MOORESVILLE, N.C. Spire Motorsports has signed 2024 ARCA Menards Series Champion Andres Perez de Lara to pilot the No. 77 Chevrolet Silverado full time in pursuit of 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year honors.

Perez de Lara made his Truck Series debut with Spire Motorsports last June at World Wide Technology Raceway where he qualified 16th and finished ninth. Veteran crew chief Chad Walter will lead the team from pit road and call the No. 77 teams efforts in 2025.

As Spire Motorsports continues to look toward the future, its important that we identify who we expect to be long-term contributors to the growth of not only our organization, but to the sport as a whole, said Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson. Andres Perez da Lara has a very bright future. He has a huge upside and is already integrated into our processes and methods of preparation. Were thrilled to officially add him to the Spire family.

The 19-year-old drove the No. 2 Chevrolet to the 2024 ARCA Menards Series title, racking up 10 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes. He is the first Mexican-born driver to win the ARCA national title in its 72-year history.

In his first season of ARCA competition in 2023, he earned 10 top fives and 15 top 10s. He was the series championship runner-up in his first attempt at an American national touring series.

In just two seasons on ARCAs national tour, Perez de Lara scored three poles, 20 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes, logged a 6.4 average start, a 7.5 average finish while pacing the field for 108 laps.

The Mexico City, Mexico native started racing karts when he was 11-years-old before transitioning to L-A Formula 4 and NASCAR Mexico Trucks competition. Perez de Lara is the 2022 NASCAR Mexico Challenge Series champion the Mexican equivalent to the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He earned his first NASCAR Mexico Series victory at Ovalo Aguascalientes Mexico.

Telcel, infintium and Claro will all be featured aboard Perez de Laras No. 77 Chevy Silverado and showcased throughout the season.

Its such a great opportunity for me and one that I have been working extra hard to get, said Perez de Lara. Its awesome to work with a team like Spire, and what that means for me as a driver having so many experienced and very accomplished people working with me to make the most of this opportunity. I think Im looking forward to the competition more than anything. Im ready to step up my game and ready to work on getting the most out of every race. Daytona cant come soon enough. All the new tracks Ill be racing will be another big challenge. I am really looking forward to it.

Walter has over two decades of experience and called the shots for Spire Motorsports No. 71 Craftsman Truck Series team last season with driver Rajah Caruth. In total, the potent Walter/Caruth pairing accounted for two Cometic Gasket Pole Awards, one win, five top fives, 12 top 10s and a Round of 8 berth in the playoffs.

He began his career with NEMCO Motorsports in 1993. The Albion, New York, native has also served in engineering and crew chief roles for some of NASCARs most distinguished teams including Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Penske Racing, Richard Childress Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing.

After two successful seasons with Rajah Caruth, Im excited to work with Andres Perez de Lara, said Walter. Ive always enjoyed the opportunity to help mold drivers into the future stars of NASCAR. Andres has proven that he can be that next one. Weve taken the time to assemble a great race team to surround him. Our goal is always to be competitive, maximize our weekends, and race the right way with our competitors. Im grateful to our leadership team for having the confidence in me to lead Andres and the 77 team in 2025.