Menu
Spire Motorsports has grown exponentially in just the past couple of weeks with both the addition of a third charter in 2024 and the purchasing of Kyle Busch Motorsports. However, a question can be asked that even Eric Estepp briefly brought up in a recent Out of the Groove episode. Is Spire Motorsports growing too quickly? Let’s tackle that question.
Spire is following a somewhat similar pattern that Trackhouse Racing followed to start its’ time in NASCAR, and, now that the two are partnered up, it’s understandable to see why Spire is taking some cues from Trackhouse. As opposed to most race teams who start small and gradually work their way up to be race-winning or even Championship-winning organizations, Furniture Row Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and even Hendrick Motorsports are examples of this, Trackhouse wasted no time making their presence felt.
Justin Marks partnered with Pitbull to start Trackhouse in 2021. Daniel Suarez was signed on as the driver, and the team operated as a single-car operation, but Marks knew he had to expand to become more competitive. He had the capital to work with, and he made a major move.
He bought out Chip Ganassi Racing. This meant the team expanded from one to two cars with Ross Chastain being added in 2022. Both cars made the Playoffs by winning races in 2022, and Chastain came within two positions of taking home the Championship.
Since then, Trackhouse used Project 91 to get Shane Van Gisbergen to race at the Chicago Street Race, and he won. Now he is going to race in America full-time in 2024.
Spire is trying to emulate similar results by the moves they have recently made. They bought out a race team and are planning to expand to three cars in 2024. There is good reason for them to be doing it as well.
Spire has a lot of money on their hands thanks to their most recent deal with Gainbridge. On top of that, who knows how much money they have been sitting on for as long as they have been in the sport? At some point, you need to cash in.
Spire Motorsports has a lot of things they need to do if they want to compete for wins and championships consistently at the highest level of the sport. They just are not at that point in their current state.
If they have the money available to improve, then they need to use it at some point. They cannot continue to sit where they currently are, or they will never improve. Trackhouse Racing proved that.
There’s an old saying that “You need to spend money to make money”, and it is no different in NASCAR. If you are not willing to put forth the financial investment necessary for everything you need to make a Cup Series team run, then you are not going to find the results you want. People may complain about how much money it costs, but, it is the reality of motorsports.
There is the concern, however, about whether or not Spire is growing too quickly. Trackhouse may have had immediate success, but that does not mean Spire will have the same success. It’s no good to have all of the best technology and cars in the sport if there is not the know-how to use them.
Spire is going to have a lot of newness surrounding them next season, and new race teams often take time to develop. Look at what happened during Brad Keselowki’s first season at RFK or even Trackhouse’s first season. It takes time to get things off the ground.
On top of that, Spire may have not one, but two rookies driving their cars in 2024 with Zane Smith in one car and potentially Carson Hocevar joining. Corey LaJoie will still be there, but, his one start in top equipment was less than impressive.
If Spire grows too quickly, then they may have trouble managing having a much bigger operation than they are used to. It will take time to adjust, and, if it takes too long, it could leave them far behind with no chance of catching up.
Then again, Spire has been in the sport for a while now. This will not be their first rodeo, so, they actually could be better positioned for this than even Trackhouse was. Who knows?
At the end of the day, Spire had to make some big improvements to make the jump from “Lovable Underdog” to a true contender. It had to happen at some point, and it is now up to them to use the new resources they have.
