"It’s not acceptable": Michael McDowell details Spire’s clear warning to him and Carson Hocevar

The Go Bowling At The Glen became the battleground for Spire Motorsports' Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar. Their repetitive run-ins warranted a warning shot by the stakeholders as the former revealed that their actions were unacceptable last race weekend.

McDowell and Hocevar have led Spire Motorsports' result tally in 2025 so far. Though the pair has claimed a host of top-five finishes, the race at Watkins Glen was not going their way.

Despite this, the veteran driver seemingly misjudged and rammed his teammate off the race track on lap 52. This left Hocevar spinning around and falling down the timing pylon at a rapid pace. Infuriated by this, the two subsequently made contact on the final lap, before the 22-year-old got past his teammate to claim an 18th-place result.

Their recurrent contact was a cause of concern for the SM squad. This situation was then addressed by the hierarchy, as McDowell revealed and admitted how it was unacceptable to make contact with their teammates, as he said in a video shared by Bob Pockrass:

"That wasn't tough, I mean, we can't be running into each other on the racetrack, and both of us are responsible for that. We just had that conversation and we gotta do better, we know we do. And it is made very clear to us from our owners and everybody else that it's not acceptable, and we get it."

Hocevar is the lead SM driver in the Cup Series standings.

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Carson Hocevar shares his take on the saga with Michael McDowell at Watkins Glen

Spire Motorsports' Michael McDowell at the Brickyard 400 - Source: Imagn

With Michael McDowell bumping him off the track on lap 52, Carson Hocevar was left infuriated within the cockpit of the No. 77 Chevy. The two then made contact on the final lap, before finishing 18th and 19th on the road, with Hocevar being the lead driver.

While the 40-year-old tried to convey that the first incident was unintentional, the young driver was quick to validate his move on the final lap, when he was asked by Jeff Gluck (via Toby Christie):

"He wanted to sit down at Richmond. I’m gone racing and he’s gone as well. So it’s just, sometimes, maybe it’s best case scenario that we’re both gone. But it didn’t seem like that big of a deal to me."

"Either he made a mistake or misjudged and obviously turned me. And then we were just fighting for the last lap and last corner and felt like that was plenty OK to do considering the contact, right? I can play defense for one corner to try to get the spot."

The SM squad will be hoping for a calm race weekend at Richmond this time around, with Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar being reprimanded within the team.