The word of the day for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Phoenix? Adversity.
Michael McDowell was yet another driver, much like eventual race-winner Ryan Blaney, who battled back from adversity in the early stages of the event to record a solid finish, bringing home a ninth-place result in the Straight Talk Wireless 500.
Piloting the No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports, McDowell had a right-front tire go flat during a caution flag at the end of the race’s second stage, believed to have been caused by debris littering the racetrack from Noah Gragson, who exploded a brake rotor on his No. 4 Ford Mustang and slammed the outside SAFER Barrier.
At the time of the flat tire, McDowell was sitting just outside the top-10, running in 11th. However, the unscheduled pit stop (and the penalty for coming in when the pits were closed) would dropkick the Phoenix, Arizona-native outside the top-30.
McDowell wasn’t the only driver to run into this same exact issue, either, as William Byron, Riley Herbst, and Connor Zilisch all suffered flat tires, likely from the debris field launched out of Gragson’s car. Cole Custer also suffered an issue, with a piece of errant brake rotor puncturing the radiator of the Haas Factory Team entry.
The climb back through the field was not quick, by any means, but with some help from attrition and some well-timed cautions and pit strategy, McDowell was finally able to claw his way in and around the top-10 when a rash of late yellows broke out, creating amazing opportunities to gain spots on restarts.
“It was a good rally for this No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet team. We had that right-front tire go down when we were running eighth or ninth just before the end of Stage Two. That just put us in the pack, and once we were in the back, we just really struggled,” McDowell said after the race. “But Travis Peterson (crew chief) and everyone on this No. 71 team made some big adjustments, which helped us get through traffic.”
By the time the final restart of the event rolled around, with 13 laps remaining, the opportunity even existed for McDowell to pounce and score a top-five result, restarting in sixth. But in the hustle and bustle of the late restart, Kyle Larson slid up the racetrack and destroyed any forward momentum that the No. 71 had created.
“That last restart didn’t go great. The No. 5 [Kyle Larson] kind of got loose and slid up into my lane, and unfortunately, we lost a few spots there,” McDowell added. “But overall, we rallied back to a top-10. It was a solid day. We’ll keep building momentum. I thought we were going to have a shot at a top-five there for a few laps, but it just kind of slipped away there at the end.”
With his second top-10 result in the opening four events of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, McDowell finds himself up to eighth in series point standings, the highest he’s been during his time with Spire Motorsports and his best points position outside the first race of the season since 2021 – the year he won the DAYTONA 500.
It’s become obvious, though, based on the early-season performances by McDowell and his Spire Motorsports teammates Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez, that the organization has found some speed heading into the bulk of the season, which could leave all three drivers in regular contention for victories and a berth into “The Chase”.
Spire Motorsports will look to continue that momentum next Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Coverage of the event will be on Sunday, March 15 at 4:00 PM ET on FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
