Michael McDowell bans Justin Haley's "dad" nickname - "It sounded really weird"

Michael McDowell recently revealed that he has put an end to the nickname Justin Haley gave him. The veteran driver joined Spire Motorsports this season in the No. 71 Chevy after seven years at Front Row Motorsports, and his teammate in the NASCAR Cup Series gave him a seemingly "weird" nickname.

NASCAR reporter Steven Taranto shared the story on X, writing:

"Michael McDowell says that Justin Haley started calling him Dad when they started working together at Spire Motorsports. 'It sounded really weird' so McDowell says Haley isn't allowed to call him Dad anymore."

Meanwhile, McDowell also returned to part-time racing in the Truck Series this year. The 40-year-old and Haley competed at the season-opening event at Daytona earlier this month with Spire Motorsports' full-time drivers: Rajah Caruth and Andres Perez.

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"There's just no way around it" - Michael McDowell weighs in on fuel-saving strategy on superspeedways

Michael McDowell has raced everything, open wheel and stock cars to go-karts and BMX bicycles in his early years. The 2021 Daytona 500 winner made his NASCAR debut in the Truck Series in 2007 and moved to the Cup Series in 2009, driving for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Currently, in his eighth full-time Cup season, McDowell is ranked 19th in the points standings ahead of Sunday's Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. During the same pre-race press conference, he commented on the fuel-saving strategy at superspeedways like Talladega and Daytona.

The fuel-saving tactics have become important because they let drivers spend less time on the pit road and move up in position.

Steven Taranto posted McDowell's take on the controversial strategy on X:

"Michael McDowell says he doesn't think fuel mileage racing on superspeedways is going away anytime soon since the benefit of gaining track position is so great. 'There's just no way around it.' Says the only thing that changes it is where cautions fall relative to fuel window."

Some Cup drivers have voiced frustration over the extreme fuel-saving strategies over the past years. NASCAR's senior vice president of competition, Elton Sawyer, even said that the sanctioning body would take a deep look into the situation. The long green-flag runs also seem to upset some fans as it makes the races slower and less exciting.

McDowell's Daytona victory was his first win in 358 starts. The win also put him in the NASCAR playoffs for the first time. His last and second win in the Cup Series was the 2023 Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

As the Cup Series moves to Talladega for its 11th race of the 2025 season, McDowell will enter the weekend with three top-10 finishes in his last eight starts at the 2.66-mile tri-oval in Alabama.