NASCAR: 5 teams with no drivers announced for 2023
By Asher Fair
NASCAR teams without plans announced: No. 3 – Spire Motorsports
Spire Motorsports also run a two-car team, and like Kaulig Racing, only one of their two cars is driven by a full-time driver. The #7 Chevrolet is drive full-time by Corey LaJoie, and the #77 Chevrolet is driven by a number of drivers.
LaJoie is in his second season with the team and is without a contract to compete next year. While it wouldn’t surprise anybody if he returns for a third season, especially after he nearly earned his first victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he has never previously spent more than two seasons with one team.
The #77 Chevrolet is driven primarily by Josh Bilicki, but like the #7 Chevrolet, nothing is confirmed as far as the 2023 season is concerned. However, it is probable that the team will continue to run one entry for a full-time driver and one for a number of drivers.
One thing that Spire Motorsports could find themselves in danger of is having one or both of their charters repossessed by NASCAR at some point in the near future.
If a charter team finishes outside of the top 33 in the owner standings (among the 36 charter teams) for three consecutive seasons, NASCAR reserves to right to repossess that team’s charter.
The #7 team and #77 team currently sit in 32nd and 33rd place, respectively. The charter used to run the former was run by Rick Ware Racing’s #53 team last year, and it finished in 35th of the 36 charter teams. Results do carry over to new teams following charter transactions.
Can Spire Motorsports put together a lineup that will keep both cars out of the bottom three in 2023?