Travis Peterson, who has labored alongside McDowell as his crew chief for the final two seasons, will be part of him at Spire Motorsports when he takes over the No. 71 Chevrolet. The duo made the 2023 playoffs after successful on the Indianapolis Highway Course.
This yr, they’ve earned three pole positions along with the No. 34 Entrance Row Motorsports Ford.
“It’s thrilling to have Travis Peterson be part of Spire Motorsports,” mentioned Spire Motorsports president Doug Duchardt. “The primary time Travis and I labored collectively was when Greg Ives and Travis got here to Hendrick Motorsports to be the crew chief and the engineer for the No. 88 automotive with Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. I obtained to spend time with Travis there as a younger engineer and it’s thrilling to see how he’s grown into a pacesetter and a crew chief. He’s going so as to add super depth to our crew chief lineup and be an incredible praise to Luke (Lambert) and Rodney (Childers). I’m actually excited to see what these three can do collectively.”
Spire Motorsports has made a number of bulletins in current weeks. Championship-winning crew chief Rodney Childers will be part of the group after Stewart-Haas Racing closes its doorways, and the staff has made the choice to let Corey LaJoie go on the conclusion of the yr.
It will not be Peterson’s first time working with a Chevrolet-powered staff. He was a part of Chase Elliott’s 2014 NASCAR Xfinity Sequence title run with JR Motorsports, and later was a part of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports group from 2015 via 2018.
“It’s a very thrilling alternative,” mentioned Peterson. “Michael [McDowell] and I had the chance to fulfill with Doug [Duchardt] and [Jeff] Dickerson and so they actually offered us on the imaginative and prescient of the place Spire goes and the way we might be huge position gamers in constructing the group. I feel having that pores and skin within the recreation was vital to each of us. The chance in entrance of us has all of the potential to be very rewarding. That was an enormous a part of it. I really like the power proper now and the general tradition round Spire Motorsports. They’re investing in folks and staff possession is extremely engaged. The mindset is ‘We’re going to do what it takes to win and that is what we wish to construct. Right here’s the imaginative and prescient, the place we’re going, what we’re going to do to get there, and we wish you to be a part of it.’ That was the largest promoting level.”
Talking on his partnership with McDowell, Petersen added: “There are occasions while you meet folks and you might be instantly in a position to naturally talk on an actual degree. I really feel like we have been that manner from the beginning. We didn’t need to work at it. Our personalities, the best way we brazenly talk, and our sincere nature helped us click on from the beginning. We’ve got no drawback speaking about arduous stuff or straightforward stuff. We could be glad collectively after we win and be unhappy collectively after we lose. There isn’t a crimson tape. We simply work. It’s arduous to recreate that.”
