Spencer Gallagher Bio
Spencer Moritz Gallagher (born November 20, 1989) is an American professional stock car racing driver who has competed across NASCAR’s national touring series and the ARCA Menards Series. He is best known for his time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with GMS Racing, where he captured his first career national-series victory at Talladega Superspeedway in 2018. The son of Allegiant Air chief executive officer Maurice J. Gallagher Jr., he stepped away from full-time competition at the end of 2018 to manage his father’s racing organization before announcing a return to ARCA competition in 2025.
Early Life and Background
Spencer Moritz Gallagher was born on November 20, 1989, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and raised in the same neighborhood as fellow driver Dylan Kwasniewski, though their paths first crossed on the racetrack. He is the son of Allegiant Air CEO Maurice J. Gallagher Jr., a connection that helped open doors throughout his racing career. At the age of nineteen, Gallagher briefly worked for a Silicon Valley software company while transitioning into a full-time racing path.
Gallagher began his motorsports journey at twelve years old in the Bandolero Bandit Series before moving up to the Legends Car Series at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring. On the recommendation of car owner and former driver T.J. Clark, he began taking the sport seriously in 2009. That year he won the Silver State Road Racing Championship, and in 2010 he added the INEX Legends Road Course World Finals. He also ran six Super Late Model Series races with a best finish of fourth during this developmental stretch.
Path to NASCAR
Gallagher made his ARCA Racing Series debut in 2011 at Indianapolis Raceway Park, posting a best finish of fifteenth in the No. 05 Allegiant Air Chevrolet. He committed to the full nineteen-race ARCA schedule in 2012, earning six top-ten finishes and finishing seventh in points. His 2013 ARCA campaign showed further progress with five top-five finishes and eight top-ten finishes, though a concussion at Michigan and two qualifying failures dropped him to tenth in the final standings.
During the same developmental window, Gallagher attempted five Camping World Truck Series races, qualifying for three with a best finish of twentieth at Texas. He also made six NASCAR K&N Pro Series West starts in 2011 and two ARCA East Series starts across 2011 and 2012. These mixed-discipline experiences prepared him for a full-time Truck Series ride in 2015.
Spencer Gallagher Career
Early Career (2011–2014)
Gallagher’s first major win came in October 2014, when he captured the ARCA 98.9 at Kansas Speedway, starting thirty-second and leading the final thirty-two laps of the season finale. Later that month he earned his best Truck Series result to date, charging through the field on the final lap to finish third at Talladega Superspeedway. Earlier in 2014 he had also been involved in a post-race incident with John Wes Townley at Iowa, which led to a brief physical confrontation between the two drivers and their crews.
He also ran a partial Truck Series schedule in 2014, sharing the No. 23 truck with Max Gresham. The combination of consistent ARCA finishes and his breakthrough Kansas victory established Gallagher as a driver ready for a full-time national-series opportunity, which arrived with GMS Racing the following season.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Breakthrough (2015–2016)
Gallagher went full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2015, driving GMS Racing’s No. 23 entry. He earned a second-place finish at Gateway Motorsports Park in June, signaling his competitiveness on intermediate tracks. His rookie Truck Series campaign laid the foundation for the improvement that followed the next season.
In 2016, Gallagher opened the year with a crash at Daytona before recovering to a twenty-first-place finish, then added a limited NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule in the No. 21 with a first top-ten at Daytona. Back in the Truck Series, he posted five consecutive top-ten finishes before Texas, and on June 25, 2016, at Gateway Motorsports Park, he was involved in another on-track incident with John Wes Townley that led to a brief fight between the two drivers before NASCAR officials intervened. He finished the year with a runner-up result at Talladega behind teammate Grant Enfinger, was fined twelve thousand dollars, and was placed on probation.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Breakthrough (2017–2018)
Gallagher moved up to the NASCAR Xfinity Series full-time in 2017 with GMS Racing, driving the No. 23 Chevrolet. The season was marked by an on-track clash with Joey Gase during practice at Dover International Speedway, when Gallagher spun Gase entering turn three; Gase publicly criticized Gallagher on Fox Sports 1 afterward, accusing him of dangerous driving despite running for a top-tier team. The episode drew national attention but did not derail Gallagher’s progression toward his breakthrough victory the following year.
