For 2025, Spire Motorsports is welcoming a veteran driver. Last year in November, Michael McDowell made his 500th Cup Series start at Martinsville Speedway. He has 17 years of experience at NASCAR’s premier level, having dazzled during his Front Row Motorsports tenure. As McDowell brings the experience of his twin Cup Series victories to Spire, his new teammate, Carson Hocevar, is excited.

The 22-year-old driver is the reigning Cup Series Rookie of the Year and has learned several tricks of the trade himself. Last year, Carson Hocevar accrued 6 top-tens and 1 top-five finish. Yet Hocevar is hungry to learn more, and for that reason is looking forward to Michael McDowell’s guidance.

Carson Hocevar is offering a hearty welcome

Over the past few years, Spire Motorsports revamped itself in several ways. From a single-car outfit in 2019, the team has grown to three full-time Cup Series entries. Its Craftsman Truck Series team is now also a three-truck fleet after its acquisition of Kyle Busch Motorsports in September 2023. Spire’s new headquarters is now at KBM’s former 77,000-square-foot shop. In addition to this enormous expansion, Spire has added Michael McDowell. The veteran driver won the 2021 Daytona 500 and also won at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2023. This is enough to enthrall Carson Hocevar.

In a recent interview with Bob Pockrass, the No. 77 Chevrolet driver showered praises on his new teammate. Michael McDowell’s move from Front Row Motorsports to Spire Motorsports was confirmed last year in May and Carson Hocevar is eager to have him on board: “Yeah, I’ve worked with him a little bit. He’s a workaholic, for sure. I think it shows why he’s been successful lately. Him and Travis were able to obviously run well in the Front Row car and win big races.” What excited Hocevar more is the fact that Travis Peterson, McDowell’s former FRM crew chief, is now the No. 71 crew chief at Spire.

Carson Hocevar then owned up to his weak spots. At superspeedways, he is yet to cross the top-ten mark, owning a best 11th-place finish in Daytona last year. So he admitted that McDowell’s influence would be good for him. “Superspeedways is probably my worst deal… ride around at the back and just try to finish halfway okay. So him coming over for sure is going to be good for us to work on it. It’s hard to build our cars on superspeedways to ride around. He’ll be a lot more detailed, the same way with the road courses. I’m better at driving those than I am at setting them up…I’m so afraid to mess it up.” 

As Carson Hocevar prepares to work more closely with Michael McDowell, the latter’s sponsors are doing the same. One of them is already a familiar brand for him.

Keeping an old bond

Well, bidding adieu to Front Row Motorsports was emotional for Michael McDowell. He joined the team in 2018, clinched two race victories, and achieved several milestones. Last season, he achieved a career-best average start of 14.6 – clinching 6 pole positions. However, McDowell is carrying parts of his FRM tenure into his new team. Besides his partnership with Travis Peterson, McDowell’s old sponsor B’laster Holdings is also back. The red, orange, yellow, and black colors will be splashed on the No. 71 at the Talladega spring race and also at NASCAR’s Mexico City Cup race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

Michael McDowell expressed his enthusiasm for having his previous sponsor aboard. “I’m thrilled to have the B’laster team join me at Spire Motorsports in 2025. B’laster was with me last year and I am thankful to have them partner with our No. 71 team.” B’laster Products President & CEO, Randy Pindor also reciprocated that sentiment. “It was a no-brainer for us that we wanted to continue to have a presence in the Cup Series. Michael McDowell really made some waves in the 2024 season, and we are excited to be able to continue working with him and the Spire Motorsports team for 2025.”

Evidently, Michael McDowell’s 2025 season carries a lot of hope. Carson Hocevar is particularly excited, so let us see what they establish as a team.