Family Man Michael McDowell Hopes to InSpire Many With New Ride & Child

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series silly season came really early in 2024 when it was announced on May 8 that Michael McDowell would leave Front Row Motorsports and replace Zane Smith at Spire Motorsports.

Since then, the landscape of the Cup Series roster has changed. Smith returned to his old team Front Row, while McDowell’s Front Row teammate Todd Gilliland moved over to McDowell’s old No. 34. Serving as a mentor to young teammates Justin Haley and Carson Hocevar, McDowell’s transition to Spire has had its ups (like winning the pole at Phoenix Raceway) and its downs (like crashing in the very same race due to a mechanical issue).

McDowell recently sat down with Frontstretch to discuss his adjustment to a new team, as well as his relationship with Gilliland and just how much family means to him.

Bryan Nolen, Frontstretch: What’s the transition been like from 2024 to 2025?

Michael McDowell: It’s been a good transition. It’s been a lot of work in the offseason. I mean, not for me. I’ve been part of the meetings and part of the process, but we brought in a lot of new faces. There was already a big established group there and a lot of processes and procedures. Then also firing up that third car — even though that third car was there with Zane, it was supported by Trackhouse [Racing]. A lot of the equipment was Trackhouse’s. It was kind of on-a-lease deal, so there was a lot to get going on that third car when we got there. It’s been a busy offseason, but here we are now, and we’re rolling.

Nolen: You spent so much time at Front Row — how different is it at Spire compared to Front Row? Can you really compare the two?

McDowell: I’d answer it like this: We’re all still building racecars and going to the same racetrack and doing the same thing, so it feels a lot of the same. The processes and what you have to do to get here are the same — how you go about that is a little bit different. The culture is definitely different in Spire. We have a lot of depth as far as leadership goes, and we have a clear vision of where we’re going and what we’re doing. So it does feel different, but there’s a lot of things that feel similar. You have a lot of smart people that are working really hard to try to make race cars fast, and it was the same at Front Row.

We’re all racers, so that mentality is the same — the process of getting there is different. The tools are different, and that’s just between Ford and GM. The tooling and what’s available is different, so learning new software and going through that process definitely takes some time.

Nolen: It seems like you and Todd Gilliland have a real, genuine friendship. How did that start, and what is that like now compared to when you guys first became teammates?

McDowell: I had a few teammates at Front Row over the years. [For] each one, I was at a different stage of my career. When I got to Front Row, I was teammates with David Ragan, a friend of mine and a veteran — even though I’m older than him, he had more experience. You had two veteran guys, and that helps, because we were able to bounce off of each other and learn, and help develop the program. Fast forward, I had John Hunter Nemechek as a rookie teammate — super fast, but full of fire and trying to figure things out.

Then I had Matt Tifft. I had Anthony Alfredo. And then I had Todd. By the time Todd had come around, I already had three or four rookies as teammates — and with him, he was super humble and very open. I had a relationship with his dad [David Gilliland] and his mom and his family. … I just felt like this was gonna be different because he’s open and willing. In my mind, I was gonna make sure he was successful. If there was anything I could do to help him be successful, I was gonna do it, and he was very receptive to that. He obviously had a lot of speed and got to a point where he was challenging me on the racetrack. I enjoyed watching that process, I enjoyed being a part of that.

So yeah, I have a soft spot — doesn’t mean that I don’t want to beat him on Sundays, especially since he’s driving my old car. But we have a good relationship, and now that we’re on different teams, that looks different. We’re not sharing information, trading secrets or even how I’m processing the weekend. But I’m still pulling for him to do well and be successful. It’s fun to see him do well.

Nolen: At Daytona [International Speedway, FOX Sports’ pre-race show] talked about your family. What’s that reaction been like?

McDowell: It was great! We weren’t exactly sure if we wanted to do it at first, but we felt like, if it inspired another family out there to consider or support adoption, then it would be worth it. Lucas, our son, we asked him in particular, “Is this something you want to do?” Because we didn’t want to put extra pressure on him [and] put him in that spotlight. He wanted to do it when we felt good about it, and they did a great job. The piece turned out awesome.

