The Heart of America 200 will mark the first time Spire Motorsports will field a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) entry at Kansas Speedway. Spire Motorsports fields the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Silverados full time in the NCTS. An all-star driver lineup will rotate throughout the 2024 season in the No. 7 Chevy. Rajah Caruth will drive the No. 71 entry and Chase Purdy rounds out the team’s fleet of Chevrolets in the No. 77.
The Heart of America 200 will be televised live on FS1 Saturday May 4, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The eighth of 23 NCTS races on the 2024 schedule will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. NASCAR RaceDay’s pre-race coverage on FS1 will take the green flag at 7 p.m. EDT.Connor Mosack – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado
Connor Mosack will make his Spire Motorsports debut driving the No. 7 Pinnacle Racing Group/Chevrolet Accessories Silverado in Saturday night’s Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway.
Mosack will pull double duty on Saturday and will also pilot the No. 28 Chevrolet in the ARCA Menards Series for Pinnacle Racing Group.
While Saturday will mark the North Carolina native’s first NCTS start at Kansas Speedway, he has a wealth of experience at the 1.5-mile track. He picked up his first career ARCA Menards Series victory there last September and led a race-high 64 laps. Overall, across four ARCA Menards Series starts in the Prairie State, Mosack has compiled an average finish of 5.3 and produced three top-five finishes. He also finished 14th in his lone NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the venue last September.
In addition to the Heart of America 200, Mosack will also pilot to the No. 7 Silverado later this summer at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24 and Pocono Raceway on July 12. He’ll be back in the seat during the NCTS playoffs when the division returns to Kansas Speedway September 27 and again at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 26.
The 25-year-old driver is an accomplished and versatile racer who began his career in 2017 in the US Legends Cars ranks and has since made multiple starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NCTS and ARCA Menards Series.
Mosack competed in select ARCA Menards Series events in 2023 and put the competition on notice with a 3.5 average finish over six races, including his win last September at Kansas Speedway. He is a veteran of 24 Xfinity Series races with his best results coming at Watkins Glen International (fifth) and Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (eighth).
Pinnacle Racing Group (PRG) will adorn the hood of Mosack’s Silverado on Saturday. PRG is a professional multifaceted motorsports team specializing in providing productive and fulfilling careers for team members, while also being a leader in on-track performance and driver development primarily in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Series (NAAPWS), zMAX CARS Tour Series and the ARCA Menards Series.
The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation will be an associate sponsor for this weekend’s race. The Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for children battling pediatric brain tumors and other childhood cancers by pairing them with local teams, clubs and community groups. For more information, please log on to Friendsofjaclyn.org.
After seven races, the No. 7 team leads the 2024 NCTS owner point standings by one tally over the No. 19 team. The No. 7 team has compiled two wins with an average starting position of 5.1 and an average finish of 7.3 thus far this season. Kyle Busch led a race-high 33 laps en route the team’s first victory of 2024 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February and a race-high 112 laps in the team’s most recent triumph at Texas Motor Speedway.Connor Mosack Quotes
You’ve had success in multiple series at Kansas Speedway. Is it a track you enjoy racing at?
“My favorite thing about Kansas is how wide it is and the options that the progressive banking gives you. You can make up a little speed for how your vehicle is handling by using the different lanes and seams. It’s also the only NASCAR track I’ve been to more than twice in a series, which helps with being confident there.”
How will the extra seat time you get running the ARCA Menards Series race ahead of the truck race benefit you?
“The extra laps in the ARCA car definitely will help me get up to speed quickly in the truck, and also helps with knowing where the racing groove is heading that weekend and where the grip levels are.”
Have you set any goals for your limited schedule at Spire this season?
“I feel like with the speed the No. 7 team has shown this year, I have high expectations. I don’t see why I can’t go out and have a shot at a top 10 each week and bring home a couple of top fives.”
Rajah Caruth – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado
Rajah Caruth will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado in Saturday night’s Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway.
Caruth started 10th and finished 12th in the division’s most recent stop at Texas Motor Speedway in the SpeedyCash.com 250.
HendrickCars.com is the online home for everything Hendrick Automotive Group. Visitors can shop thousands of new or pre-owned vehicles, locate centers for service and collision repair, receive a value to sell or trade their car, chat online with customer service, discover career opportunities, learn more about vehicle protections programs, and explore how the company gives back to the community.
