NASCAR CUP SERIES
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES
APRIL 26, 2025
Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway.
Media Availability Quotes:
You and Travis (Peterson) have had a lot of success on superspeedways the last few years, but that was a different team and manufacturer. Is there any carryover from what happened a year ago and years before that to this year with this team, this organization, this manufacturer?
“Yes, there’s carryover. I do think there’s carryover. We’ve seen that what made our cars drive well and have speed last year work as well in the Chevy camp, as well. There hasn’t been as big of a transition for the superspeedways as maybe some of the other high downforce tracks and short tracks. So I think that this is the one area, actually, where it doesn’t transfer. We didn’t really get an opportunity to see that at Daytona because we had some fuel pump issues and were kind of behind the eight ball as the race unfolded. But I feel good about how the car drove and the speed that it had. Not quite the same speed, right? We weren’t sitting on the poles, but I think we have the speed that we need to contend. So yeah, we do feel good about it.
And I think from the driver’s standpoint, this Next Gen car has drafted differently than the old car. And just having a season where you’re up front a lot, leading, controlling the lanes and doing those things, I think, helps give you that experience. Obviously, I have a lot of experience, but maybe not a ton of experience leading for long periods of time and controlling the race. So I felt like that was good for me. Obviously, I got it wrong, like right here where we’re sitting, the spring race here. But it felt like I gained a lot of experience and knowledge moving forward that helped me make better decisions when it comes down to the final 500 feet.”
Is there any reason to think that this will be any different than the last few Talladega races with fuel mileage early on and then hoping not to be in a 28-car wreck later on?
“That’s encouraging, Bob (laughs).
No, I think that the fuel mileage is here to stay. I mean, it is. There’s just no way around it. You can look at it a lot of different ways. But the fact of the matter is that if you can shorten up your pit stop, it’s going to gain you track position later. I mean, it just is. So it’s going to be a part of what we do. It always just depends on where those cautions fall. But you still go into it with the mindset of, I want track position. I want to be in control of the race. But I don’t want to use more fuel than everybody else. And so it’s this constant battle of, are you using too much or if you’re not. I’ve seen the plan burn you, where you just commit to — hey, I’m going to save fuel. Last year, actually, I got into a place where I lost track position. I said, I don’t care.. I just got to get back to the front. I was probably the only one wide open, but got back to the front. And then as soon as I got back to the front, I started saving.
So it is a part of what we do. I don’t see that changing. The only thing that changes that is when the cautions fall, where at the end of the race last year, the caution fell; we all got into the windows when the Toyota’s got together there. And then those last 25 laps, everybody was hammered down. Nobody’s saving. So I don’t think we’re going to get away from that.
And even if we did, to your second part, we’re all still going to be packed together. That’s not going to change. The four wide that we saw in the fall, I think, was unique and was wild to come back the next day and watch on TV of — wow, that’s crazy. So I hope it’s not like that all day long and everybody’s saving fuel. But the one thing about our sport and about these races is it’s constantly evolving. And I think the fuel mileage part of it is that… it’s an evolution of; we all knew it was important three years ago. Then we saw how important it was because it worked out for some that did it well. And now you study it, you examine it and you got to be really good at it to execute a perfect race. So it’s just the evolution of where we’re at.”
So you said a couple of weeks ago that one of the biggest parts of transitioning from Ford to Chevy was just the different types of data that you get. I’m just curious where that stands now, a couple weeks later, especially coming to Talladega, where it’s just straight into qualifying without practice.
“I think it’s not just the data, but it’s the tools…. tools and the processes. I think that it’s just like any tool, like tools that you guys use, whether it’s new programs or new apps or things like that. They all do somewhat the same thing, but there’s some nuances that you have to figure out. And I felt like that’s where we were at on the 71 team because we were so new. That group was so new of understanding the tools. And you get used to knowing — OK, I need a little bit. The tools are saying this, but I need to be a little bit freer, or I need to be a little tighter, or it won’t be that low onto the racetrack. And then you get new tools, and in some areas, they’re more accurate. In some areas, they give you a little bit different result. And so understanding that and being able to adapt to that is kind of that transition that we were in. And I’m sure there’ll be more circumstances that we are still in. But I feel like we got a good grasp on what we need to do and where we’ve missed it and where we haven’t, where we’ve done a good job with the tools. So I think that that’s all coming together, but it just takes time. Anytime that you have a whole lot more or new information and new tools to sort through it, it takes a little while to have that human factor of what’s what.”
Michael, what did you learn at Daytona and Atlanta in a draft with the Chevy now that you’re driving now? Do you feel more comfortable knowing what you got?
“Yeah, I do. That’s a great question.
