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Spire Owner on Cup Team Charters: ‘There’s Nothing for Sale Here’

Spire Motorsports team owner Jeff Dickerson told Frontstretch prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway that the team is not looking to sell either of its NASCAR Cup Series charters.

“We’re not looking to sell,” team owner Jeff Dickerson told Frontstretch when asked if he was open to selling charters. “We’re looking to acquire. There’s nothing for sale here.”

The announcement comes in the same weekend IndyCar veteran Marco Andretti made his first career start for the team’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series organization at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The news was conjoined with the announcement of a new multi-year partnership with Gainbridge for Spire’s Cup Series efforts on both the Nos. 7 and 77 teams.

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Additionally, Dickerson gave updates regarding both of his Cup drivers contract negotiations and mentioned the uncertainty regarding Spire’s No. 77 driver Ty Dillon.

“Maybe Ty’s [contract] is up at the end of this year,” Dickerson said. “With that No. 77 group, I wish they would just get going. It would make these decisions a little bit more straightforward.

“We love what Ty brings to this team. It’s a results business, right? But I don’t think the results are indicative of that group and what they’re capable of. They just haven’t had the results to give positive reinforcement.”

Dickerson did however confirm that Spire is expecting to renew full-time driver Corey LaJoie‘s contract for another year in the Cup Series.

“Corey’s is up, and we’d like to re-sign him,” Dickerson said. “We’ve been talking and working more towards that.”

LaJoie is the only Spire Cup driver to have earned a top-10 result in 2023 when he placed fourth at Atlanta in March.

Currently, LaJoie sits 24th in the standings, 70 points behind the playoff cut, while teammate Dillon is placed in 32nd, 236 points behind.

About the author

Dalton Hopkins began writing for Frontstretch in April 2021. Currently, he is the lead writer for the weekly Thinkin' Out Loudcolumn, co-host of the Happy Hour podcast, and one of our lead reporters. Beforehand, he wrote for IMSA shortly after graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2019. Simultaneously, he also serves as a Captain in the US Army.

Follow Dalton on Twitter @PitLaneCPT

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gbvette

Dickerson “loves what Ty brings” to his team, really? What has he ever brought to any team?

As far as Spire’s Charters, doesn’t NASCAR have a rule about Cup teams being able to lose their Charter if they finish outside the top 30 in points, three years in a row? It’s unlikely that Dillon will get anywhere near the top 30 this year, and his ride (the 77) has never been inside the top 30 ever, with finishes of 33rd last year, 31st in 2021, 34th in 2020, and 36th in 2019. The #7 team hasn’t been much better with finishes of 32nd (2022) and 29th (2020) and he thinks he should have a third Charter? I want to know why he’s been allowed to keep the 77 Charter? NASCAR needs to give the 77 Charter to a team that can field a competitive car and driver, someone like Trackhouse, Penske, JR Motorsports or Kaulig.

Jill P

In other words, they want more money from his grandfather if he wants to stay there.

DoninAjax

The 77 brings out a lot of cautions and ends up a lot of laps down.