Caruth has two prior NCTS starts and two additional NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 1.5-mile tri-oval and looks to better his venue-best 12th-place finish in Saturday night’s 200-miler.
The Winston-Salem (N.C.) State University senior is currently seventh in the NCTS championship point standings after seven races. He has logged one pole, one win, five top-10 and seven top-15 finishes. He’s recorded a 10.9 average start, a 7.7 average finish and completed 100 percent of the laps contested this season.
With his first career NCTS win and pole position earlier this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Caruth became just the third African American driver, alongside NASCAR Hall of Famer, Wendell Scott and current NASCAR Cup Series regular Bubba Wallace, to win a NASCAR National Touring Series race.
The 21-year-old started racing professionally online for the first time in the eNASCAR IgniteSeries. He finished 20th in points. Caruth still iRaces for recreation.
This weekend, Spire Motorsports and the Kansas City Pioneers (KCP), a local esports organization, will collaborate to advance the relationship between real racing and iRacing through professionally created content and activations at Kansas Speedway throughout the weekend. Spire Motorsports’ drivers from the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, Casey Kirwan and Malik Ray, will join KCP's drivers, Graham Bowlin and Wyatt Tinsley, for three days of filming at the track along with behind-the-scenes segments featuring Caruth and teammate Carson Hocevar. The sim racing drivers will also participate in activations at the NASCAR Experience in the midway of Kansas Speedway on Saturday and Sunday. These activations include coaching sessions at the iRacing sim rigs, participating in live interviews with fans and media, as well as an autograph session before the Heart of America 200.
Caruth will participate in a question-and-answer session Friday at 6:15 p.m. at the Hollywood Casino Turn 2 sports bar.
Race fans can meet Caruth on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. while he signs autographs at the Cabo Wabo FanWalk in the Infield. Rajah Caruth Quotes
You’re headed to Kansas after two weeks off. How’s your mindset getting ready for this weekend to get back to racing?
“ A lot of excitement. Kansas is a racetrack that I tend to have good pace at. Honestly, it’s a lot of fun to race at Kansas and going to a racetrack with multiple lanes and a surface that’s worn out a little bit where you have a lot of options to race with. During these two off weeks I haven’t had jitters, but I have felt the itching need to get back on the track.
What are your goals for the weekend to build on your stellar 2024 so far and have a better finish than the past?
“Kansas is the mile-and-a-half track that I have ran at the most, but at the same time I haven’t had the best of results there. Hopefully we can turn that around this time. My goals for this weekend kind of lead to what they’ve been the whole year. I’m just trying to finish in the top-10 every race and earn stage points by qualifying well and being there at the end of the race and get the finishes we deserve for Spire Motorsports, HendrickCars.com, Mr. Hendrick and Chevrolet.”
Chase Purdy – Driver, No.77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado
Chase Purdy will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No.77 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado in Saturday night’s Heart of America 200.
Purdy heads to Kansas Speedway 17th in the NCTS driver point standings. He started 15th and finished 25th two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway
In seven NCTS starts at Kansas Speedway, Purdy has earned two poles, one top-10 and three top-15 finishes. The Meridian, Miss., native has recorded an 11th-place average start, a 19.3 average finish and completed 883 of 944 (93.5 percent) laps contested over those seven races.
The Heart of America 200 will mark Purdy’s 83rd NCTS start and his eighth behind the wheel of the No.77 Bama Buggies Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports.
Purdy’s Jackman, Dax Hollifield, attended the rookie camp in 2022 for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL. He played college football for five seasons at Virginia Tech and recorded seventh-most assisted tackles in ACC history. This is Hollifield’s second full-time season in NASCAR.
Purdy’s Crew Chief Jason Trinchere has four starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Kansas Speedway with Kaulig Racing. In Trinchere’s four starts, he has called three top 10s, including back-to-back top-five finishes in 2020-2021.Chase Purdy Quotes
Last race at Kansas you qualified on pole, what’s your mindset on going into Kansas?
“I think going back to a place like Kansas is definitely something I look forward to. Especially considering how fast we were last year, but it’s a new year and we have a new team. The goal is the same and we’re looking to execute this weekend and get our season back on track.”
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