Spire Motorsports Freeway Insurance 500 Race Report 2026

Daniel Suárez was the highest finishing Spire Motorsports driver with a seventh-place finish in Sunday's Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Carson Hocevar finished 12th, while Michael McDowell was scored with a 36th-place finish following an incident in the first stage of the 312-lap race. With three races remaining on the season, Hocevar and Suárez are 11th and 13th in The Chase standings, respectively, with McDowell ranked 20th.

Suárez, driver of the No. 7 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, started 14th at Phoenix Raceway. In the opening stage, he reported being happy with the car’s entry but tight on exit while running inside the top 15. On Lap 122, he briefly fell two laps down during a green-flag pit cycle but regained both laps and climbed to seventh. A speeding penalty later forced him to restart 30th with 81 laps remaining. Following a Lap-283 caution that allowed Suárez to pit for four tires and fuel, he restarted 15th with 19 laps remaining and ultimately finished in seventh place to earn his eighth top 10 of the season. Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Chili’s Ride The ‘Dente Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, started 28th and battled a tricky handle throughout the opening segment. Despite beginning Stage 2 in 34th following lengthy adjustments on pit road, the Portage, Mich., native drove into the top 20 by Lap 103 and eventually closed the second stage in the 12th position. The first-time Chase contender continued his trek toward the front, reaching the top 10 on Lap 222, and settled into seventh before a caution on Lap 282. The No. 77 team elected to visit pit road for their final set of sticker tires, but after restarting 11th, Hocevar was unable to move forward, ultimately taking the checkered flag in 12th. McDowell, driver of the No. 71 Tecovas Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, began the day as the highest-qualifying non-Chase driver after turning the eighth-fastest lap during Saturday's qualifying session. The Glendale, Ariz., native reported early on that he was "loose on the gas" and fell outside of the top 10 by Lap 9. McDowell was running 18th when contact from a competitor sent the No. 71 Chevy into the outside wall, resulting in heavy damage. The team made significant repairs to return to the track 111 laps down to the leaders.

The NASCAR Cup Series will contend the final superspeedway race of the year on Sunday, Oct. 25 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The YellaWood 500 from Talladega Superspeedway will be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The 34th of 36 points-paying races on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, and the eighth race of The Chase, will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

“We had a little bit of everything today with good and bad pit stops, and some challenges we had to overcome. We fought all day, and this No. 7 Freeway Insurance team never gave up. The guys kept working, and we were able to fight our way back and get another top 10 this season. I’m proud of this team and the effort everyone put in.”

“Unfortunately, we got tangled up with the No. 35 and sustained some heavy damage early in the race, but our guys worked so hard to get our Tecovas Chevrolet back on track. Once we were back out there, we had some great pace and I felt like we could really race with anyone, but by that point we were 100 laps down. I’m proud of our No. 71 group. Even though the result might not show it, we never gave up. It was a long day back home in Arizona, and not the day we wanted or needed, but something to be proud. Hopefully, we can redeem ourselves in Talladega next weekend.”

“We struggled in Stage 1. The No. 77 guys made good adjustments and improved the drivability of the car. Think we may have finished fifth or sixth there, but then after the yellow I just didn’t have a good restart. It was also fun for Chili’s to be back with us for a race in The Chase!”

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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