BROOKLYN, Mich. – Spire Motorsports has come a long way since its first NASCAR Cup Series season in 2019. Sunday’s (June 7) FireKeepers Casino 400 was no exception in showing the stride they’ve hit in 2026.
Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez both carried the banner for the organization with finishes of fifth and sixth. Both drivers started the weekend strong with Suarez starting 11th and hometown hero Hocevar coming up just short of scoring the pole. If you asked him, Hocevar would probably tell you he basically got the pole since polesitter Denny Hamlin started at the back due to his team repairing damage sustained from the practice session.
The Spire pair found themselves rubbing elbows with the rest of the top 10 for most of the race but they eventually had to duke it out on the final restart of the race. The teammates battled hard enough to the point where Hamlin was able to take them three wide and scooted past them to eventually score the victory.
Hocevar feels he could’ve had something for Hamlin if he was able to stay in front of him but he was unable to pass Suarez to make that happen.
“I mean, I just felt like the best shot we’re gonna have is if I got clear of the seven,” said Hocevar. “And if I could have cleared him, it would have made life a lot easier to keep the 11 behind me than in front.”
Hocevar didn’t have a completely clean day as there was an incident on a restart that took out multiple drivers including Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon. Dillon, of the two, was upset with Hocevar about the move he made on the restart.
“77 turned him (John Hunter Nemechek),” said Dillon. “Just pushing too hard in the wrong spots and it’s normal, I mean, I don’t know why I’m surprised.”
Hocevar walked away in a more somber mood despite the great finish, as he was really eager to score a victory in his home state and become the first Michigan-born driver to do so.
“I’ll just reminisce on it for another 365 days, you know I’m from Michigan,” Hocevar said. “U of M and Michigan State, you know, it’s its own season, so you know this race is its own season for me.”
Suarez, on the other hand, was more positive leaving this weekend as his run of strong finishes continues.
“The car was just good, I’m very proud of the team,” Suarez said. “They’re doing an amazing job bringing good race cars to the track, every single week.
He doesn’t feel that the work is done for the team. He believes if they keep working, they can contend with the Toyotas that have taken a stranglehold on the season.
“We have to continue to push, continue to get better,” he added. “Definitely there is still a couple things that we can still clean up, to catch up to those Toyotas, but in general I’m super proud of this group.”
All in all, the team showed a lot of strength but it wasn’t a perfect weekend for the rising organization, as Michael McDowell got caught up in one of the many scuffles in the most caution-filled race at Michigan in history. McDowell ended the day in 26th.
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