The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season generates a new beginning for Michael McDowell as he will officially commence his first campaign with Spire Motorsports in this year’s 67th running of the Daytona 500, a crown-jewel event that elevated his racing career to elite status in 2021 and amid a previous 14-year difficult journey on track. Speaking of the number 14, it is a number that highlights McDowell’s upcoming start in the Great American Race as he will make his 14th career start in the 500.
A native of Glendale, Arizona, McDowell achieved his first starting berth for the Daytona 500 in 2010, where he piloted the No. 55 Toyota entry for PRISM Motorsports. By then, McDowell, who had campaigned in two Craftsman Truck Series events and 39 Xfinity Series events between 2007 to 2009, had finished in 14th place during the first Daytona Duel event and was one of two competitors, including Max Papis, to claim transfer spots into the Great American Race. Starting in 29th place during the 62nd Daytona 500, McDowell ended up in 33rd place and was strapped with a DNF due to a drive shaft issue.
After failing to qualify for the 2011 Daytona 500, McDowell returned to the event’s starting grid in 2012 while driving for Phil Parsons Racing, where he finished 30th despite starting 11th. He rebounded during the 2013 Daytona 500 by finishing ninth, which marked his first top-10 result in the event, before failing to qualify in 2014 while driving for Leavine Family Racing.
Over his next six Daytona 500 starts, McDowell notched two top-nine results and finished as high as fifth, the latter of which in 2019. Within the six-year span, the Arizona native drove for Leavine Family Racing from 2015 to 2017 before he joined Front Row Motorsports (FRM), beginning in 2018.
Then in 2021, McDowell, who was racing in third place on the final lap, avoided contact from Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski exiting the backstretch to escape with the lead amid a fiery multi-car wreck. With the caution being displayed before the field could return to the finish line, McDowell was shown to be ahead of the field at the moment of caution and was awarded his first career victory in the Great American Race. With the victory, McDowell, who won in his 358th career start, became the 40th competitor to win the Daytona 500 and the eighth to do so while also claiming a first Cup career victory. He also awarded the third NASCAR victory for FRM and the 16th for the Ford nameplate.
Since his dramatic first victory in 2021, McDowell is coming off respective Daytona 500 finishes of seventh, 28th and 36th, all of which also mark his last three 500 events driving for FRM as he is set to compete for Spire Motorsports in 2025. Within the three-year span, he finished as high as seventh in 2022. During the 2024 event, he qualified on the front row and led six laps before he encountered a mechanical issue that resulted with him finishing 24 laps behind the leaders.
Through 13 previous starts in the Daytona 500, McDowell has achieved one victory, two top-five results, five top-10 results, eight laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.9. A second victory in 2025 would make McDowell the 13th competitor overall to achieve multiple Daytona 500 victories and the first to repeat as a champion of the Great American Race since Denny Hamlin made the previous accomplishment in 2020. In addition, he would notch the second Cup career victory for his new team, Spire Motorsports, and his first driving a Chevrolet entry.
This week, McDowell, who finished in 23rd place in the 2024 driver’s standings, will participate in a single-car qualifying session on Wednesday, February 12, and in one of two Duel events on Thursday, February 13, to determine his starting lineup for this year’s Daytona 500. The qualifying session on Wednesday will begin airing at 8:15 p.m. ET on FS1 while the Duels will begin airing at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.
The 2025 Daytona 500 is scheduled to occur this upcoming Sunday, February 16, with a starting broadcast time of 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