At the time, I was nervous about how this would come off, how Lucas would respond and how he would react. But after seeing it, I was like, “Man, I’m so glad we did it.” For multiple reasons — the first one [being] hopefully it inspires somebody, but the second reason is, that’s a piece we’ll have forever that Lucas could share with his kids and maybe his grandkids, and not everybody gets to do that. Not everybody is able to tell their story in such a cool way with great video and a great interview.

So after it was done, I felt like, “Man, this is a piece that will be really important to our family and for Lucas’ family too — and maybe generations to come.”

Nolen: You talk about generations. There’s second- and third-generation drivers — any of your kids want to follow in their dad’s footsteps and be a racecar driver, or do they just … want to do their own thing?

McDowell: My oldest son would love to do it. It just hasn’t been in the cards for us. I think the way my career has gone, it’s been a struggle. It’s getting better, and it’s at a really good spot, but I don’t have the time right now to go take him racing. He just turned 16 and got his driver’s license. He’s behind in that aspect. He’d love to do it, but it just hasn’t worked out. It doesn’t mean he won’t in the future, but I do feel like, this is all he’s ever been around. This is all he knows. I’m trying to help him cultivate what he could do in the sport apart from driving. There’s a lot of great jobs here, so I think he’ll be involved at some aspect because this is all he knows and he loves it. I don’t think driving will be that aspect, but you never know.

Nolen: You have quite a large family. It feels like NASCAR is the longest sport from season to season. How do you continue to focus on that relationship with your family, but also focus on your job when you’re gone every single week?

McDowell: It’s difficult, but I feel like drivers have the easiest job in our sport, I really do. You’re away from your family, and I have the ability and the opportunity to bring my family with me, and that’s not the same for everybody. For [all] my guys, they have to do both. They have to be away and they don’t get to bring family. So I never want to complain about that because I’m in a great situation with that. But we just try to make our time count.

When I’m at the racetrack, I try to make it count. I try to be 100% laser-focused on what I’m doing and make my time in the hauler and on the racetrack matter. And then when I’m home I try to make that time matter too. So yes, there’s a balance, and yes there is a compromise. There’s seasons of life where your family needs you and you have to step up, and there are seasons in life where your team really needs you and you have to step up — and hopefully those aren’t at the same time.

If there’s trouble at home, I’ve been able to spend a few days there and not here, and if there’s trouble here I can spend a few days extra here. But what allows me to do that is my wife. We’ve been together since we were 15 years old — it’s her dream too, and she’s been part of it and she knows how hard it’s been to be one of [40] drivers to race on Sunday. She’s given me the ability and freedom to do it at a high level and take care of all the things at home. It’s impossible without her — there’s no way it would’ve been successful.

Nolen: Last but not least … what do you want to accomplish heading into the summer?

McDowell: I used to think about just superspeedways and road courses as our opportunity. I don’t really think like that anymore. I think that we have more opportunities than just that, and I think we could win anywhere if we hit it right. And I think we’ve seen that. We’ve seen Carson challenge at Atlanta [Motor Speedway]. Obviously that’s a superspeedway, but all three cars qualified in the top 10 in Phoenix — the race didn’t go well, we had some issues — but we had the speed. We had the speed to contend in the top five.

So I don’t feel like we’re locked in this box to where we only have eight races we can win. … To answer your question, we’re just trying to build. We’re trying to build speed, trying to build consistency, and we’re trying to execute. And if we raise that up throughout the season as we go, we’ll have an opportunity to try to win a race. … There’s execution and processes that have stopped us from being able to contend like we want to.

I think the speed’s close to being there, so if we put it all together, we’ll have a shot at it, and I think that’s the goal. The goal is … putting together clean, solid races and building momentum and confidence in every aspect. Hopefully that’ll open up some opportunities to win.