Michael McDowell Breaks Silence on Retirement Rumors
Spire Motorsports veteran Michael McDowell shared his thoughts on potential retirement, as father time is slowly catching up to him.
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The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season was a tough challenge for Michael McDowell. The season marked his debut for new team Spire Motorsports and he failed to perform on the same level as his time with FRM. A P4 finish at Sonoma was his best performance of the year, as he finished at P22 in points with just six top-10 finishes.
Though the 40-year-old improved his points table position from 2024, the stock car racing community wasn’t impressed with the veteran. Michael McDowell didn’t show up in either Road Courses or Superspeedways, which has always been his bread and butter. But none of the this has made him to think about retirement as in a latest interview he confirmed he won’t retire in the near future.
Well, do I see that in the future…Not in the near future.
Michael McDowell said via motorsport.com.
Further talking about the discussions around his retirement, the veteran pointed out that at the moments he having the best years of his racing career as in his first decade in the sport he was never part of a competitive team. This factor inspires him to extend his stay and deliver more results for the teams that invested him.
For me, I have been doing this a long time but for those who have followed the sport, they know my first 10 years were a struggle where I was not in a competitive environment or enjoying myself. I was just trying to stay int the sport and stay in a seat long enough to get to where I am now.
Michael McDowell added.
Michael McDowell admits it’s a matter of time before he got challengers for his seat
In the same conversation, he highlighted that he is really excited about racing in the premier stock car racing championship and he is cherishing these moments more than ever. That’s the reason why he doesn’t see a retirement in the near future.
I’m still very excited about showing up to the race track, knowing we can run well, and challenge for wins. For me, that’s what motivates me to keep going. So, I don’t see (retirement) in the near future…
Michael McDowell said.
At the same time, he understands there are multiple young Chevy drivers waiting in the sidelines for an opportunity. It’s a matter time before he gets replaced when performance doesn’t match expectations, especially a team like Spire that is on the rise.
…But you know how this sport is it’s just a matter of time before the next fast guy comes to replace me and it’s just when is he ready and am I still performing at that point. This is a performance-based business and we all know that. So, I feel like I am performing well right now.
Michael McDowell added.
Though he hasn’t shown a significant improvement, McDowell has performed good enough to warrant one more year in the top tier. But it’s going to be tough for the veteran to be on the same level in the upcoming 2026 season.
Carson Hocevar is getting better and better every week, making the defector leader as well as the face of the team with two veterans. New arrival, Daniel Suarez is coming in seeking redemption after getting fired from Trackhouse. Matching these two in pace and performance will be major challenge for McDowell.
Also Read: Kevin Harvick Snubs Kyle Larson to Name the ‘2025 NASCAR Cup Driver of the year’
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