Spire Motorsports Bank of America 400 Race Report 2026

Daniel Suárez was the highest finishing Spire Motorsports driver with a 13th-place finish in Sunday's Bank of America 400 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Carson Hocevar finished 14th, while Michael McDowell took the checkered flag in the 19th position. With four races remaining on the season, Hocevar and Suárez are 10th and 14th in The Chase standings, respectively, with McDowell ranked 20th.

Suárez, driver of the No. 7 Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation started 15th after inclement weather canceled Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions, forcing the starting lineup to be set by the NASCAR Cup Series rulebook. In the sixth race of the Chase, Suárez finished 13th, earning his 19th top-15 finish of the season. Suárez finished sixth in Stage 1, earning five stage points, and ran inside the top 15 for the majority of the first two stages. During the break following Stage 2, Suárez made two pit stops, costing the No. team valuable track position and dropping Suárez to 30th. The Monterrey, Mexico, native and the team never gave up, fighting their way back through the field and into the top 15 before the checkered flag. Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spectrum Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, battled a tight-handling race car all day. The Portage, Mich., native started 11th, but spent the majority of Stage 1 and Stage 2 in the top 10, securing finishes of eighth and 10th, respectively. Hocevar started the final stage in 10th, but slipped to 14th when a caution was displayed on Lap 205. Following a four-tire stop, the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year restarted 16th with 57 laps remaining. Despite sliding to 18th, Hocevar rallied to take the checkered flag in the 14th position. McDowell, driver of the No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, started 19th and had worked his way into the top 10 early into the second Stage. Contact on pit road during a caution on Lap 118 resulted in a loss of track position for the Delaware Life team. Despite the setback, McDowell continued to push forward and ended the day in the 19th position.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads west to Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, Oct. 18. The Freeway Insurance 500 from Phoenix Raceway will be broadcast live on USA beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 33rd of 36 points-paying races on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, and the seventh race of The Chase, will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

“It was a challenging day for us. The track was really bumpy, and we fought balance issues throughout the race. We had a good Stage 1, but the two pit stops in the final stage put us behind and made it tough to get track position back. My guys never gave up and kept working to make our car better. We kept fighting all the way to the end, and I’m proud of the effort this team put in to get us back into the top 15.”

“It was a busy day here in Charlotte. We had some speed in our Delaware Life Chevrolet, just not enough to accomplish what we were hoping for this weekend. We put ourselves in a great spot late in Stage 1 and Stage 2, unfortunately pit road was so tight and we got some damage there during one of our stops. We had an opportunity at a top 10, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Glad to have this 1.5-mile stretch behind us and looking forward to racing at home in Phoenix next weekend.”

“Not having practice definitely hurt us today. We were just really tight. I’d get some good restarts that allowed us to hold our track position, but would gradually lose spots at the end of runs. We were able to pick a few off at the end there and get a decent finish. Thanks to the No. 77 guys for continuing to work on it all day. On to Phoenix next week.”

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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