Top Dog: Michael McDowell
At this point, it would be a stretch to call Spire Motorsports an underdog team. It regularly competes in the top 10, has six top-five finishes across its three cars, has won poles, and have been in position to win multiple races in 2026, picking up a victory with Carson Hocevar at Talladega Superspeedway.
However, even with the success of Spire’s No. 7 and No. 77 cars, Michael McDowell and the No. 71 team have struggled. Entering the weekend, they were 23rd in the points standings, the lowest of the three cars in the organization.
Spire has never had all of their cars be competitive in the same season. Whether it was Ty Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Justin Haley, or in this case, McDowell, there has always been one Spire car per year that hasn’t had the same amount of speed as the others.
McDowell has always been good on road courses. Between Leavine Family Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and now Spire, McDowell always gets the most out of his equipment when on a road course. Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International (May 10) was an opportunity for McDowell to grab some much-needed points.
McDowell ran one of the best races of his career on Sunday. A good starting spot put the No. 71 in clean air for much of the race. A gutsy strategy call by crew chief Travis Peterson put McDowell on an offensive strategy later in the race, resulting in a second-place finish.
The Climb to the Top
In today’s track position era of NASCAR Cup Series racing, a good starting spot is of the upmost importance. In a unique 35-minute qualifying session consisting of 38 cars, McDowell qualified second.
The first stage of the race was pretty straightforward. McDowell, along with most of the cars in the field, pitted a few laps before the end of the stage, sacrificing stage points for track position in stage two. Even with the stop, McDowell finished 10th in stage one, scoring one point.
Stage two would presumably have a similar strategy as long as the race ran green, but a strange caution for a tent blown violently onto the track put a wrench into the teams’ plans. The No. 71 was one of only six cars to stay out during the caution. With seven laps to go, and significantly older tires, McDowell hung on for a few laps, but slid back to 12th at the end of the stage, just missing out on stage points.
McDowell lined up 27th for the start of the final stage. A caution a few laps after the restart introduced the potential for a split strategy. Teams could either pit and have to save fuel to make it to the end, or they could stay out during the caution, run as hard as they could, pit halfway through the stage and finish on newer tires. The No. 71 team chose the latter, putting McDowell on offense.
After lining up fifth for the restart, McDowell was brought into the pits under green for the final stop of the day with 25 laps to go. McDowell exited the pits 30 seconds behind Ty Gibbs, the first driver that didn’t need to pit again. While McDowell wasn’t the highest-running driver on the offensive strategy, he still had potential for a solid finish.
McDowell made up the 30 seconds and passed Gibbs with over five laps to go. In the end, the No. 71 finished second, around seven seconds behind road course superstar Shane van Gisbergen.
Looking Ahead
McDowell gained two spots in the points standings and inched five points closer to The Chase cutoff. That may not be much, but with steady progress, the No. 71 team can race their way into The Chase.
Spire now adds another top five to their 2026 season and continues its hot streak. With tracks like Charlotte Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, and Michigan International Speedway coming up, all of which the team had good runs at in 2026, Spire’s momentum has no signs of stopping.
Top Dogs of the Lower Series
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: Ross Chastain is a well-established driver and not necessarily an underdog, but his fourth-place finish in the No. 32 gave Jordan Anderson Racing its best result at a non-superspeedway since 2024. JAR doesn’t have as much funding as some of the other teams in the O’Reilly Series, so its best opportunities come at tracks like Watkins Glen, where attrition and a good driver can amount to a decent result.
Chastain was fast the entire day, staying outside the top 10 but inside the top 20 for a large portion of the race. He pitted just outside the fuel window and would have to save to make it to the end. Drivers on the same strategy ran out of fuel late, leading Chastain and JAR to a fourth-place finish.
JAR has been showing steady improvement. In all of 2025, they only had one top five, while they already have two this season. It is clear JAR is still in the building phase, but in a few years, they can contend for race wins.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: It has been a struggle for Kaulig Racing and RAM in 2026. There was hype surrounding the organization before the season began, but at the end of the day, RAM hasn’t been in the series since 2016, and Kaulig is new to the Truck Series entirely. Its early season growing pains aren’t out of the ordinary for new teams, but Watkins Glen (May 8) was a monumental day for the organization.
Kaulig bested its highest finish of the year with AJ Allmendinger in the No. 25 Truck, rallying to finish sixth at the end of the race. For the first time, Kaulig had more than one RAM truck in the top 10, with Mini Tyrrell and Brenden Queen joining Allmendinger in eighth and ninth, respectively. LaJoie was also not far off of the top 10, finishing 12th in the No. 10 RAM.
The trio didn’t qualify well, with Allmendinger, Queen, and Tyrrell starting 16th, 29th, and 30th, respectively. Throughout the race, the RAMs steadily climbed, avoided late-race chaos, and were able to grab a good result.
Haley, another driver of a Kaulig RAM, was 10th on the final lap, but a mechanical failure coming to the finish saw him drop back to 23rd.
In addition to the Kaulig RAM drivers, Brent Crews of TRICON Garage deserves a shout out. In only his 11th start, the 18-year-old led 19 of the 74 laps and was up front late, but he ultimately finished seventh. Nevertheless, Crews gained more NASCAR experience and has a bright future in the sport.
Small Team Scheme of the Week
Sunoco is synonymous with NASCAR, but it is not often that they are the primary sponsor of a car. Sunoco signed on with Alpha Prime Racing to sponsor Lavar Scott and the No. 45 car for 10 races in 2026.
Its livery is stunning, with the brand’s signature colors and style adorning the sides of the car. Unfortunately, Scott had a rough race on Saturday (May 9), getting involved in multiple incidents and finishing 27th. Still, there are many races left in the season, so there is still time for Scott, Sunoco, and the No. 45 to get a good result.
