This weekend will mark a new era for two up-and-coming drivers, trying to make it to NASCAR’s elite level, the Sprint Cup Series.
Michael Lira and Spencer Boyd will both make their XFINITY Series debut during Saturday night’s U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway.
Lira, 18, has competed part-time in the ARCA Racing Series for the past four seasons for his father, Carlos Lira. In 26 career starts, he has recorded six top-10 finishes, with a best of seventh at Salem in 2013.
Lira will be piloting the No. 15 that is normally fielded by Rick Ware Racing. However, the car will be under the banner of BJ McLeod Motorsports. The No. 15 has been shared among a number of drivers, most notably Travis Kvapil, Ryan Ellis, Cody Ware and Todd Peck. The car’s best finish of the year was with Ellis at Daytona earlier this month, finishing 15th. Lira will have sponsorship from MOMO on his Ford Mustang.
Lira is well-known for his road racing abilities. Over the course of his career, he has competed in Sports Car Club of America races, the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and even the Rolex 24 at Daytona for Muehlner Motorsports America last year.
Rick Ware Racing will be fielding the No. 25 Chevrolet only this weekend, with Boyd at the helm. Primary sponsorship for Boyd will be provided by Wick Buildings.
Boyd has competed in a pair of Camping World Truck Series races in 2016, most recently at Gateway for Premium Motorsports. In that race, he finished a career-high 19th.
Six weeks ago, Sam Hornish, Jr. dominated at Iowa for Joe Gibbs Racing. This week he will be driving a Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. The green flag is set to fly shortly after 8 p.m. ET Saturday night.
About the author
Dustin joined the Frontstretch team at the beginning of the 2016 season. 2020 marks his sixth full-time season covering the sport that he grew up loving. His dream was to one day be a NASCAR journalist, thus why he attended Ithaca College (Class of 2018) to earn a journalism degree. Since the ripe age of four, he knew he wanted to be a storyteller.
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