We didn’t have great results from those races because we had two mechanical issues there that put us several laps down. But I was still able to go out there and race, race hard and put myself in situations; push, take pushes and all that. And I think that there was this stereotype that we had last year that the Chevy’s couldn’t take a push or they didn’t push well. And I think we all would talk about it… the nose is pointy and all those things. And so I went into Daytona white knuckled.. like I sure hope I’m not the one that figures out how bad this is. And I left Daytona like — oh man, it wasn’t anything like I expected. It was very similar how it took pushes and how it pushed.
So I left Daytona with a lot more confidence of being in those situations where you have to take a good push, which you know here if you’re going to win the race, you have to take a good push. You have to. So I feel really comfortable with that, actually. And I can’t really tell you why because I don’t have a lot of experience with it being bad. But watching it, we always thought that — oh, these are going to be really tough. But to me, it’s been OK. So I don’t know if that’s setup. I don’t know if that’s just how hard you push, how you setup for that; how straight you are or how aligned you are. So now that I’ll be more in the mix, hopefully, with no problems tomorrow, I’ll have more situations to really determine whether or not there’s a lot of differences.”
I know how important being a father is to you. And now that we’re a little bit into this season and you have a new team with younger drivers, how are you ‘fathering’ them or helping them, both in driving and in life beyond the track?
“That’s a great question. I mean, very early on, I told Justin Haley that he’s not allowed to call me dad because he started to call me dad and it sounded really weird. So that’s off the table now (laughs).
But no, to me, more than anything, I just try to do my thing and hopefully lead by example. And then we sit down and we have conversations; walk through anything that they want to walk through. But each one of those guys is so different. And so I’m not trying to project or interject on them… how they should be or what they should do. They’re going to figure that out on their own. But when they have issues or if they have concerns or if they come to me and say, ‘how would you handle this’ and ‘how would you walk through that’, I definitely help. And I like doing that. So it is a part of it, but it hasn’t been a focal point.
And so, yeah, I still have a lot that I have to work on and a lot in front of me too with the new team and a lot of new. I do enjoy that aspect of it and I take that part seriously, but there hasn’t been a lot of situations that have come up that I feel like I’ve had to be like — hey, buddy. But there’s times where that happens, for sure.”
Getting intermediate tracks back-to-back, does that give teams the opportunity to learn and kind of gain from one to the next, even though that they’re different?
“It does. It’s kind of interesting how the schedule — even though we’ve had changes, right? More changes over the last few years than the first decade that I drove. I mean, it used to be I knew every weekend where we were going.. it was the same weekend. And some of what you said has happened, where you’ll get back-to-backs. And the back-to-back is good for some aspects, but bad for others. So from a rhythm standpoint, it’s fun, right? Because you know that what you had, you’re going to kind of have something similar in how you approach it and all that. And so you feel like you kind of get into a rhythm. The hard part is that when you get done with Texas, your Kansas car is already built and most of the setup work has been done. Now you’ll make some changes, but there’s not enough time in there to go — oh man, we really got this wrong. We need to go this direction. And so it would actually be better from a team standpoint if there was a little bit of a gap, just so that you could prepare a little bit better.
On the flip side of that, if you go to Texas and it goes great, you’re like — ah, I cannot wait for Kansas and Charlotte, you have that momentum. But a little bit of a gap helps. When it comes to the short tracks, they’re all so different and the approaches are different that I feel like it’s not as important. But on the mile-and-a-halves where everything matters… downforce, setup, engine, it all matters. I think that it’s actually more challenging to go back-to-back.”
You talked a lot about pushing, getting pushed and we’ll talk about the big one a little bit. How much autonomy do you have with your spotter and your crew chief to make some of those calls to say — look, it’s time to push. How does that work? I mean, do you get full autonomy on that or are they telling you kind of in the armchair, this is what we’re seeing or is it a little of both?
“It’s definitely both. I mean, I hold all the keys to the car, right? So the decision ultimately comes down to me, and you know, whether I hit the gas, want to push or save fuel or whatever it is, get aggressive. But how I approach it is I’m taking that information that they’re giving me and trying to make, you know, the best decision based on what I’m feeling and seeing. The spotter has a huge role in that for sure because, you know, I can only see the two or three cars in front of me and then two or three cars behind me. But when you’re three wide in the middle, you can’t see all the lanes and you can’t see where the momentum’s coming from or it’s more difficult.
So you’re leaning heavily on your spotter and your crew chief in these races. But you also have, as a driver, you have that gut feeling of — you know, I need to go now or I’m going to lose too much track position or it’s getting a little too wild, something’s about to happen. So I think that you’re always sort of balancing that, taking that information and trying to make the best decision with it.”
Michael, can you evaluate your season thus far? I know it probably hasn’t gone as well as you’d hope, but how do you guys maximize going now, moving forward through now and the rest of the season without a break?
“Yeah, that’s a good question. I think that two weeks ago, I would have told you that we were probably on pace with what we had hoped or had expectations for. The last few weeks, we’ve kind of dipped down, which isn’t fun, but we know why. And it’s kind of a part of the learning curve. Unfortunately, we had to learn some things the hard way by having a couple of bad weekends. But overall with the program, I feel really good. I feel really good with our cars and the speed that our cars have had.
