Spire Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville II Race Report 2026

Michael McDowell was the highest-finishing Spire Motorsports driver in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway with a 16th-place finish. Carson Hocevar secured a 21st-place result, while Daniel Suárez was 28th. Hocevar is 10th in The Chase standings with Suárez 14th and McDowell sits 20th in points with two races remaining.

McDowell, driver of the No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, started 26th and drove forward at a steady pace to conclude the first stage in 14th. He remained inside the top 20 through lengthy green-flag runs, finished Stage 2 in 17th and held his position until Lap 194 when he began to manage tire wear for a long run. The Glendale, Ariz., returned to the top 20 and continued to manage tires and fuel to claim a 16th-place finish. Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, started 24th and battled an ill-handling race car for the first half of the 500-lap event. He fell one lap down in the midst of the green-flag pit cycle in Stage 1, eventually falling a second lap down early in Stage 2. The No. 77 team persevered throughout the remainder of the afternoon, improving the drivability of Hocevar’s machine. Unfortunately, the team was unable to return to the lead lap and ultimately crossed the finish line 21st, two laps down. Suárez, driver of the No. 7 Gainbridge Assists Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, started 24th at Martinsville Speedway and worked his way into the top seven, but the green-flag pit cycles repeatedly cost him track position. He was able to get back on the lead lap twice, but hood damage on a restart and additional green-flag stops put him three laps down and relegated the team to a 28th-place finish.

The NASCAR Cup Series Chase concludes next Sunday, Nov. 8 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway. The 267-lap race from Homestead-Miami Speedway will be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The final points-paying race on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

“The car was inconsistent all day, and starting in the middle to the back of the pack made things challenging. We never really got the track position we needed, and it felt like we were constantly trying to recover from one thing or another. The damage on the restart made things even tougher. It wasn’t the day we wanted, but I’m proud of my No. 7 guys for continuing to work hard. We have one more race this season, and I’m looking forward to finishing it out with them.”

“It was such a busy day at Martinsville, it felt like we would go from the back to the front all the time with how the cautions played out. Outside of that, we had some good pace on our Delaware Life Chevrolet, we just couldn’t find our home in the top 10. We were right between 15th to 20th all day, but it was a clean weekend without a torn up race car and that is always a good thing leaving Martinsville. One more to go. I’m proud of our group and I hope that we can build on these last two races at Talladega and Martinsville so we can go into Homestead-Miami Speedway with some good momentum.”

"It was a really tough start to the day at Martinsville, but these guys kept working on our Zeigler Chevy and we were able to get things moving in the right direction. Martinsville is always a challenge, but I'm thankful to have a team that sticks with it. We've got one more chance to end things on a high note and I really enjoy racing at Homestead."

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 July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado its first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent victory came May 24, 2026, when Daniel Suárez won the NASCAR Cup Series’ Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

In 2026, Spire Motorsports campaigns 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 also fields the No. 77 410 sprint car in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing competition.

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