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Motorsport

Matt Weaver

Daniel Suarez and Spire wins Coca-Cola 600 for Kyle Busch Motorsports

Kyle Busch Daniel Suarez Kyle Busch Motorsports Spire Jeff Dickerson Ryan Sparks KBM Kevin Harvick

The spoils of victory for winning the Coca-Cola 600 are heading back to Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Technically, Daniel Suarez of Spire Motorsports won the rain-shortened classic on Sunday night at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on a gutsy two-tire call by crew chief Ryan Sparks but so much of their identity runs through the late Kyle Busch.

For one, Spire now races out of the old Kyle Busch Motorsports shop, which it acquired as part of an acquisition in 2023. Busch also continued to drive those trucks to Victory Lane as recently as last weekend at Dover Motor Speedway just six days before dying of a severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis.

Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson was the first sports agent Busch utilized as a Cup Series driver. Dickerson was also his spotter for several years. Suarez, meanwhile, spoke adoringly of Busch on Saturday during his media availability for all the ways the two-time Cup Series champion helped him acclimate to life in the United States.

“He didn't have to help me,” Suarez said. “He didn't have to help this Mexican kid that can barely speak English. He was already a legend of the sport and he took the time every single week to help me.

“That for me spoke very, very highly of not who he is as a driver, but who he is as a person. Most people didn't know that side of him. I got to know that side of him.

“I just -- those are the kinds of things I want to remember about him. Honestly, because of those things, he made me want to be like him, wanting to help others, want to go give a hand to those upcoming drivers that need a hand. He was a role model.”

It was very fitting that a team with so many identity threads to Busch won this weekend. Spire cars and trucks carried the Kyle Busch Motorsports stickers this weekend.

“Not only is Kyle in the fabric of our place going all the way back to the MMI days but certainly we're in that shop, a lot of his former employees came along,” Dickerson said. “I hope it's rewarding for them too. It's been a tough couple days. It's still kind of hard to believe it.

“I was for sure he was going to walk out of that (hospital). I'm still just -- I can't believe it. It means a lot.”

Suarez said that their team winning was ‘no coincidence’ and that the stars aligned.

Dickerson said that the competitive spirit linking Busch and Spire even predates the acquisition of Kyle Busch Motorsports but what they experienced together at Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 5 car over two decades ago.

“Kyle had just a maniacal desire to win and just set a high bar and just did not give a shit,” Dickerson said. “You had to meet it. He just had like this crazy curiosity.

“I remember being here (at Charlotte) and spotting him here, and we were following (Kevin( Harvick. … I just remember him like driving around telling Alan (Gustafson) exactly where the track bar was on (Harvick’s car) and how much rake was in it, and you're just like, you know, only going like 200 miles an hour into the corner, but man, he was just so gifted. Really, it's that attention to detail and that never being satisfied.

“I know I can kind of be a dick at the racetrack sometimes and it’s just like that. Man, he strived for perfection and you just had to meet it and it just made everyone better. He was just so maniacal about it.”

Pun not totally intentional but Spire is on the ascent because Dickerson was inspired by Busch. Suarez was tutored by Busch. Sparks was frequently foiled by Busch.

“I think that's kind of that throughline for all of us that worked with him along the way,” Dickerson said. “I don't think that story is just original to me. I think anybody that ever worked with him on a race team or in business, because he just wants to know every detail and he wants to tell you how you're screwing it up and doing it wrong, and he just wants to know.

“Yeah, I think the thing that carries on in our place and certainly some of these other teams here too is really just that high bar and you had to meet it.”

It wasn’t lost on Sparks what bringing this trophy back to the old KBM shop means either.

“Man, when we bought that place, there was a lot of trophies in the case,” Sparks said. “It's impressive what he did over his career. So to bring another one home, our trucks have been stacking some up, obviously a Hocevar win in Talladega. We're starting to win a little bit. So that's great. There's still a lot of room.

“What a heavy week with what all went on, and to bring a trophy back to KBM is pretty special. I think a fitting way to kind of honor Kyle. I think he would appreciate that because that will always kind of be the original KBM building. I know him and Jeff had a strong relationship through their careers. Pretty special to bring one back to his shop.”

After running the KBM branding on their equipment all week, is this the last we’ll see of that logo at Spire? Certainly, KBM still exists as a Midget, Micro Sprint and Outlaw Kart team for Busch’s young son Brexton.

Might there be a chance that Kyle Busch Motorsports can continue to exist in some meaningful way after this weekend?

“I mean, I haven't talked about it,” Dickerson said. “I think Bill (Anthony, president) and those guys have but I haven't talked about it. I think you honor him … and maybe this sounds weird … but we were honoring him before he passed.

“Again, when you buy that Truck Series team, it’s like we now want to win every race. I think the legacy or paying tribute to the legacy is just winning some races, keep winning races, and we'll figure out the rest this week.”