Spire Motorsports NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium Race Report

Daniel Suárez - Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Daniel Suárez qualified 20th for the NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., in his debut with Spire Motorsports. The Monterrey, Mexico native reported early balance issues as his No. 7 Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation Chevrolet handled tight, but he battled forward to 16th by Lap 50. A mid-race scheduled pit stop and brief rain delay led to a switch to wet-weather tires, after which Suárez restarted 11th and climbed to third. Despite right-front damage sustained during an incident on Lap 166, the 34-year-old remained inside the top five and finished fourth, earning his second top-five and fourth top-10 place finish in the pre-season Clash event.

Daniel's Post-Race Comments
“I'm very proud of this No. 7 Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation Chevrolet team. I think that the car was very, very capable of running in the top five. In both the dry and wet conditions, I felt like we were pretty strong. There was a lot of contact throughout the race and at one point, it started to feel like it wasn’t driving as well anymore. But overall, happy to come home with a top five. I think this was a good start for everyone on this No. 7 team.”

Michael McDowell - Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Michael McDowell qualified second for Wednesday’s Last Chance Qualifier after narrowly missing out on locking into the main event during qualifying by just .002 seconds. McDowell quickly ran off with the lead and found himself pacing the field until the event’s first caution on Lap 6. Unfortunately, the team was called for a restart penalty and sent to the rear prior to the restart. A long green-flag run prevented McDowell from advancing past the 11th position and ended the No. 71 Workforce team's chances of competing in the main event for the second year in a row.

Michael's Post-Race Comments
“The 21 (Josh Berry) spun his tires. He launched in first gear and I launched in second. 
By the start-finish line, I was ahead of him, but he launched in first and just spun his tires. So, they (NASCAR) aren’t going to undo the penalty. It's over now. I knew the start was going to be big. I knew getting the lead was going to be important and I tried to maximize it as much as I could. Obviously, race control thought I had maximized it too much. Overall, our Workforce Chevrolet had a lot of speed, it shows the work that our Spire Motorsports team has put in during the offseason, but just an unfortunate circumstance for us tonight.”

Carson Hocevar - Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Carson Hocevar, driver of Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, qualified for his second NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium main event in as many starts after clocking the 12th-fastest lap time in Wednesday afternoon’s qualifying session. The Portage, Mich., native worked through through the field, picking off competitors one-by-one and securing top-five track position on Lap 75. Hocevar put his Chevy Camaro up front, racing side-by-side with the third-place competitor for several laps, but was ultimately scored in the fifth position when the caution flag was displayed for a pre-determined Lap-101 halfway break.

When the field was prepared to return to green-flag conditions, weather arrived at Bowman Gray Stadium, forcing the field to install wet-weather tires. The 23-year-old excelled in the tricky conditions, claiming the lead after pulling a slide job on the leader during a Lap-122 restart. He went on to lead the next 18 green-flag circuits until slipping to third on a Lap-140 restart. Five laps later, Hocevar was pushed from behind into a spinning competitor, causing significant damage to the right-front corner of his Camaro. The remaining 55 laps proved to be an uphill battle for the No. 77, but Hocevar was credited with a valiant 15th-place finish.

Carson's Post-Race Comments
“I enjoyed the racing tonight. The conditions were tricky and made it really rewarding to find speed. I really think we had a shot to win. We got up front, but got slid for the lead. Then we were bulldozed into a spinning car and it kind of killed the rest of our night. My No. 77 crew worked hard to get our Chevy in  condition to finish the race. Thanks to them, as well as Aaron and everyone at Zeigler Auto Group for their support. Really excited to get to Daytona next week and get another shot at it.”

Up Next...
The NASCAR Cup Series kicks off the 2026 campaign with the 68th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 15. The season-opener will be televised live from the World Center of Racing on FOX at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).

The first of 36 points-paying races in the Cup Series calendar will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. NASCAR Race Day on FOX takes the green flag at 12:30 p.m.

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About Spire Motorsports …
Spire Motorsports fields full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and 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 May 30, 2025, when Rajah Caruth took the checkered flag in the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.

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 High Limit Racing competition.