To be honest with you, not one of our cars has executed a perfect race and yet we still had a lot of speed and we’ve had some good results. So I think that we have the potential to go out there and really score a lot of points and put ourselves in position. So I feel good about that.
And you know how racers are, our expectations are always a little bit off, right? Your expectations are always high to go out there and win early on and build that momentum. And so the transition has been, I don’t want to say harder than I expected, but there’s probably been a few more challenges than I thought we would encounter. And so I feel like we’ve gotten over that hump now and now it’s time to go down to business and get some results and start stacking points. And this weekend isn’t about that. It’s about putting ourselves in position to win. We know that this is an important race for us to put ourselves in position to win. But the next few weeks is about building momentum and getting top-10s and top-fives and building towards that summer when you know that it’s getting down to crunch time, you know, heading into the playoffs.”
How tough is this stretch all week at the end?
“See, it’s really tough on y’all and crew members. For me, I love it. I don’t like weeks off. You know, I love my family and I love being with them and all that, but even last year with the Olympic break, I felt like you lose a little bit of that continuity and momentum that you had. And so I enjoy the week-to-week.
So I don’t mind that. I’m looking forward to it because when you get into the rhythm of things, it seems to go fast and it seems to go well. And so I don’t mind the straight through.”
Michael, I know there’s probably not a lot you can share from the manufacturer’s meetings that you’ll have. You’ve been part of the Ford meeting for years and years. You go to Daytona; you’re in a different classroom. What are some of the different differences between the way the two manufacturers are and, you know, even just sitting with new drivers that you haven’t sat with for years. You sat with the same drivers for years and years. What’s that been like?
“Yeah, it’s been interesting because just like we talked about, you know, with the car and fuel mileage and all that, it is a little bit of an evolution. You know, it sort of started out of like — hey, don’t crash each other, let’s try to help each other, into more elaborate of how we’re going to work together, how we’re going to execute pit stops, how we’re going to save fuel together, all those things. But now, I think we’re actually starting to go the other way a little bit because of the pressure from NASCAR to not, you know, manufacture races and not have the manufacturers influence too much of it. So I think the conversations have actually gone back down a little bit to where there’s more of a — hey, we know we’re supposed to help each other when we can, but we’re not going to try to plan too much. But I think the easiest way to understand how this has worked and why it’s worked this way — all of us are selfish and we all want to win the race. It doesn’t matter if it’s Carson (Hocevar) and I sitting here, I want to beat him, he wants to beat me, we want to win the race. Or if it’s your other Chevy partners or whatever it might be, you still want to win. But the best way for you to have a shot at doing that is working together; saving fuel together, pitting together, because it’s just your best speed that you can possibly make. And so it became like this, you know, we’re all working together, but we’re only working together to get to the last lap, right? I mean, that’s what it feels like. We’re only trying to get in position to have a shot at winning the race, and that’s the best way to get yourself in position. But it’s also had a dynamic to it that is challenging and fun if you execute it well. You know, like if you get a little off sequence and you come down pit road and you nail the execution of your pit stops and getting together and making speed and you get out in front of the other pack, you feel like you did something good. So it definitely has changed.”
What has the dynamic been between you two as teammates? Because you’re kind of the calm guy that’s been doing this for a while, and he’s kind of like ‘go, go, go, go, go’ all the time. I mean, what is that relationship?
“No, I think that’s a great question. I think that our personalities are very different, right? Like he’s always 20-something, right? So he’s a wild man, but he’s super talented behind the wheel, right? And he, I mean, he’s really fast and races really well. He’s aggressive. And so I think that for me, more than anything, it has been the off track stuff of like how to make our cars better and how to get the most out of our group and our people, and we’re a big part of that from an information standpoint. I mean, we’re the best data that that race car has. And so in order to make the whole team better and our cars better, what we need to communicate and how we need to communicate that and how we use the tools from the simulation and all that. So I think it’s more of that than it is the on-track. We haven’t had a lot of head-to-head battles, honestly. On the weekends that he’s had solid weekends, we’ve had some issues and vice versa. And so there hasn’t been any real battles on-track, which has probably helped, right? Because the off-track stuff has been going well, trying to push the program forward.
And I think that’s the biggest thing between all three drivers is — yes, we’re personality-wise very different, age-wise very different, right? And I mean, I have a son that’s almost as old as him, right (laughs)? So it’s a very different thing, but I’m not trying to take that role, right? I’m not treating Carson or Justin like I would treat my son because they’re not. They’re professional race car drivers that are at the highest level of motorsports. And so you don’t get here by being a child, right? You just don’t. You grow up fast in this sport. So I’m just trying to lead by example and kind of show them how do we make this whole team better together, and how are we a part of the solution and not part of the problem.”
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