Marco Andretti will return to the No. 7 Spire Motorsports truck for the final two Craftsman Truck Series races of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.
Kin Insurance will be Andretti’s primary sponsor at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 21). Parity Week by Gainbridge will be on the truck at Phoenix Raceway (Nov. 3).
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Andretti finished 19th in his series debut with the team at Mid-Ohio Sports Cars Course in July.
“I had a lot of fun driving for Spire Motorsports at Mid-Ohio,” Andretti said. “The end result wasn’t reflective of the pace we had out of the gate, but I learned a lot about how these trucks handle and what to expect. I want to expand my limited stock car experience and get some laps in on the bigger ovals. Homestead and Phoenix are going to be very different from the ovals I raced with the SRX Series and, obviously, much different from Mid-Ohio, which is what I want.
“I’ve driven both of these race tracks in IndyCar, but with much higher g-forces and a lot more throttle. We’ll only have 20 minutes of practice and then we go right into qualifying. I’ll be thrown back into the deep end again, but that’s the best way to learn. I spent some time on the race simulator and that was promising, so we’ll see how that translates to the track. I love working with Bono (Manion) and everyone at Spire. I also really appreciate Group 1001 and Kin Insurance for their support. If I have it my way, we’ll just be getting started.”
Andretti has five NTT IndyCar Series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway from 2006 through the 2010 season. He made three starts at Phoenix Raceway from 2016 through 2018.
“Spire Motorsports is thrilled to have Marco Andretti back in our No. 7 Chevy Silverado for the final two NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races of 2023,” said Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson. “He qualified and ran really well at Mid-Ohio and if a couple things fall our way, he has a much better finish. Marco has plenty of experience at both tracks in an Indy car and there’s going to be a learning curve for him in the truck, but we expect him to do well and have some fun.
“We all know what’s at stake when the name Andretti is above the door. At the same time, we’re proud to welcome Kin Insurance for Homestead and to highlight an initiative as important as Parity Week by Gainbridge at the season finale at Phoenix Raceway.”