Michael McDowell voices frustration after unfortunate Texas race

Spire Motorsports driver Michael McDowell was in a tough battle for his first win of the season in the Wurth 400 Presented By LIQUI MOLY at Texas Motor Speedway. But things went south with a few laps to go, ending his chance of winning the race and resulting in a DNF. McDowell shared thoughts on his run during a post-race interview.

The #71 Chevy Camaro ZL1 team avoided several wrecks during the Texas race and had an almost perfect pit strategy. Following their plan, on lap 222, the team took two tires on the final pit stop, and McDowell gained the lead on the lap 244 restart.

However, things drastically changed with three laps to go in the 271-lap race. While exiting Turn 2, the Spire Motorsports driver lost control of his car and met the outside SAFER barriers, ending his day. He lost the lead to the defending champion and Team Penske driver Joey Logano with a new set of tires.

Recalling his crash, Michael McDowell told Frontstretch Media [00:10 onwards]:

“Obviously we were on two tires, so we knew it was an uphill battle, but we thought we had a good shot at it. We weren’t the best today, but we were fast enough to put ourselves in position.”

“Got a couple of good restarts, had one that was so-so, average, but then when the No. 22 started to close in, I was right at the limit, doing everything I could. I haven’t seen a replay, [but] I felt like I drove him as far down as you could without doing something crazy and dumb, and he was still able to get there, unfortunately,” he concluded.

After starting the Texas Motor Speedway race from fifth place, Michael McDowell ended in P26 behind Austin Cindric. Meanwhile, defending champion Joey Logano crossed the finish line 0.346 seconds ahead of Ross Chastain.

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When Michael McDowell opened up about his retirement plans

Over a decade ago, in 2012, NASCAR Cup Series driver Michael McDowell was featured on Jeff Gluck's 12-question podcast. McDowell was the first stock car racing driver to be interviewed back then. During the podcast, Gluck asked the Spire Motorsports driver about his retirement plans, and McDowell replied that he hopes to compete in one more season each year.

Fast forward to 2025, the Spire Motorsports driver was asked the same question; however, this time he had a different answer about his retirement.

“I don’t know how long that road is. I feel like right now I’m at my prime, my peak. I’m running really well, so I want to keep doing it at a high level. As long as I feel like I’m performing at a high level and getting the most out of the race cars and I’m not holding the team back,” Michael McDowell said.

The #71 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver, 20th in the Cup Series drivers' standings with 214 points, is yet to secure a top-five or top-10 finish. However, he secured a pole position at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway event, finishing the race in 16th place.