Wikipedia

Peter Sospenzo

Peter J. Sospenzo(born December 23, 1956) is an American professionalstock car racingdriver and crew chief who works forSpire Motorsportson theirNext Gencar implementation. He previously competed in theNASCAR Busch Grand National Seriesas a driver.

Peter Sospenzo
BornPeter J. Sospenzo
(1956-12-23)December 23, 1956(age 67)
Brooklyn, New York
NASCARXfinity Seriescareer
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish108th (1991)
First race1991Autolite 200(Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0

Racing career

edit

A formerNASCAR Busch SeriesandARCA Permatex SuperCar Seriesdriver, Sospenzo began working as a crew chief in 1994 withRich Bickle.From 1994 to 1997, he worked withPhil Parsons,Joe Ruttman,Lake Speed,Loy Allen Jr.,Mike Wallace,andGary Bradberry.[1]He later joinedPenske-Kranefuss Racing,taking over asJeremy Mayfield's crew chief during the 1999 season afterPaul Andrewswas fired.[2]In 2000, Sospenzo and Mayfield won two races, though the former was also subject to penalties during the year for various infractions. In May, he was fined following Mayfield's win atCalifornia Speedwayfor a roof height violation, followed by a four-race suspension for using illegal fuel additives during theTalladega Superspeedwayrace in April.[3][4]

He joinedHendrick Motorsports' No. 25, driven byJoe Nemecheklate in the 2002 season.[5]The following year, the two won atRichmond International Speedway;Nemechek rebounded from a pit miscommunication that dropped him to 25th by taking the lead late in the race and was declared the winner when the event was shortened by rain.[6]With the Hendrick organization, Sospenzo later worked withBrian VickersandTerry Labonte.[7]He reunited with Nemechek atGinn Racingin 2007,[8]but was released when the team merged withDale Earnhardt, Inc.in July.[9]

After Ginn, Sospenzo joinedMichael Waltrip RacingandMichael McDowell's No. 00 car,[10]which was followed by leadingKevin ConwayandDavid GillilandatFront Row Motorsports.[11][1]In 2014, he becameDave Blaney's crew chief atRandy Humphrey Racing.[12]A stint atTeam Xtreme Racingin 2015 saw his final race as a Cup crew chief—the2015 Daytona 500withReed Sorenson—until 2018.[1][13]

In 2018, Sospenzo joinedPremium Motorsports;in addition to overseeing the team's No. 7, he ledStefan Parsons'NASCAR Camping World Truck Seriesdebut with the team atBristol Motor Speedway.[14][1]The following year, he became the crew chief ofSpire Motorsports' No. 77. In July, he won the rain-shortenedCoke Zero Sugar 400at Daytona with driverJustin Haley.In addition to being Haley and Spire's first Cup victories, it was Sospenzo's first since the coincidentally also-rain-shortened 2003 Richmond victory with Nemechek.[15]

In 2021, Sospenzo was replaced by Kevin Bellicourt as the crew chief of the Spire Motorsports No. 77 car, and he became the crew chief forRick Ware Racing's No. 52 car driven byJosh Bilicki.After the first 10 races of the season, Sospenzo left RWR to return to Spire where he was tasked with helping the team prepare their Next Gen cars for 2022. He also served as the interim crew chief for the No. 77 at Sonoma and again at Bristol in September when Bellicourt was suspended.

Motorsports career results

edit

NASCAR

edit

(key) (Bold– Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics– Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

edit
NASCAR Busch Seriesresults
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NBSC Pts Ref
1991 Sospenzo Racing 03 Chevy DAY RCH CAR MAR VOL HCY DAR BRI LAN SBO NZH CLT DOV ROU HCY MYB GLN OXF NHA
DNQ 		SBO DUB
DNQ 		IRP ROU
DNQ 		BRI DAR RCH
32 		DOV CLT
DNQ 		NHA CAR MAR 108th 67 [16]

