Spire Motorsports is bringing out the big guns for two upcoming NASCAR Cup Series road course events, as the organization has announced the addition of 38-year old Mike Rockenfeller to the team’s driver roster.
Rockenfeller, a two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, will get behind the wheel of the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro at Watkins Glen International on August 21st as well as the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval on October 9th.
Sponsorship for the effort will come from NationsGuard.
Rockenfeller, a native of Germany, is excited to get a shot behind the wheel of a NASCAR stock car.
“Since starting my professional racing career back in the early 2000s, I’ve always kept a close eye on NASCAR,” said Rockenfeller in a Spire press release. “What’s more, after teaming up with Jimmie Johnson – one of the heroes of the sport – my respect and appreciation for NASCAR has grown. It’s an immensely competitive series with some of the world’s greatest drivers racing wheel-to-wheel, merely centimeters apart. Room for error is minimal, at best. Watkins Glen is a difficult track in any car but given how sensitive and big a NASCAR Cup Series car is, I think this will be an even bigger challenge.
“I’ve been fortunate to race LMP prototypes, DTM, and GTs, but now I’m ready to get my name out there in NASCAR. This is a huge honor for me to be racing the No. 77 NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and I want to say thank you to Spire Motorsports for giving me this opportunity to start a new chapter in my career.”
For Spire Motorsports, just having a driver the caliber behind the wheel of their race cars is a massive accomplishment.
“Attracting world-class talent like Mike Rockenfeller is such an honor for Spire Motorsports,” said Spire Motorsports President Bill Anthony. “Mike is a talented, globally-accomplished driver and we’re thrilled to introduce him to NASCAR. We’ve invested in getting Mike up to speed quickly through the Driver Familiarization Test and our partners at Chevrolet have generously offered simulation time for him. Everyone at Spire Motorsports is motivated and committed to providing Mike with a great effort for Watkins Glen and the Charlotte ROVAL.”
Rockenfeller’s debut at Watkins Glen International will take place on Sunday, August 21 and television coverage will be provided by USA Network beginning at 3:00 PM ET.
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