Spire Motorsports announced on Thursday that Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, will fill-in for the injured Alex Bowman in the upcoming NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Tyson 250 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Bowman was originally slated to get extra seat time behind the wheel of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado in preparation for the NASCAR Cup Series return to the iconic short track for the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race. However, on April 25th, Bowman suffered a fractured vertebra in a sprint car crash at 34 Raceway.
Larson is excited for the chance to run a Truck race at North Wilkesboro, he just wishes it was under different circumstances.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to run the (NASCAR CRAFTSMAN) Truck (Series) race at North Wilkesboro next weekend with Spire Motorsports,” said Larson. “It’s a shame that Alex (Bowman) won’t be able to compete. We wish him a speedy recovery so he can return to the track soon. Since I’ve never raced at North Wilkesboro, I think it could be beneficial to get some additional laps in at the track. I’m looking forward to double-duty All-Star weekend.”
The Spire Motorsports team expanded to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in a part-time capacity during the 2022 season, and the team has made a total of 13 starts in the series since. William Byron scored the first NASCAR Truck Series win for the organization last season at Martinsville Speedway.
Overall, the Spire Motorsports NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series entry has three top-10 finishes with three different drivers (Byron, Chase Elliott, and Austin Hill). Larson will look to add another top-10 in the stat column with his start in next week’s race.
