NASCAR CUP SERIES: COCA-COLA 600

May 24, 2026

Ryan Sparks

Press Conference

An Interview with:

THE MODERATOR: We're going to begin our post-race media availabilities. We're joined by the winning crew chief of tonight's Coca-Cola 600 for the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team, Ryan Sparks.

Ryan, special night, your first win as a Cup crew chief, and ultimately play a big role in deciding the strategy that ultimately gets you the victory and leaving you with the checkered flag. Ultimately, what went through that thought process as you're coming down with the weather nearby and what ultimately led to you earning the win today?

RYAN SPARKS: Yeah, obviously the weather had a huge part in that. Really the night we had, such an up-and-down. We had a fast car, but things kept happening. We pitted on a green, we were losing laps, and fought hard finally to get back on the lead lap.

I don't know, something in the back of my mind told me to just go ahead and put two on. I kind of looked and seen what everybody had for tires on in front of me, and I figured there was going to be a good opportunity for us to be first or second. Just wanted to get that clean air and give ourselves an opportunity.

Q. Sparks, congratulations. Finally, long overdue. This kind of run that Spire's been on seems like it's been a long time coming, a long time building. You've been part of it from the competition side, first win as a crew chief. How gratifying is it for all you've poured into this organization to finally across the board see the fruits of the labor?

RYAN SPARKS: Well, I can tell you that first year Next Gen cars, our shop was a quarter mile off the back stretch of the old Kulicky [phonetic] building, and we killed three race cars here, and we all slept in the shop. There was 20 of us working for two Cup teams each and every week, and it was a grind.

We've had a steady progression. As you've seen the results, we've been building this thing for five years. Nobody believed us, and Hocevar put us on the map there at Talladega and now Daniel at Charlotte. Eventually they're going to take us seriously.

Q. Did you think this weekend, this win was never going to happen?

RYAN SPARKS: Man, it didn't seem like it. I feel like we gave one away with LaJoie at Atlanta a few years ago. We've had several opportunities and just couldn't get it done.

Yeah, you start questioning yourself. I think tonight was 215 races for me. So 1 for 215 isn't that great. Hopefully we can continue to build and keep this going. I'm super proud to be a part of this organization, just the climb, the ascent we're on is impressive. Super happy to win this thing at home with my family and friends around. Should be a fun deal tonight.

Q. It's easy to look at this thing and say Mother Nature, luck kind of thing, but you guys are also tenth in the points standings. That says something about where you're at were the chase to begin today. What does that say to you that you guys are top 10 in points?

RYAN SPARKS: It means we're doing our job, right? Daniel had to drive his ass off those last two restarts against some studs. My race engineer actually lost the rain-shortened race to the 20 I think in '23, '24, whenever that happened. So he is super pumped to beat the 20 this time with the same deal.

We are a playoff-contending team. We need to execute a little better on Sundays. Our cars are fast enough. It really just comes down to us continuing to build and continuing to improve, incremental improvements each and every week.

I do agree, I think we're a real playoff team. We took an opportunity on a strategy call tonight. There were 15, 17, other guys that had the opportunity and didn't do it. So I study my ass off on this stuff and pride myself on making good calls. I don't always get them right, though.

Q. You're practically a day-one employee of this version of Spire, the fully fleshed-out version of Spire. Your role has changed a lot over the last five, six years too. I'm curious, as they've added people and grown and the investments and the way that it's shifted what you do, are you content with how it's played out for you? And as it leads to this first win as a crew chief, when you could have been in a competition director role or a shop role, but here you are on the pit box and you win?

RYAN SPARKS: As long as I have a pinnacle on my shirt working for Spire Motorsports and Jeff Dickerson, what he's built, I'm happy and content. I'll do anything. I'll fight for this team. Competition director, crew chief, it doesn't matter. It's all about stacking wins and improving.

I didn't know what I was going to do at the end of the year. We were moving some people around. Really didn't know what to expect with Daniel coming aboard. I've raced against him and been around for a while, but I could not have asked for a better teammate, better friend, somebody with such a tremendous work ethic. He shows up each and every week. He wants it just as bad as everybody else. That's truly what the 17 has been lacking.

Changing that name above the door was a huge deal for us.

Q. When you add Daniel, you also add Frankie, and everyone kind of did their part in this win too. I'm just curious, one, what can you say about the work that Frankie did on those restarts? Then also how important he's been in building that triangle between you, him, and him?

RYAN SPARKS: Yeah, Frankie does a great job. Honestly, anybody that Daniel can understand we had to take on our team. It's hard enough on Sundays. All kidding aside.

It gives me a little extra gray hairs at the end of these races. These Sundays are hard. It's no joke, it's hard to understand each other. He has a pretty heavy accent. I have a southern accent. But Frankie does a great job. Him and Daniel have been together several years. It was a no-brainer bringing him on and just props to him for being here actually this weekend. His wife just had a baby a few days ago. So thank you, Shannon, for letting him come to work this weekend. No, it's been great.

