Michael McDowell was expected to be one of the experienced voices Carson Hocevar could turn to at Spire Motorsports. But the veteran has now revealed that his attempt to guide the younger driver last year did not develop into the productive relationship either of them might have hoped for.
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Instead, McDowell has decided that someone else is better suited to fill that role. The issue, according to McDowell, was not a lack of effort.
“Not much mentoring. I’ve tried, I tried. Just him and I are so different and I tried to take that role last year and it just, it turned into conflict more than productive,” McDowell explained in comments shared by Bob Pockrass on X.
His decision to step away from that role is particularly interesting given why Spire brought him into the organisation in the first place. McDowell joined ahead of the 2025 season after spending seven years with Front Row Motorsports. With 17 full Cup Series seasons behind him, he represented the experienced voice in a driver lineup that also featured much younger talents.
NASCAR’s own preview of Spire’s 2025 campaign specifically highlighted McDowell’s veteran presence alongside Hocevar. The latter was coming off his Rookie of the Year campaign, having shown the speed to compete near the front but still needing to iron out some of the rougher habits that had followed him from his Truck Series days.
It was a setting in which McDowell’s experience could naturally have been useful. The two remain teammates in 2026, with McDowell driving the No. 71 Chevrolet and Hocevar in the No. 77.
However, McDowell believes Hocevar already has enough support within the organisation without him having to fill that particular position. He specifically pointed to the people around the young driver, including crew chief Luke Lambert, Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson, and Matt McCall.
“So, but he’s got a great group of people around him. Luke Lambert and Jeff and Matt McCall, they can fill that role, I don’t have to fill that role. And it wasn’t working. So I don’t want to say that I didn’t try, it just wasn’t working,” he added.
There have been visible signs of friction between the teammates before. One notable example came at Watkins Glen in August 2025, when McDowell made contact with Hocevar entering Turn 1 on Lap 52, sending the No. 77 Chevrolet spinning. The two then made contact again on the final lap while battling for 18th.
Hocevar said afterward that they had not spoken yet, although McDowell wanted to sit down with him at Richmond to discuss how they could move forward and avoid a repeat. McDowell subsequently described the initial contact as a miscommunication and a misjudgement, not an intentional move.
Neither driver publicly connected the Watkins Glen contact to their differences. Still, it offered an example of how communication between the two could become difficult, even when the contact itself was considered accidental.
Hocevar’s wider relationships in the garage have also attracted attention. Zane Smith, in particular, has been outspoken about their history, calling the Spire driver a “goon” after their clashes at Chicagoland and Nashville in 2026. Their disagreements date back to Iowa in 2025, and the tension has continued through subsequent encounters.
Smith’s criticism does not tell us what happened between Hocevar and McDowell privately, but it shows that the young driver’s difficulties with other competitors have not been limited to one isolated incident.
The latest controversy came at Martinsville, where Hocevar repeatedly brake-checked Austin Cindric, damaging the front of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford and ending Cindric’s race.
NASCAR responded with a $100,000 fine and a 25-point deduction, citing multiple violations of its code of conduct. Spire separately suspended Hocevar from the Homestead finale, replacing him in the No. 77 with Justin Haley.
NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer explained that Hocevar’s previous behavioural situations and earlier discussions with officials contributed to the larger fine, compared with Josh Berry’s separate $50,000 penalty for his incident with Ryan Blaney.
The Martinsville fallout also prompted veteran Jeff Burton to call the suspension a potential wake-up call. Burton argued that missing a race could help Hocevar recognise what he stands to lose, while stressing that the driver did not need to give up his personality to meet the professional standards expected in the Cup Series.
McDowell’s comments offer another perspective on the support Hocevar needs. He has not suggested that the young driver should be left to figure everything out alone, nor has he disowned him as a teammate. He simply does not believe that he is the person who should be responsible for mentoring him.
The distinction is important. McDowell made the effort, recognised that it was producing more conflict than progress and decided to step away. With a crew chief and senior figures around Hocevar, he believes the guidance can come from elsewhere. For a veteran who was expected to bring experience into Spire’s young lineup, admitting that he could not make that particular relationship work is a revealing change in position.