track throughout the season.
Better Second Impression
Zane Smith made his Cup Series debut at WWT Raceway in 2022. He was filling in for a sick Chris Buescher and navigated the 17 car to a Top-20. For a driver with zero NextGen experience, it was an impressive run. Last year, Front Row inserted Smith into the 38 car for 6 races. Outside a Top-10 in Coke 600, Smith’s Cup runs were less than impressive. Especially in the other 5 races in the 38, Smith would usually run outside the Top-20. For fans of either Smith or Todd Gilliland, it was disheartening to see. Between the three rookies in 2024, Smith has looked the worst in the NextGen car. While the sample size is small, Smith has some proving to do in 2024.
Future of the 71
Based on Rajah Caruth driving the 71 Craftsman Truck Series entry for Spire, it seems that the 71 is to stick around. However, who drives the Cup car moving forward? It would be surprising to see Trackhouse loan Zane Smith out for a second year. Maybe Shane van Gisbergen can fill the seat if he proves to be Cup ready. If not a Trackhouse connection, there are plenty of Chevy drivers who could use the spot. However, there is a possibility that the 71 is not with completely with Spire in 2025. Spire could lease the charter to Trackhouse for next season, as the Justin Marks led team have a gluttony of Cup talent. Instead of purchasing a charter, Trackhouse could save money and rent a charter for a season.
Daytona 500 Chances
Once again, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what to expect from the 71 team. Corey LaJoie showed significant improvement last year. However, the 77 car seemed to stay stagnant in its progression. Adding a third team into that mix throws massive question marks toward the entire operation. For Smith, this will be his second Daytona 500 after he qualified for the Great American Race last year. He finished a respectable 13th.
Speedweeks Outlook
How can you even put down what to expect from this team? Under the assumption this operation is more Spire than Trackhouse, expectations for Speedweeks should be kept low. Qualifying will likely be a dud. Meanwhile, the Bluegreen Vacations Duel depends on how the lineup shakes out. If there is a heavy Trackhouse/Spire influence in Smith’s duel, then he could do well. If not, then it will be a glorified practice. While not a savant on the superspeedways, Smith can hold his own. A Top-10 is not out of question, especially if he can survive any carnage that happens.
Previous Days
40-36 Days: 40 – #12, 39 – #5, 38 – #24, 37 – #20, & 36 – #11
35-31 Days: 35 – #45, 34 – #17, 33 – #6, 32 – #1, & #31 – #9
30-26 Days:Â 30 – #19, 29 – #22, 28 – #4, 27 – #8, & 26 – #34
25-21 Days: 25 – #34, 24 – #23, 23 – #54, 22 – #99, & 21 – #48
20-16 Days: 20 – #16, 19 – #10, 18 – #41, 17 – #2, & 16 – #31
15-11 Days: 15 – #7, 14 – #43, 13 – #38, 12 – #3, & 11 – #14