In April 2018, Gallagher scored his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series win at Talladega Superspeedway, passing leader Tyler Reddick on the final lap in overtime to take the checkered flag. Four days later he was indefinitely suspended by NASCAR for violating the substance abuse policy, forfeiting his Dash 4 Cash eligibility and his playoff berth. Later that summer, he made his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut with BK Racing at Watkins Glen International, starting thirty-fourth and finishing thirty-fifth, before announcing in October 2018 that he would step away from NASCAR competition to manage his father’s racing organization.
Sigma Performance Services Era (2025)
On April 11, 2025, it was announced that Gallagher would return to competitive racing in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Sigma Performance Services in the East Series race at Rockingham Speedway. The appearance marked his first start in any racing series since 2018. He is also scheduled to drive the No. 23 Chevrolet in the main ARCA Menards Series at Talladega Superspeedway, Kansas Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway, signaling a measured return to stock car competition.
Notable Races and Milestones
Gallagher’s signature moments include his 2014 ARCA victory at Kansas Speedway, where he led the final thirty-two laps from a thirty-second-place start, and his 2018 Xfinity Series triumph at Talladega, decided in overtime with a last-lap pass of Tyler Reddick. Both wins came on superspeedways, a track type where drafting and race craft rather than raw qualifying speed often decide the outcome, and both underscored his patience in long runs. His 2018 Cup Series debut at Watkins Glen with BK Racing added a road-course entry to his resume.
Spencer Gallagher Career Wins
Spencer Gallagher’s verified victories include his 2014 ARCA Racing Series win at Kansas Speedway and his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2018. He also collected the Silver State Road Racing Championship in 2009 and the INEX Legends Road Course World Finals in 2010, both early career titles that helped launch his path into NASCAR’s national touring series.
Xfinity Series Highlights
Gallagher’s lone verified NASCAR Xfinity Series victory came at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2018, a last-lap overtime pass of Tyler Reddick that briefly put him into playoff contention. The win was later overshadowed by his NASCAR suspension, but it remains the headline result of his national-series career and his only confirmed victory at that level.
Other Wins and Performances
Before reaching NASCAR, Gallagher captured the 2009 Silver State Road Racing Championship and the 2010 INEX Legends Road Course World Finals. His first ARCA Racing Series victory came at Kansas Speedway in October 2014, where he led the final thirty-two laps after starting thirty-second, a defining breakthrough that helped earn him a full-time Truck Series opportunity with GMS Racing the following year.
Spencer Gallagher Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Gallagher is the son of Maurice J. Gallagher Jr., the chief executive officer of Allegiant Air. The family’s business connection to the airline also showed up early in his career, when he ran the No. 05 Allegiant Air Chevrolet during his 2011 ARCA Racing Series debut at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Growing up in the same Las Vegas neighborhood as fellow driver Dylan Kwasniewski also linked him to a peer who would later reach NASCAR’s national series.
2025 Season Performance
Gallagher’s 2025 campaign centers on a part-time ARCA Menards Series return with Sigma Performance Services, beginning with the East Series event at Rockingham Speedway on April 11. He will also drive the No. 23 Chevrolet in the main ARCA Menards Series at Talladega Superspeedway, Kansas Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway, three superspeedway and intermediate venues where his drafting experience and prior Kansas win offer competitive upside.
After seven years away from full-time competition and a period focused on managing his father’s racing organization, Gallagher enters the season as a veteran presence in a developing series rather than a full-title contender. His limited schedule suggests the focus is on enjoyment and measured results rather than a championship push, with strong runs at Talladega and Kansas the most realistic benchmarks for a successful return.