Daniel Suárez – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
START: 13TH
FINISH: 12TH
POINTS: 15TH
Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 7 NationsGuard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports, fought hard all day despite handling issues and earned a 12th-place finish in Sunday’s 503-lap race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway to secure his sixth top-20 finish of the season and 10th in 15 starts at the short track.
Suárez started 13th and reported at the halfway point of Stage 1 that his Chevrolet was tight on entry and a bit loose on exit. When the yellow flag was shown for the first caution of the day, crew chief Ryan Sparks responded by calling for air pressure adjustments, fuel and a fresh set of four Goodyear tires. The No. 7 team restarted in the same position and went on to finish Stage 1 in 14th. Following pit stops, Suárez restarted 13th when the field returned to green for Stage 2. On the second caution for incident on Lap 145, Suárez brought the black-and-green machine to pit road for additional adjustments and rejoined the field in 23rd. He continued to search for more overall grip when the yellow flag was shown again just 16 laps later. The No. 7 NationsGuard Chevrolet ultimately finished Stage 2 in 25th before pitting at the break and lining up 21st for the Final Stage.
The Monterrey, Mexico native continued to fight similar handling conditions throughout the last segment. On Lap 377, he went a lap down to the leader but received the free pass shortly after during a Lap-383 caution and restarted 19th with 110 laps to go in the race. Later, on Lap 464, Suárez again went a lap down but was able to take the wave around when the yellow flag was displayed on Lap 487. He lined up 15th with 14 laps remaining in the scheduled 500-lap distance and was able to gain additional positions in NASCAR Overtime to cross the finish line in 12th.
Daniel’s Post-Race Comments
“I’m proud of my team. We never gave up. We started the race strong, but lost a bit of balance and fell behind, and track position became really important making it tough to stay in the mix. Still, we kept fighting in the No. 7 NationsGuard Chevrolet and were able to recover well by the end, so I’m really proud of the effort. We still have some work to do, but as a group, we’re getting stronger and stronger.”
Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
START: 19TH
FINISH: 24TH
POINTS: 19TH
Michael McDowell battled for a finish of 24th in Sunday afternoon’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway following an eventful day in Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
McDowell qualified 19th and struggled with a loose-handling Chevy early in first frame at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile”. The Cup Series veteran slotted into 23rd with top-10 pace and pitted for a fresh set of Goodyear Eagles and Sunoco Racing fuel on Lap 64 to wrap up Stage 1 in the 25th position. Unfortunately, the second-year Spire Motorsports driver took the green flag from the 28th position after a costly speeding penalty on pit road sent the No. 71 to the tail end of the field for the start of Stage 2. Crew chief Travis Peterson elected to change up his strategy, pitting for fresh rubber during a caution on Lap 145 with only three other competitors following. The team restarted 27th with 100 laps to go in the stage, but McDowell continued to experience handling woes throughout the long run. He maintained his position on the lead lap, coming home with a finish of 22nd at the end of the second segment.
The Glendale, Ariz., native began the Final Stage from the tail end of the field following a second penalty, this time for the crew going over the wall too soon at the stage break. Contact with a competitor on Lap 313 brought out the yellow flag and McDowell suffered a flat left rear tire. He nursed his Chevrolet to pit road for full service without any additional damage and restarted from the 23rd position. The No. 71 machine was passed by the leader at the Lap-359 mark and elected to take the wave around when a spin brought out the seventh caution of the day. McDowell continued to battle on older tires through the final two green-flag runs to finish 24th, the first car two laps down after 400 long miles at Bristol.
Michael’s Post-Race Comments
“Overall, just a tough day for our Delaware Life Chevrolet. Any time we felt like we were creeping back into the conversation we had an issue. Regardless, we still managed to somewhat salvage our day. Coming back from two penalties and a flat tire isn’t easy. I’m proud of the fight in this No. 71 group. We have some good tracks ahead, so we will get through it, but just not our day here in Bristol.”
Carson Hocevar – Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
START: 10TH
FINISH: 10TH
POINTS: 13TH
Carson Hocevar, driver of Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, earned his third top-10 finish of the season with a 10th-place result in Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hocevar collected the second-best result for the Chevrolet camp and managed an average running position of 6.1.
The 23-year-old driver qualified 10th, but raced to the sixth position by the completion of the first lap at the half-mile track. Despite battling a low overall grip level, he held on to the seventh position at the green-and-white checkered flag to end Stage 1. Following a round of pit stops during the break, he restarted fifth and preserved his top-five track position for the duration of the stage, rounding out the segment in fourth. In total, the No. 77 team racked up 11 stage points on the day to aid in their hunt for a spot in The Chase.
The Portage, Mich., native started the Final Stage in sixth, holding the spot until a Lap-383 caution forced the team to pit road. Despite restarting eighth on Lap 391, he engaged in a spirited drive to fourth, the position he appeared to be destined for until a caution flag was waived on Lap 478. While a majority of the drivers on the lead lap ducked to pit road for fresh Goodyear rubber, the No. 77 team made the decision to remain on the race track, restarting in second. Unfortunately, Hocevar was unable to hold off his challengers who had fresher tires, and ultimately crossed the finish line in 10th to gain two spots in the driver championship point standings.
Carson’s Post-Race Comments
“Tenth was the lowest we ran all day. Not the way we wanted to end it, but we were really good on the long run. It was really tough to drive forward on the restarts at the end because I was just too loose. I’m happy we had the speed to run top five all day and have a shot at it at the end. We did a really good job of getting some nice stage points early in the race, so it was a really good day points-wise overall. We excel at the intermediates, so I think this whole team is looking forward to Kansas next week.”
Up Next…
The NASCAR Cup Series takes on Kansas Speedway on Sunday, April 19. The AdventHealth 400 will be televised live on FOX at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
The ninth of 36 points-paying races on the Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the 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.
