Resilient Start With Spire Has McDowell Looking Ahead

Michael McDowell (David Rosenblum/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

LAS VEGAS – Michael McDowell has made a name for himself as a multi-race winner in the NASCAR Cup Series by virtue of his unrelenting persistence through adversity.

And despite being battle-tested yet again to kick off the next phase of his career with Spire Motorsports, McDowell and the No. 71 team still find themselves in a favorable position coming into Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Off to his best start since winning the Daytona 500 in 2021, McDowell and his crew’s ability to rally for respectable finishes has made for an admirable and inspiring beginning to the 40-year-old’s newest venture at the sport’s top level.

Guided by crew chief Travis Peterson, McDowell has an average finish just outside the top 15 after four of 36 races, and he’s shown comfortable consistency as it relates to running against the best in the sport as well.

However, he’s also fully aware the only proper way to make a good first impression (and make the playoffs) with Spire Motorsports is by getting back to victory lane.

“ I think more than anything, it’s just good not to be in a hole,” McDowell said of his start to the 2025 season. “But at the same time, the reality of having to win to make the playoffs is still very real to me. Thinking about points and pointing your way into the playoffs is not a good approach. Every weekend you want to score as many points as you can, and you want to get the best finish you can. But, you can't ever feel comfortable.

“I think you just have to take the momentum and be thankful that it went well for us in those first three races.”

Resilience has been the theme – not just this year through four starts – but throughout McDowell’s 18-year Cup Series career. That’s exactly how he and the No. 71 team were able to set themselves up seventh in the standings heading into Phoenix Raceway last weekend.

It’s also what allowed them to limit the bleeding during a rough afternoon at the Glendale, Ariz., driver’s home track, where McDowell finished a disappointing 27th.

But in between a pair of 11th-place finishes in the season-opening Daytona 500 and at Circuit of the Americas, the No. 71 team pieced together arguably one of the most impressive 13th-place performances in NASCAR history.

Before the end of stage one at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway, McDowell took his Chevrolet behind the wall with a power steering issue and went six laps down by time the issue was remedied.

Staying smart and aggressive throughout a chaotic race, McDowell earned six free passes and finished on the lead lap in the top 15. Good fortune may have favored the No. 71 bunch through three races, but it ran out by time the green flag waved in Phoenix.

The weekend started out perfectly, with McDowell and teammate Carson Hocevar setting the pace in practice as the two quickest drivers. Speed from the 45-minute session translated into qualifying, where all three Spire-prepared Chevrolets qualified inside the top 10.

Michael McDowell in action at Arizona's Phoenix Raceway. (Danny Hansen/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Unfortunately, McDowell had to give up his seventh-place starting spot after the team changed out the steering box on the No. 71 before the race. Starting from the rear, he impressively made his way through the field as one of the biggest movers of the race.

The Arizonan’s homecoming rally was stopped short by two right-rear tire failures, relegating him well outside the top 20 as a result. But even being 22 laps off the pace, McDowell turned the fastest lap of the race and was able to earn an additional point, courtesy of a new rule implemented this year.

By no means has McDowell’s transition from Front Row Motorsports to Spire been perfect, but his commendable start is something the team can build upon as the Cup Series visits more traditional tracks on the circuit like Phoenix, Vegas, Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway and Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

“ I think the transition has gone really well,” McDowell said. “It’s definitely not been seamless, because you're still learning new tools, new people (and) new processes. We’re all adapting and figuring it out. Some of the issues that you’ve seen early on, like mechanical issues and things like that, have really been – I don't want to say self-induced – but induced in the sense of trying to do things differently; trying to do things a little bit better and changing the process, which always adds that element of unknown.

“Now that we’ve gotten through a few races and we’re understanding the mechanical aspects of it and the technical aspects of the setups and things like that, I feel like we’ll continue to improve and get better,” McDowell added. “It’s a good start. It’s not a perfect start, but it’s something to build on.”

Switching teams has kept McDowell on his toes at 40 years old and given him a new outlook on his livelihood. What’s aided in early success, in addition to comfort through a major change, has been the sight of many familiar faces inside the shop at Spire.

Not only did crew chief Travis Peterson follow McDowell from FRM, so did his spotter Mike Fisher, car chief Griffin Rider, and tire specialist Collin Markle, among others. That’s, of course, on top of the tons of other men and women working on the No. 71 team and throughout the organization.

“I think that the change has given (life) some excitement and freshened it up, where you feel like you’re starting a new journey,” McDowell said. “It kind of re-energizes things. I learned that people – and it’s something I’ve known for a long time –  are what make performance. We have great people and we’ve added a lot of people, and that just takes time before everybody can be meshing and crushing it.

“I’ve had to learn to be more patient, because it is a process. It takes time.”

Coming off a 27th-place day, McDowell will face the most adversity he has all season going into Sin City, where he has a career-best finish of 17th (twice).

The good thing is, one of those efforts occurred in the Next-Gen era back in 2023. Adding to that, he’ll start from the pole Sunday, after earning Spire’s first Busch Pole Award in qualifying Saturday.

Find out if McDowell can continue persevering with Spire this year when the Pennzoil 400 rolls off at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Broadcast coverage airs at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.