Spire Motorsports has recruited a veteran to help the team break in its new programme as it begins for its inaugural season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Austin Hill will race the #7 Chevrolet Silverado RST in the season opener on February 18 at Daytona International Speedway, according to the team’s announcement on Friday.
Hill will drive the #21 for Richard Childress Racing in his first season in the Xfinity Series. After spending the previous three years in a Toyota Tundra with Hattori Racing Enterprises, where he earned eight Truck titles and the regular season championship in 2019, it will be his first time in a Chevrolet. With two victories in the first NASCAR race at Knoxville and the first Watkins Glen Truck race since 2000, he ranked ninth in points in his final season with HRE. His first NASCAR national series win came in his first race with HRE at Daytona.
United Rentals has been a sponsor of Hill’s #7 while he was racing for Young’s Motorsports in 2017. His Xfinity campaign will also be supported by the company.
“It’s a lot of fun to go to a track where I’ve have had success and won a race in the past,” said Hill. “Hopefully we can put on a good show for United Rentals and get back to Victory Lane.”
With the help of management Mike Greci and crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion, Spire, a Cup Series team since 2019, has extended into the Trucks for 2022. Greci collaborated with Hill at HRE, while Manion spent the last two seasons as Zane Smith’s crew chief at GMS Racing, where Smith earned second in points both years.
As a result of the news, the Spire #7 will almost certainly be a multi-driver truck in 2022. The team’s #77 Cup car follows a similar strategy.
“When the opportunity to have Austin Hill drive for Spire Motorsports in the Truck Series race at Daytona presented itself, it was an easy decision,” commented Greci. “It was really a no-brainer and to have United Rentals on board is the icing on the cake. Austin is an exceptional driver and speedway racer. His work ethic is second-to-none, and he has the desire its takes to be successful. He’s not someone who just goes through the motions. He’s there to win. We have a great history with one another so we’re hoping to add another hash mark to our win column in Daytona.”
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