Busch North Series

edit
NASCAR Busch North Seriesresults
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 NBNSC Pts Ref
1991 Sospenzo Racing 03 Chevy DAY RCH CAR NHA OXF NZH MND OXF TMP HOL JEN EPP STA OXF NHA FLE OXF TMP NHA
19 		RPS TMP DOV EPP NHA 57th 106 [17]

ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series

edit

(key) (Bold– Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics– Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Permatex SuperCar Seriesresults
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 ASCSC Pts Ref
1987 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 86 Chevy DAY ATL TAL DEL ACS TOL ROC POC FRS KIL TAL FRS ISF INF DSF SLM ATL
36 		116th - [18]
1988 Sospenzo Racing 03 Buick DAY ATL TAL FRS PCS ROC POC WIN KIL ACS SLM POC TAL DEL FRS ISF DSF SLM ATL
9 		126th - [19]
1989 DAY
DNQ 		ATL
33 		KIL TAL FRS POC KIL HAG POC 82nd - [20]
Chevy TAL
DNQ 		DEL FRS ISF TOL DSF SLM
08 Buick ATL
38
1990 DAY ATL
21 		KIL TAL
DNQ 		FRS POC KIL TOL HAG POC TAL MCH ISF TOL DSF WIN DEL 84th - [21]
Chevy ATL
30

References

edit
  1. ^abcd"Peter Sospenzo (crew chief) – NASCAR Cup Series Results (races)".Racing-Reference.NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  2. ^Pencek, Dave (June 20, 1999)."Year later, defending champ still seeks 2nd win".Times Leader.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020– viaNewspapers.
  3. ^"Mayfield team penalized again".Tampa Bay Times.May 5, 2000.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020– viaNewspapers.
  4. ^Carvell, Michael (May 3, 2000)."Illegal fuel: Mayfield team busted".The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020– viaNewspapers.
  5. ^"Nemechek to stay in Hendrick Chevrolet".The Daily Item.November 14, 2002.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020– viaNewspapers.
  6. ^Martin, Susan (May 4, 2003)."Victory at rainy Richmond caps Nemechek's comeback".The Buffalo News.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  7. ^"Hendrick Shuffles 2005 Crew Chief Lineup".Hendrick Motorsports.November 22, 2004.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  8. ^"After Starting Poorly, Busch Is Making Gains".The New York Times.AP.May 6, 2007.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  9. ^"Drivers Sue Ginn and D.E.I."The New York Times.AP.September 11, 2007.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  10. ^"Elledge takes over Allmendinger's team; Sospenzo gets McDonnell's crew".ESPN.AP.July 9, 2008.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  11. ^"Fontana II: Front Row Motorsports announce crew chief changes".Motorsport.October 6, 2010.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  12. ^Bonkowski, Jerry (June 25, 2014)."Dave Blaney-driven No. 77 Ford to take break from Sprint Cup for 'retooling,' hopes to return by Indy".NBC Sports.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  13. ^Gluck, Jeff; James, Brant (February 27, 2015)."Team Xtreme withdraws from NASCAR race after car theft".WTSP.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  14. ^"Parsons to make Truck debut at Bristol".Jayski's Silly Season Site.ESPN.August 7, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  15. ^Nguyen, Justin (July 7, 2019)."Justin Haley wins bizarre, rain-shortened Coke Zero Sugar 400".The Checkered Flag.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  16. ^"Peter Sospenzo – 1991 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results".Racing-Reference.NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  17. ^"Peter Sospenzo – 1991 NASCAR Busch North Series Results".Racing-Reference.NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.RetrievedMarch 15,2020.
  18. ^"Peter Sospenzo – 1987 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results".Racing-Reference.NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  19. ^"Peter Sospenzo – 1988 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results".Racing-Reference.NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  20. ^"Peter Sospenzo – 1989 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results".Racing-Reference.NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
  21. ^"Peter Sospenzo – 1990 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results".Racing-Reference.NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.RetrievedJanuary 30,2020.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Sospenzo&oldid=1236698050"