Michael McDowell’s maiden season with Spire Motorsports has not gone as well as he might have hoped. The No. 71 driver sits 207 points below the playoff elimination line and must win at Daytona on Saturday to make it to the playoffs. He has every reason to feel dejected and lie back without hope, but past success and strong will won’t let him call it quits just yet.
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McDowell spoke to the press this week and detailed his perspective heading into the year’s final regular-season race. He said, “It’s our last chance, the last race before the playoffs start. We all know what we’re trying to do, and we’re definitely going to try to get one of our Spire Motorsports cars in.
“It’s a great opportunity for us and a new partner onboard with Fly Alliance. Justin (Haley) has won there, and I’ve won there. We’ve had strong speedway cars this year and the time has come.”
McDowell does regret that they have all put themselves in a situation where they must perform in the last race to score big, but he is extremely confident about hitting the bullseye. “Unfortunately, we put ourselves in this predicament where it comes down to the last race to get into the playoffs, but we know what we’ve got to do,” he added.
The No. 71 driver’s best result this year was fourth at Sonoma Raceway. At Daytona, in the season-opener, he finished in 11th place. In the two races at Atlanta, he finished 13th and 18th. In Talladega, he finished in 11th place.
Superspeedway races are as much about luck as they are about skill and speed. Hopefully, McDowell will have better fortune than he did in the earlier superspeedway races, especially with a new sponsor on board.
The past success that McDowell and Haley enjoyed at Daytona
Back in 2019, 26-year-old Justin Haley was a full-time driver for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series. He got the chance to race the No. 77 car in the Cup Series for Spire Motorsports at Daytona in the middle of the year. Making full use of the opportunity, he reached Victory Lane and produced one of the most shocking results in the track’s history.
McDowell’s victory, which came in 2021, was more pronounced, for it was the Daytona 500 that he won. He was a driver for Front Row Motorsports at the time and piloted the No. 34 Ford Mustang. We will know on Saturday if he can recreate the magic and secure himself a playoff berth.
