Spire Motorsports South Point 400 Race Report 2026

Carson Hocevar was the highest finishing Spire Motorsports driver with a 12th-place finish in Sunday's South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Daniel Suárez finished 14th, while Michael McDowell took the checkered flag in the 21st position. With five races remaining on the season, Hocevar and Suárez are 11th and 14th in The Chase standings, respectively, with McDowell ranked 20th.

Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, qualified 10th and managed top-10 track position throughout the opening segment to take the green-and-white checkered flag in eighth. The Portage, Mich., native restarted fifth and was running in the top 10 before a scheduled pit stop during a Lap-94 caution. Unfortunately, Hocevar was forced to pit road under green-flag conditions just 45 laps later with a tire issue, but recovered from the 26th position, one lap down, to a 15th-place finish at the end of the second stage. The Spectrum Chevy lined up 15th for the Lap-170 restart, allowing Hocevar to work forward to a 12th-place finish. Suárez, driver of the No. 7 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, started 11th at Las Vegas and held serve in the top 10 to finish sixth in Stage 1. The Monterrey, Mexico native restarted second for Stage 2 while reporting a lack of grip. The No. 7 team continued to make improvements as the race progressed, allowing Suárez to run inside the top 15 during the Final Stage before ultimately finishing 14th. McDowell started 18th in the No. 71 Fly Alliance Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and worked his way into the top 10 before the conclusion of the first stage. McDowell began Stage 2 in ninth and maintained his track position prior to pitting under caution on Lap 94. With several cars staying on track, the Glendale, Ariz., native restarted 21st and concluded the stage in the same position. McDowell fought a tight-handling Chevy during the Final Stage and at one point dropped to 24th during the green-flag pit cycle, but recovered to finish 21st.

Next week, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 11.. The Bank of America 400 race from Charlotte Motor Speedway will be broadcast live on USA beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 32nd of 36 points-paying races on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, and the sixth race of The Chase, will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

“We had a pretty good start to the race. I felt a vibration early, and that made things a little challenging, but we were able to stay up front and get some stage points. We had a good restart for Stage Two, but we just needed a little more front grip as the race went on. We kept fighting and trying to make the most of what we had. I appreciate everyone on this Freeway Insurance team for their hard work.”

“It was an up and down day in Vegas, not the result we wanted, but today was just so unpredictable. Taking two tires, staying out, or four tires were all options and late in those runs was really where it made a difference with tire life. There was a time where we were running in the top 15 for some of the day, then the strategy didn’t come back to us the way we had hoped. Regardless, I feel like it was a step in the right direction with our 1.5-mile program. Special thank you to Fly Alliance for their support this weekend, hopefully we can continue to progress with our intermediate setups next weekend in Charlotte.”

"I was pretty happy with a 12th-place finish and our speed more than anything. We had a tire that was starting to cord and that obviously hurt us and took away track position. But being able to come back and run 12th was pretty solid for the Spectrum Chevy."

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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