Q. Ryan, on the topic of Daniel coming in, one of the things he told me upon reflecting of what the off-season was like is that he did not want you to have dual roles at Spire, crew chief and competition director, as you were doing last year, and that you wanted to work with the race team. Then once that was in place, it was, okay, how do we build this? I wanted to get your thoughts from that perspective of wanting to be on the team, wanting to work with Daniel as that was his view of things, and then the two of you going to work, putting this team together, and getting ready for this season.

RYAN SPARKS: Yeah, dual roles is impossible. I didn't sleep at all for a year, I feel like. No, I just -- I want to win. Daniel wants to win. Really that's the recipe you need. These Cup races are nearly impossible to win. These guys are so freakin' good, it's unbelievable. You cannot make one mistake.

I think -- I don't want to say we got lucky, but we put ourselves in position today. It's just tough. I don't know, I kind of lost my train of thought on that to be honest with you. If you've got another question, go ahead.

Q. Ryan, when I followed your car into Victory Lane, I noticed the Kyle Busch Motorsports decal on the left rear, and it dawned on me then that the Spire Motorsports shop is the old Kyle Busch Motorsports shop. Given that, what is it like now to bring another trophy back to the place that Kyle brought so many of them to?

RYAN SPARKS: Man, when we bought that place, there was a lot of trophies in the case. 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.

Q. Is that part of the reason why there was such a feeling of catharsis and -- maybe not catharsis, but the 71 team, I think, got in the celebration. I saw Michael there. I don't know if anyone from the 77 was -- did that factor into the emotion in the immediate aftermath?

RYAN SPARKS: That's how we roll. I don't know if you saw Talladega Victory Lane, but that's how Spire rolls. We're one team, one dream. There's not another team that fulfills that in the Cup series. They say that, but you look at Spire, that's how we roll. One car fails tech, all three cars are helping them the next time through. We go to Victory Lane, they're all there.

That's not just at the track, that's in the shop. That's what Jeff has instilled in all of us. That's the kind of people we want to operate and do business with. It just makes me even more proud for that to be seen and be a part of this deal.

Q. Sometimes I think people feel that Daniel Suárez is an underdog, maybe because he came from another team and moved over, and that you, this being your first Cup win as a crew chief, people start now to take your team more seriously? What are you seeing? I see the smile on your face. What do you see in this team now, and what does this do for you? Should people not rule out a Daniel Suárez and yourself?

RYAN SPARKS: No, I don't think they should rule us out. Like I said, we've still got a long ways to go to get to where we want to be. We want to be contenders each and every week to win these things. Today was an awesome step for us. I do think we're a playoff team. I don't think we're a championship team just yet, but we've got several weeks to get everything in order to give ourselves that opportunity.

I think we're 10th or 11th in the points right now. Tonight was a great night for us. As far as taking us seriously, it doesn't matter to me as long as people within the walls at Spire take each other seriously, respect each other, and keep moving the needle and keep pushing forward. That's all I can ask.

Q. To watch this over the years, your team is a huggy team. They know how to have a good time celebrating out in the rain.

RYAN SPARKS: Wait until tonight.

Q. It was really fun to watch. But that does a lot for a team too. All the hard work, all the hours you put in, to be able to have that tonight and enjoy it that way, what did you see? You just couldn't help but smile when you saw your team celebrate?

RYAN SPARKS: It's great. There's a lot of guys on my team that have never been to Victory Lane in any of the top three series.

A little bit about my car chief. He had an opportunity to go work on the 5 car at Hendrick Motorsports the other year, and he chose us. I like what we're doing. I like what we're building. That's just how we roll. We are huggers. We love each other, maybe not all the time.

I know it's hard to believe, but that's real. That's how we are.

Q. Ryan, with your tenure there at Spire, what is it about Jeff Dickerson's vision or the organization's vision through the years that has kept you there, that has made you see something that maybe others on the outside didn't see? Because it would be -- for somebody who's been there this long, it would be easy to say why didn't they go someplace else? Obviously there was something you saw and something that attracted you, and it's worth banging my head against the wall here and not sleeping for a year plus because there's something down the road.

RYAN SPARKS: I think it's easy to go to one of the big teams and win. This means way more to me than that. I grew up racing at Bowman Gray Stadium working on cars there. That's how I got my start. I've always been a grinder. I don't want to take the easy route. I don't get much satisfaction in going to a top team.

I always say my grandma could crew chief a few of these drivers and still get a win, you know what I mean? These guys are frickin' good. So to be a part of something young and new and fresh and build it up has been fun. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Q. So what is the satisfaction with tonight, then, of not winning with a big team but winning with this team?

RYAN SPARKS: Well, the satisfaction for me is it's been 215 races and I feel like I've given a few away. I feel like we could have won a couple of these things away and we just never executed.

The satisfaction is what we're doing is working, right? Everybody's beginning to see it. They don't want to believe it. We still have a long way to go. We're definitely not done. But, yeah, the satisfaction is what we've created and what we're starting -- or what we started five years ago is working.