There has been a lot of NASCAR-IndyCar crossover news this week. Kyle Larson passed rookie orientation for the 2024 Indianapolis 500. Will Power gifted Rick Hendrick a signed helmet for his support during Power's wife's illness. And now, Marco Andretti has revealed that he will return to NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series.
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Andretti will climb back behind the wheel of the No. 7 truck for Spire Motorsports for the last two races in the 2023 season. He brings sponsorship as well, as the rumors of the Andretti family's potential foray into NASCAR continue to grow, especially since Spire has added Gainbridge as a sponsor. Gainbridge is a top sponsor for Andretti's Indy car driven by Colton Herta.
Add Spire Motorsports' growth over the last month with their purchase of Kyle Busch Motorsports, and three full-time cup cars, with Corey Lajoie, Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith, and signs might be pointing to a potential future partnership between Spire and Andretti Global.
Andretti will be looking to prove his worth on ovals, as he will pilot the No. 7 truck with sponsors Kin Insurance on board for Homestead-Miami Speedway, and then Gainbridge onboard for the season finale race at Phoenix Raceway.
.@MarcoAndretti will return to Spire No. 7 Silverado for the Truck races in Homestead 10/22 and Phoenix 11/5. @Group_1001, an investor in @Kin, will be primary for next weekend’s race. Parity Week by @Gainbridgelife will assume the primary at Phoenix. https://t.co/GXYXdWcuWB pic.twitter.com/DcxAK9jtOo
— Spire Motorsports (@SpireMotorsport) October 12, 2023
It's still unclear what message is being sent by Andretti, but according to a press release, it is just to help him get more stock car experience.
"I want to expand my limited stock car experience and get some laps in on the bigger ovals," Andretti said. "Homestead and Phoenix are going to be very different from the ovals I raced with the SRX Series and, obviously, much different from Mid-Ohio, which is what I want."
Could Marco be planning a much busier NASCAR schedule next year? It's clear Spire Motorsports is going to have a lot of trucks available with no news on that front as of yet. Having Marco run full-time in 2024 would definitely make things more interesting for the Craftsman Truck Series.
