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Peter Sospenzo
BornPeter J. Sospenzo
(1956-12-23) December 23, 1956 (age 67)
Brooklyn, New York
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish108th (1991)
First race1991 Autolite 200 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0

Peter J. Sospenzo (born December 23, 1956) is an American professional stock car racing driver and crew chief who works for Spire Motorsports on their Next Gen car implementation. He previously competed in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series as a driver.

Racing career

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A former NASCAR Busch Series and ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series driver, Sospenzo began working as a crew chief in 1994 with Rich Bickle. From 1994 to 1997, he worked with Phil Parsons, Joe Ruttman, Lake Speed, Loy Allen Jr., Mike Wallace, and Gary Bradberry.[1] He later joined Penske-Kranefuss Racing, taking over as Jeremy Mayfield's crew chief during the 1999 season after Paul Andrews was 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 at California Speedway for a roof height violation, followed by a four-race suspension for using illegal fuel additives during the Talladega Superspeedway race in April.[3][4]

He joined Hendrick Motorsports' No. 25, driven by Joe Nemechek late in the 2002 season.[5] The following year, the two won at Richmond 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 with Brian Vickers and Terry Labonte.[7] He reunited with Nemechek at Ginn Racing in 2007,[8] but was released when the team merged with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in July.[9]

After Ginn, Sospenzo joined Michael Waltrip Racing and Michael McDowell's No. 00 car,[10] which was followed by leading Kevin Conway and David Gilliland at Front Row Motorsports.[11][1] In 2014, he became Dave Blaney's crew chief at Randy Humphrey Racing.[12] A stint at Team Xtreme Racing in 2015 saw his final race as a Cup crew chief—the 2015 Daytona 500 with Reed Sorenson—until 2018.[1][13]

In 2018, Sospenzo joined Premium Motorsports; in addition to overseeing the team's No. 7, he led Stefan Parsons' NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut with the team at Bristol Motor Speedway.[14][1] The following year, he became the crew chief of Spire Motorsports' No. 77. In July, he won the rain-shortened Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona with driver Justin 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 for Rick Ware Racing's No. 52 car driven by Josh 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

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NASCAR

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

Busch Series

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NASCAR Busch Series results
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

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NASCAR Busch North Series results
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

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

ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series results
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

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  1. ^ a b c d "Peter Sospenzo (crew chief) – NASCAR Cup Series Results (races)". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  2. ^ Pencek, Dave (June 20, 1999). "Year later, defending champ still seeks 2nd win". Times Leader. Retrieved January 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Mayfield team penalized again". Tampa Bay Times. May 5, 2000. Retrieved January 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Carvell, Michael (May 3, 2000). "Illegal fuel: Mayfield team busted". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Nemechek to stay in Hendrick Chevrolet". The Daily Item. November 14, 2002. Retrieved January 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Martin, Susan (May 4, 2003). "Victory at rainy Richmond caps Nemechek's comeback". The Buffalo News. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  7. ^ "Hendrick Shuffles 2005 Crew Chief Lineup". Hendrick Motorsports. November 22, 2004. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  8. ^ "After Starting Poorly, Busch Is Making Gains". The New York Times. AP. May 6, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  9. ^ "Drivers Sue Ginn and D.E.I." The New York Times. AP. September 11, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  10. ^ "Elledge takes over Allmendinger's team; Sospenzo gets McDonnell's crew". ESPN.com. AP. July 9, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  11. ^ "Fontana II: Front Row Motorsports announce crew chief changes". Motorsport.com. October 6, 2010. Retrieved January 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. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  13. ^ Gluck, Jeff; James, Brant (February 27, 2015). "Team Xtreme withdraws from NASCAR race after car theft". WTSP. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  14. ^ "Parsons to make Truck debut at Bristol". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN.com. August 7, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  15. ^ Nguyen, Justin (July 7, 2019). "Justin Haley wins bizarre, rain-shortened Coke Zero Sugar 400". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  16. ^ "Peter Sospenzo – 1991 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  17. ^ "Peter Sospenzo – 1991 NASCAR Busch North Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  18. ^ "Peter Sospenzo – 1987 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  19. ^ "Peter Sospenzo – 1988 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  20. ^ "Peter Sospenzo – 1989 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  21. ^ "Peter Sospenzo – 1990 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
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