Spire Motorsports co-owner acknowledges he never imagined Jim France’s interest in his NASCAR team ‘was that big of a deal’

Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson touched upon how Jim France showed interest in supporting his team financially in the NASCAR Cup Series. France, the Chief Executive Officer and co-owner of NASCAR, wanted to finance an entry for the Cup road-course race at Sonoma Raceway in California in July this year.

France, who represents the ownership side of NASCAR, wanted to bring Jack Aitken, the 29-year-old driver who drives for Action Express Racing in the IMSA competition. Action Express Racing is a full-time team in the International Motor Sports Association, and France owns it.

While there are multiple Cup Series teams Jim France could have opted for, his choice to go with Spire Motorsports amid the existence of Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, or Team Penske has raised some eyebrows. Dickerson said about France's interest in his team (via The Athletic):

“I didn’t really even think it was that big of a deal. I didn’t even think it was that deep.”

With this, Jeff Dickerson added that Spire Motorsports did not allow Jim France to have a 'discount' to run the extra Cup Series car at Sonoma. The price to run the extra charter was the same as anyone else would have paid.

However, France's interest in Spire Motorsports did not go unnoticed. While this might be a temporary approach to bringing a driver and making him drive in the most prominent form of stock car racing, it triggered some high-profile conflicts of interest in other teams. As a result, he had to drop his interest in the NASCAR Cup Series with Jack Aitken.

Spire Motorsports is a NASCAR Cup, Truck, ARCA Menards Series, and ARCA Menards Series West team based in Mooresville, North Carolina. It has been operating in the stock car scene since 2019 and is owned by Dickerson, Dan Towriss, and TJ Puchy.

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Spire Motorsports driver dubbed as the next 'winner' in the NASCAR Cup Series race

Carson Hocevar (77) during qualifying at Charlotte Motor Speedway - Source: Imagn

Spire Motorsports' Carson Hocevar is regarded as the driver who could claim his first victory in the NASCAR Cup Series this season. Given his run of form coming into 2025, experts such as Larry McReynolds and Freddie Kraft put him on a pedestal ahead of Joe Gibbs' grandson, Ty Gibbs.

"I'm gonna say spot on, not just Hocevar. Spire as a whole is bringing speed, and when you've got speed, it eventually will cash in, I know," McReynolds said in the recent Door Bumper Clear podcast by Dirty Mo Media.

"When you look at his finishes, yeah, I think second at Atlanta, got another Top 10 somewhere, he was a player the other night. Carson is starting more and more to find that line between when to, and when not to," he added.

Speaking on the same line, Kraft added:

"Coming into the year, everybody probably thinks Ty Gibbs would probably be on top of that list. Right now, I think it's gonna be Hocevar and Preece (Ryan Preece of RFK Racing)."

Hocevar of Spire Motorsports started off 2025 on a brilliant note after he finished the Atlanta Cup Series race as runner-up. In addition to this, he registered a pole position, two top 10s, and a win in the NASCAR All-Star Open race.