Spire Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race Report 2026

Daniel Suárez was the highest-finishing Spire Motorsports driver in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway with an eighth-place finish. Michael McDowell secured a 10th-place result, while Justin Haley was 21st. Suárez finished 13th in the point standings with McDowell 20th. Carson Hocevar finished 14th in the point standings, while Haley secured the No. 77 team a final standing of 13th in the owner's standings.

Suárez, driver of the No. 7 Modo Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, finished eighth at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the final race of the season, earning his ninth top-10 finish of the year. He capped off his best NASCAR Cup Series season since his debut, recording a 15.2 average finishing position. The 34-year-old Monterrey, Mexico, native started 10th, matching his best starting position at the 1.5-mile track, and ran inside the top 10 throughout the first two stages. Suárez restarted 10th for the final stage and quickly worked his way up to fourth. On Lap 253 of 267, contact with a competitor sent the No. 7 spinning in Turns 1 and 2 and he brought the car to pit road for tires and to assess cosmetic damage before restarting 13th with nine laps remaining. McDowell qualified 12th and collected his eighth top-10 result to close out the 2026 season, marking his second in the last three races and his most since 2023. After 267 laps around the 1.5-mile track, McDowell battled a loose handling No. 71 Annika Driven by Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, while maintaining track position inside the top 20 as the sun set. During a late-race restart, the veteran progressed from 13th to 10th to finish out the race. Haley returned to Spire Motorsports to make his first Cup Series start of the year in the No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The 27-year-old driver started 26th and spent the first 80-lap stage getting comfortable in the Spectrum Chevy. Haley entered the top 20 at the conclusion of Stage 1 and continued to give feedback to Crew Chief Luke Lambert to improve the handling of his car on the long run. The Winamac, Ind., native began the Final Stage in 13th and battled for a spot in the top 10 before a lack of rear grip began to impact his ability to drive further forward. After losing a lap to the leaders during green-flag pit stops on Lap 220, Haley ultimately rejoined the lead lap with nine laps remaining in the race and secured a 21st-place result.

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off with the Wheatley Vodka Clash on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The event's return to the high banks of Daytona will be televised live on the FOX Sports family of networks and broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

“My guys brought a really fast Chevrolet this weekend. We had good speed, were able to run inside the top 10 for most of the race and we put together a strong day. I’m really proud of the effort this entire No. 7 team has put in all season. It takes a lot of people working hard behind the scenes to make this happen, and I appreciate every one of them. I’m proud of what we’ve done together, and I’m looking forward to getting back to work and seeing what we can accomplish in 2027.”

“A pretty smooth day here at Homestead, we lost a little track position early on, started off the race really loose, but Travis (Peterson) did a good job getting our Annika Driven by Gainbridge Chevrolet right. We executed on those final two stops well, and picked up another top-10 finish to cap off the year. Today was a good day, not a great day, but a good day, it will be nice to give us momentum heading into 2027. Our Spire Motorsports organization as a whole took a big step this year, and we hope to take another step next season. The next step is so small, but not an easy task. So, we will head into the offseason with good momentum and confidence. A special thank you to everyone at Gainbridge and Annika for a great weekend, it was nice to meet everyone and I am looking forward to seeing a great event at Pelican Bay next week!”

"Luke and the guys brought a really good Spectrum Chevy for me this weekend, it just took me some time to get used to being back in the Cup Series car and comfortable. I really appreciate the opportunity to come back and race for Spire Motorsports. Jeff keeps calling and that really means a lot to me. I wish I could've given everyone a better finish, but overall it was a successful end to the season."

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 October 23, 2026, when Sammy Smith won the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race at Talladega Superspeedway.

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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