Daniel Suárez – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
START: 22ND
FINISH: 20TH
POINTS: 16TH
Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 7 Group1001 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports, finished 20th in Sunday’s 400-lap race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway after sustaining damage in the Final Stage, to secure his fifth top-20 finish of the season and seventh in 18 starts at the short track.
Suárez started 22nd and worked his way into the top 20 before a caution with just one lap remaining in the stage brought the field to pit road. The No. 7 team used took the opportunity to make an air pressure adjustment aimed at improving overall grip in the Group1001 Chevy and Suárez began the second stage inside the top 20.
The second caution of the day on Lap 106, just 11 laps into Stage 2, with the 34-year-old driver reporting his car started the run too free, then became tight in the center at times, and needed more rear grip for better overall handling. At that time, only 23 cars remained on the lead lap, with Suárez still among them and running in 20th position. As Stage 2 concluded, the Group1001 Women’s History Month machine finished 19th.
The Monterrey, Mexico native restarted 21st for the Final Stage as the race went green with 207 laps remaining in the 400-lap event. Suárez went a lap down to the leader prior to green-flag pit stops and crew chief Ryan Sparks called his driver to pit road on Lap 281 for fuel, four fresh tires, and air pressure adjustments allowing Suárez to cycle out to the 17th position as the first car one lap down. A caution on Lap 312 placed the No. 7 back on the lead lap and following pit stops he restarted 20th with 78 laps remaining. An incident on Lap 325 delivered damage to the nose of Suárez’s car, but after pitting to check over his Camaro he restarted 20th with 69 Laps to go and maintained his position until the checkered flag waved.
Daniel’s Post-Race Comments
“Tough day for our No. 7 Group1001 Chevrolet. It felt like the rear of the car was loose at times. There were moments when it was a little better, and other times when it was worse. I thought we might be able to finish somewhere inside the top 15, but once we got front-end damage we didn’t have much pace. It made things a bit of a struggle, but overall there are some things to learn from, and hopefully we’ll be better next time.”
Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
START: 20TH
FINISH: 18TH
POINTS: 17TH
Michael McDowell earned his second consecutive top-20 result, and his fifth of the year with a gritty finish of 18th following 400 laps at Martinsville Speedway.
McDowell qualified 20th and struggled with a tight balance early onboard his No. 71 Delaware Life Women’s History Month Chevrolet. The veteran lost two spots during the initial 80-lap stint, finishing Stage 1 in the 22nd position, the last car on the lead lap.
The Glendale Ariz., native gained one position following a full service stop at the stage break to take the green flag in the 21st position. The Cup Series veteran found himself in the 19th position when a caution was displayed on Lap 106 and crew chief Travis Peterson elected to bring McDowell to pit road for a fresh set of Goodyear Eagles, with only a handful of competitors following. McDowell restarted 20th but struggled to regain track position as the field spread out during a 70-lap green-flag run to end Stage 2.
McDowell lined up 19th after gaining two positions during pit stops at the break. Despite maintaining top-10 pace, the leader made his way through the field and to McDowell’s bumper, placing the No. 71 a lap down on lap 263. The Delaware Life crew ran long during the green-flag cycle, finally pitting on lap 292 from the top 10 for fresh tires. The two-time Cup Series winner cycled out 23rd, one lap down, following the completion of the cycle, but a yellow flag was displayed on Lap 311, granting the team their spot back on the lead lap after taking the wave around.. Just a handful of laps after returning to green another caution forced the team to pit road once more after contact with a competitor to assess any potential damage. The No. 71 Chevrolet restarted 18th with 69 laps remaining and maintained his position to the checkered flag.
Michael’s Post-Race Comments
“It was just an average day for this No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet team. We had good execution, but we just didn’t have enough speed. I just felt like we ran 20th all day long. We were 28th in practice, qualified 20th and finished 18th. We just didn’t have it this weekend, speed-wise. I felt like we executed well and did everything we needed to on pit road, but it just didn’t work out. Thank you to Spire Motorsports, Delaware Life and Chevrolet for the support. We’ll regroup over the off weekend and get ready for Bristol in a few weeks.”
Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
START: 7TH
FINISH: 17TH
POINTS: 15TH
Carson Hocevar, driver of Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chili’s Ride The Dente Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, recovered from an incident with 75 laps remaining to finish 17th in Sunday’s 400-lap event at Martinsville Speedway, matching a venue-best result.
Hocevar qualified seventh, a career-best starting position in his sixth Cup Series start at short track in Ridgeway, Va. After slipping to the 10th position early, he held serve for the majority of Stage 1, ultimately losing the position and the corresponding stage point coming to the green-and-white checkered flag.
The Portage, Mich., native restarted 12th on Lap 96, but a quick caution on Lap 106 split the field with some teams electing to hit pit road. The No. 77 crew remained on the race track and Hocevar was eventually surpassed by multiple competitors on fresher Goodyear rubber. He held on to close out Stage 2 in 18th.
The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year continued in the 18th position until a round of green-flag pit stops commenced in the Final Stage. Veteran crew chief Luke Lambert made the call to run long on the cycle, eventually bringing the 23-year-old driver to pit road on Lap 291. Hocevar rejoined in 20th and was utilizing his fresher tires to his advantage until a Lap-312 caution pinned him in 17th. Unfortunately, he was later swept up in a Lap-325 incident, dealing cosmetic damage to the left-rear corner of his Chevrolet. Despite the setback, and restarting 24th on Lap 331, Hocevar worked his way forward to finish 17th, matching a venue-best result recorded in April 2024.
Carson’s Post-Race Comments
“I wish we would have finished better. We were really fast. I’m really proud of the speed my No. 77 guys put into our Chili’s Ride The ‘Dente Camaro. We really didn’t need the debris caution in the middle of the green-flag cycle, and then got run over. It’s all part of short track racing. Happy for these guys to get a well deserved week off next week, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to run the truck at Rockingham before getting back in the Cup car at Bristol.”
Up Next…
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 12. The Food City 500 will be televised live on FS1 at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
The eighth of 36 points-paying races on the Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Performance Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
To stay up-to-date on all the latest news and exclusive content, follow Spire Motorsports on Facebook, X and Instagram, and visit Spire-Motorsports.com.
About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports fields full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing.
The team, co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executive Jeff Dickerson and TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss, earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on Feb. 21, 2026, when Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in the Fr8 Racing 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
In 2026, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Nos. 7 and 77 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The Mooresville, N.C., organization will also field the No. 77 410 sprint car in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing competition.
