Michael McDowell sets the tone as Spire locks in with best-ever qualifying effort at Phoenix Cup race: “It is a great accomplishment”

Michael McDowell, along with teammates Carson Hocevar and Justin Haley, took top-eight starting positions for the Shriners Children’s 500. Spire Motorsports delivered its best-ever qualifying performance in the NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway.

The information comes from a post by Bob Pockrass on X. In the caption he wrote:

"Spire Motorsports has all three of its cars starting in the first four rows—Carson Hocevar third, Michael McDowell seventh, and Justin Haley eighth. Thoughts on that from McDowell: @NASCARONFOX."

This is the first time Spire has placed multiple cars in the top eight of Cup Series qualifying. Their average starting position of 6.00 at Phoenix is a new milestone for the team. McDowell credited the organization’s depth of talent for the improvement.

Speaking to NASCAR on FOX, McDowell stressed that while qualifying well is important, race-day performance remains the focus. In his own words:

"It’s like you said, qualifying. Need that tomorrow. If we're sitting here talking about three cars in the top 10 at the end of the race, it would be awesome. It is a great accomplishment, but the expectation is the win. And until we get to that level, everybody is gonna be pushing hard," he said.

Despite the strong qualifying effort, McDowell’s weekend hit a snag when his car failed pre-qualifying inspection twice. NASCAR penalized his team for the remainder of the weekend.

A report from Bob Pockrass and an official NASCAR statement confirmed that McDowell’s No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet failed inspection twice but passed on the third attempt. As a result, car chief Griffin Ridder was ejected, and the team lost pit selection for Sunday’s race. NASCAR’s official statement read:

"The No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet for driver Michael McDowell failed pre-qualifying inspection twice during Friday’s opening inspections at Phoenix Raceway, NASCAR officials announced. As a result, car chief Griffin Ridder has been ejected for the remainder of the event weekend at the Avondale, Arizona, track. The No. 71 team will also lose pit selection for this Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500."

Michael McDowell has had a strong start to the 2025 season, finishing in the top 13 in every race so far. However, losing pit selection is a major disadvantage in a 500-mile event, making his Phoenix race more challenging.

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Michael McDowell on his NASCAR future

Since joining the NASCAR Cup Series in 2008, McDowell has never taken his career for granted. Speaking to The Athletic’s 12 Questions Podcast with Jeff Gluck, he looked back on his journey and the possibility of retirement.

Now in his 40s, Michael McDowell feels he is still at his peak and isn’t ready to step away. For years, he wasn’t sure if he’d get another season, but his career continued to improve. He shared:

"For so many years, it was just like, ‘Man, I hope I get to do this one more year.’ And it’s just gotten better and better,"

While Michael McDowell has won at Daytona and Indianapolis, he considers his longevity in the sport one of his biggest achievements. With over 500 Cup Series starts, he takes pride in enduring the toughest years, when he had to drive underfunded cars just to stay in NASCAR.

He recalled those early struggles, explaining that competing under difficult circumstances shaped him as a driver. His 500th start at Martinsville meant more to him than even his biggest race wins because it showed his perseverance.