Spire Motorsports’ latest hiring explains reasons behind joining a NASCAR team on the rise

Aneesh
NASCAR: GEICO 500 - Source: Imagn
Spire Motorsports' new crew chief reveals why he joined hands with the garage (Image: Imagn)

Spire Motorsports' No. 71 team's latest signing Travis Peterson has laid his reasons behind joining hands with the Concord-based outfit. He served as Michael McDowell's crew chief at Front Row Motorsports and expressed that it's the "right time" for him to join the three-car Cup Series team that's steadily rising since fielding cars in 2019.

Peterson has previously worked with NASCAR greats such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon and has collected three wins for Hendrick Motorsports. Before stepping into FRM in 2023 and calling shots for McDowell, he was a race engineer on Chris Buescher's #17 Ford at RFK Racing's garage.

A few months back, in May, McDowell officiated his deal with Spire Motorsports beginning in 2025. And now, Peterson has been hired on a multiyear deal to look after McDowell in the #71 car. Amid Spire's latest hiring, Peterson spoke on it being the "right time" to join the NASCAR team on the rise.

"They [Spire] are just doing all the right things and it's exciting to see from the outside and now on the inside, building the culture, grabbing the right people, and really investing in that kind of stuff because you're not just getting beat by parts and pieces anymore," Peterson said via Sirius XM NASCAR Radio on X (0:10).
"It's exciting to see our opportunity, Rodney [Childers] coming on board, the way they've increased their own performance over the last few years. I just think it's kind of the right time to get in on that upward momentum with Spire for sure," he added (0:40).

After he transitioned to FRM, Peterson and McDowell raked in the 2023 Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course win. The duo has also collected four top-5s and 14 top-10s from their 58 outings to date.

Travis Peterson is "excited" to work with his future Spire Motorsports colleague Rodney Childers

In May this year, Stewart-Haas Racing announced that they would shut down their operations after the 2024 season ended. As a result, the driver market witnessed an influx of SHR personnel. While Wood Brothers Racing signed Rodney Childers' current driver Josh Berry, the former inked a multiyear deal with Spire Motorsports.

Childers is renowned for being one of the longest-serving crew chiefs in NASCAR with his most notable triumph- the 2014 Cup Series championship with Kevin Harvick. Moreover, after claiming the title in their first year together, the duo claimed 36 race wins, 25 poles, and the million-dollar NASCAR All-Star Race triumph before Harvick retired by the end of 2023.

It's safe to say that with his plethora of achievements in his arsenal, Rodney Childers has etched his name among the NASCAR greats. Travis Peterson spoke about his future at Spire Motorsports, where he will work with the highly successful crew chief.

"It’s going to be exciting. Rodney is a veteran of the sport. It is exciting for me to learn from a guy with that much success," he said via NASCAR.

Currently, Peterson is focused on helping Michael McDowell secure a spot in the playoffs. With a 148-point deficit against the cutline, the FRM driver is placed 21st in the Playoff Picture.

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Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer
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