Andrés Pérez de Lara’s 2025 campaign reads like a stubborn underdog script, with flashes of promise, a few mid-season stumbles, and then a clear uptick once circumstances changed. Across the first half of the year, he made 17 Craftsman Truck Series starts for Spire Motorsports in 2025, earning a pair of top 10s, including a season-best seventh-place finish at Martinsville Speedway. By late August, his race log reflected the arc many expected from a young driver still finding his footing, with incremental gains, occasional strong runs, but not the consistent front-running pace that turns heads. But that seems to have changed drastically after he departed from the team.
Spire Motorsports officially permitted Pérez de Lara to explore other opportunities, and Niece Motorsports announced they would bring him aboard for the remainder of 2025. “Andrés has made meaningful progress this season, and we remain confident in his future,” said Spire Motorsports President Bill Anthony. “While we haven’t finalized our 2026 plans for the No. 77 team, we wanted to give him the opportunity to look ahead and pursue other options for the remainder of this year and beyond.” Niece’s announcement reiterated continuity with his sponsors like Telcel, Claro, and Infinitum, while supporting Pérez de Lara’s eagerness to build momentum before Richmond.
That change of scenery quickly became the proving ground for the 20-year-old rookie. Since the move to Niece, Pérez de Lara has shown noticeably better form as he finished 16th at Darlington, posted a top-10 at Bristol, and at New Hampshire, he ran up front for extended green-flag stints before late-race fading and ultimately being collected in the Matt Crafton/Toni Breidinger incident. The 2025 Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender is currently 15th in points and third in the rookie standings. Those results aren’t just box-score improvements; they’re evidence of a driver in a car and environment that let him race near the front and be aggressive, a contrast to the conservative survival runs he was making earlier in the year.
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Meanwhile, Spire Motorsports’ Truck Series results in 2025 paint a muddled picture. Over 80 starts so far this season, Spire has managed 4 wins, 15 top-5 finishes, and 30 top-10s, but also a significant number of finishes outside the top-20. Their average finish sits around 14.4, while their average starting position is better at about 12.4, indicating that qualifying has sometimes shown promise that doesn’t translate into race day results. Rajah Caruth won the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway, leading 61 laps in that race, one of the deepest dominance moments for Spire this year.
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But in many other events, Spire trucks fade in the late stages or get hampered by aero and reliability issues that prevent them from closing aggressively. And now, Pérez de Lara’s release has raised questions and comparisons for the team.
Fans call out Spire Motorsports’ struggles
One fan critiqued, “I don’t know if anyone gets less for their money than Spire. Their ARCA cars are somehow bad, they seemingly have their engines explode the most out of all the charter teams, and their truck operation has been fairly disappointing considering they have a shit ton of money and bought out KBM.” For instance, in the Cup Series, Carson Hocevar led laps more than once, such as at Charlotte’s Coca-Cola 600, only for an engine failure to take him out of contention. In ARCA and lower-series entries, Spire hasn’t been dominant; even when Tristan McKee won at Watkins Glen for his ARCA debut, overall ARCA-West and ARCA Menards Series results show inconsistency across Spire’s stable.
Another added to that sentiment, saying, “Spire is just the VCARBs to Hendricks Red Bull. Team they can use on their up and coming talents (think hocevar and Haley or hadjar and de vries) and see if they’re any good for the big team. It’s also likely used for R&D which explains why the engines blow so much… If they’re really invested in a driver they’ll either send them to JRM or just stick them in a spire cup car to test.” Spire has been penalized multiple times for inspection failure, like the No. 71 entry at Phoenix, where the car chief was ejected, and similarly for the No. 7 entry at Talladega, which adds to the perception that they’re pushing the envelope, using cars as test beds or experiment labs rather than as perfectly polished race machines.
Some other fans echoed several observable trends, saying, “Spire as a whole is very off this season… Compare that to neice, where you have guys like Baylee currey fighting for wins and Honeycutt outrunning big teams like tricon, thorsport, and MHR, and it’s no surprise that Perez is doing better there.” Drivers at Niece Motorsports, like Kaden Honeycutt, prior to his release from the team, have put up top-10s and a win this season, and Bayley Currey has also delivered multiple good finishes, including a strong 4th at Atlanta. And now, Pérez de Lara’s results reflect that same trend.
But one fan defended the team, suggesting, “I wouldn’t call Spire being off this season when they have never really been on. They are proof that you can’t just buy speed in NASCAR.” Despite significant investments, including acquiring Kyle Busch Motorsports and fielding multiple entries, Spire’s results have been underwhelming. In contrast, teams like TRICON Garage and Front Row Motorsports have demonstrated consistent competitiveness. TRICON’s Corey Heim leads the standings with 9 wins in 2025, while FRM’s Layne Riggs has been a playoff contender. Spire’s struggles highlight that financial investment alone doesn’t guarantee success in NASCAR’s highly competitive environment.
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Another fan predicted, “Spire has basically sucked. Corey said they are way behind in aero and they don’t want to spend the time and money to fix it this late in the year. I believe that’s a hint that they will not be truck racing next year. If they are, it won’t be as much.” Spire Motorsports’ trucks have frequently experienced mid-pack finishes, with limited top-10 results. Additionally, issues such as engine failures and aerodynamic shortcomings have been noted. For instance, during the Weather Guard Truck Race at Bristol, Spire’s No. 77 entry, driven by Andrés Pérez de Lara, finished 19th after surviving late-race carnage.
The team’s ability to address its technical challenges and clarify its future plans will likely influence its standing in the NASCAR community and its relationship with the fanbase.