Michael McDowell’s bid for a surprise victory at Texas Motor Speedway came to a heartbreaking end when he crashed with just three laps remaining in regulation, relegating him to a disappointing 26th-place finish.
The Spire Motorsports driver, piloting the No. 71 Chevrolet, had seized the lead on a restart with 10 laps to go, clearing Ryan Blaney for the top spot. However, as Joey Logano closed in on McDowell with four laps remaining, the battle for the lead intensified.
McDowell’s fierce block on Logano down the backstretch on Lap 264 brought both drivers perilously close to the inside wall, but Logano managed to surge ahead in Turn 3. Blaney capitalized on McDowell’s lost momentum, and the two entered Turn 1 side-by-side before McDowell ultimately lost control, slamming into the outside SAFER barrier on the back straightaway.
“I just really hate it for everybody on this Spire Motorsports No. 71 Delaware Life Chevrolet,” a dejected McDowell told FOX Sports. “We were giving it everything we had there to try to keep track position.”
Reflecting on the decisive moments that led to his crash, McDowell explained, “Joey got a run there; I tried to block it. I went as far as I think you can probably go. And then when Blaney slid up in front of me, it just took the air off of it and I lost the back of it. Still had the fight in me. I guess I should have conceded at that point, but I’m just proud of everyone at Spire Motorsports. I know that’s not the day we wanted, but we had an opportunity to win the race.”
The crash not only ended McDowell’s hopes of snapping a 58-race winless drought but also denied Spire Motorsports the chance to secure its first victory since Justin Haley’s triumph at Daytona International Speedway in 2019. Through 11 races this season, McDowell remains without a top-10 finish, with his best results being a trio of 11th-place finishes at Daytona, Circuit of The Americas, and Talladega Superspeedway.
As the dust settles on a heartbreaking afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway, Michael McDowell and the Spire Motorsports team are left to ponder what might have been, their dreams of a long-awaited victory shattered by a late-race crash that will undoubtedly linger in their minds as they look to regroup and chase success in the races to come.
