Having exited Front Row with a ‘love-hate relationship’ for Martinsville, Michael McDowell makes feelings clear on his new team’s ‘different approach’

NASCAR veteran Michael McDowell recently reflected on his experiences racing at Martinsville, particularly during his time with Front Row Motorsports. Additionally, he shared insights on how his new team, Spire Motorsports, might adopt a different approach to short-track racing in the NextGen era.

Michael McDowell, the driver of the #71 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, is competing in his first season with the team after spending seven years with Front Row Motorsports. The 40-year-old has three career victories, including two in the Cup Series.

As NASCAR gears up for its first short-track race of the season, McDowell reflected on his struggles at Martinsville. Having finished outside the top 20 in both races last year, he admitted that it's the one track where his performance has consistently "not been great."

"Martinsville’s been a love-hate relationship for me. It’s been an up-and-down race in the old car. It was one of my better tracks. I felt like I could outperform my equipment at times but in the NextGen era, it just hasn’t been great for me, which is crazy because everywhere else has been really good in the NextGen car, so it’s a head scratcher for sure." he said (via Speedway Digest)

"Spire has had good speed there the last few years, and I feel like they have a different approach to their Martinsville package, so I’m excited to try that and see if I can make the gains that I need to make. It’s one of those weekends where I feel like if you execute, you can win, and you can give yourself a legitimate shot, so I am looking forward to it." the #71 driver added.

Michael McDowell has finished in the top twenty consistently this season, besides the Shriners Children's 500, where he crossed the start finish line in P27.

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"We're figuring it out": Michael McDowell reflects on underwhelming result at Homestead

Spire Motorsports #71 driver Michael McDowell had a rough day at Homestead Miami last Sunday in the Straight Talk Wireless 400. McDowell started the race from P26 and made progress as he finished the race in P20.

Following the end of the race, the veteran driver shared a video on X, where he said:

"We made a lot of adjustments. Got good at one point, then that last run just got really tight again. Yeah, unfortunately, we're figuring it out. It's just a little bit of games at a time. We had a couple good runs that felt like we were moving forward doing the right things. And then a couple where we didn't." said the Spire driver

Meanwhile, Mcdowell's teammate Justin Haley secured a top ten finish, and Carson Hocevar finished behind the #71 Chevy, in P37.