Spire Motorsports Fresh From Florida 250 Race Report

Michael McDowell - Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST

Michael McDowell qualified on the front row for Friday night’s Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. McDowell, in the No. 7 Tibbetts Lumber Chevrolet Silverado RST, quickly took the lead with drafting help from Spire Motorsports teammate Carson Hocevar, and led every lap until the race's first caution on Lap 7. The green-and-white checkered flag signaled the end of the first 20-lap stage and a fifth-place effort from McDowell.

Three seconds of Sunoco Racing fuel was the call from crew chief Brian Pattie at the break, placing the No. 7 Silverado 14th to start the second stage. With 10 laps remaining in Stage 2, the Tibbetts Lumber machine was scored second behind Hocevar in the lead, but ultimately finished in fifth before making a full-service pit stop at the break on Lap 41. The Glendale, Ariz., native exited pit road in fifth for the final 55 of 100 scheduled laps, but was forced to restart at the tail of the field for an equipment interference penalty during the pit stop. McDowell found his way back into the top 10 on Lap 55, putting his team in position to lead the bottom lane until a caution slowed the field just two laps later. Fuel only was the call during the caution, but the team elected to come back down prior to green flag racing to top off on fuel with 37 laps to go. 

McDowell took the top spot for the eighth and final time with five laps to go, and moved deftly between all three lanes to maintain control of the lead until a caution pushed the race into NASCAR Overtime. McDowell acted as the control car and led the field to the white flag until he was bumped out of line and spun on the apron. The team was credited with a finish of 24th, and 20 laps led, when the checkered flag waved.

Michael's Post-Race Comments
"We were so strong early on, working together with Carson (Hocevar), and the Spire Chevrolets were so fast. Coming to the white flag, everybody had a run. I went down to get underneath John Hunter (Nemechek) and he turned hard left trying to block it, but ran me into the apron, and we kind of spun out there, and that was it. It's unfortunate. I wish we could have executed that lap perfectly so we could have got to Victory Lane, but appreciate everybody at Tibbetts Lumber for coming on board. We gave it everything we had, just didn't execute that last lap like I needed to. The trucks were really fast. Everybody at Spire Motorsports did a great job of building brand new trucks and coming here with a lot of speed to qualify up front."

Carson Hocevar - Driver, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST

Carson Hocevar, driver of Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 IKEA/Best Buy Chevrolet Silverado RST, qualified fourth for Friday evening’s Fresh From Florida 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Hocevar quickly raced to the front and controlled the bottom lane alongside teammate Michael McDowell. The Portage, Mich., native maintained track position throughout the opening stanza and claimed the Stage 1 victory, netting the No. 77 team 10 points to aid in their hunt for a CRAFTSMAN Truck Series owners’ championship. 

The five-time CRAFTSMAN Truck Series winner endured a loose-handling Silverado throughout the first 20 laps, a condition that was alleviated during the ensuing stage break. Hocevar restarted 12th on Lap 28, but immediately made progress to return to the top spot just two laps later. On Lap 34, the No. 77 lost power while leading the pack through the trioval, but avoided incident before settling back in line at the back of the pack to close out Stage 2 in 25th. 

The IKEA/Best Buy team went to work during the stage break, bolting four fresh Goodyear tires on their Silverado while making an air-pressure adjustment. Hocevar was 15th at the Lap-46 restart, but returned to the lead for the third time on the night on Lap 53. After leading the next five circuits, the 23-year-old driver suffered a flat left-rear tire heading into Turn 3, forcing him to maintain control of the ill-handling machine through the banked corners with faster trucks passing on both sides. The remainder of the night was an uphill battle as the team continued to fight left-rear tire issues. The No. 77 team was ultimately credited with a 35th-place result, despite leading a total of 20 laps. 

Carson's Post-Race Comments
“We were really fast tonight. While the results don’t show it, I think both Spire Motorsports Silverados were the best out there. Michael (McDowell) and I could link up and go right to the front. It’s really unfortunate we had those issues and couldn’t see the end. It was super cool to have IKEA and Best Buy ride along with me tonight. I hope they enjoyed the show. Super thankful to everyone at Spire for the chance to race these trucks, and excited to get to Atlanta next week and try to snag a checkered flag with these guys.”

Up Next...
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season continues on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Fr8 Racing 208 will be televised live on FS1 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).

The second of 25 points-paying races in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series calendar will be broadcast live on the NASCAR 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 May 30, 2025, when Rajah Caruth took the checkered flag in the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville (Tenn.) 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 Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing competition.