NASCAR's silly season is just a few months away and, while Michael McDowell isn't one of the biggest names being talked about, the veteran driver believes he knows who will be his successor.
Speaking to reporters at Watkins Glen, McDowell called Tristan McKee "the real deal" and believes he will be the one to take over driving the No. 71 car for Spire Motorsports when McDowell retires.
At the beginning of the year, McKee was ranked 14th among the top NASCAR prospects in 2025 by Bob Pockross of Fox Sports. He became the second-youngest ARCA winner at Watkins Glen in 2025, just two years after he became the youngest driver to win in the CARS Tour Pro Late Model division.
Notably, McKee won't turn 16 until August. The Virginia native has already raced in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East, but although he is a rising star in NASCAR, he still needs to prove himself at the Truck Series and O'Reilly Auto Parts Series levels.
Realistically, Mackie is at least three years away from getting a chance to ride full-time in the Cup Series and even that timeline will be longer.
Investigating Michael McDowell's future in NASCAR
McDowell, who will turn 42 in December, clearly has no intentions of retiring in the near future. The longtime Cup Series driver intends to remain behind the wheel of the No. 71 for several more seasons, but that doesn't seem possible either.
Part of the problem for McDowell is the disappointing results. His last win came in the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard in 2023. What's more troubling for Spire Motorsports is that their results are getting worse every year.
In 2024, McDowell achieved seven top-10 finishes with six pole positions and 256 laps led, finishing the season with a 14.58 average starting position and 21.31 average finishing position. A year later, McDowell led only 96 laps with six top-10s and two poles, and his average starting position dropped to 15.69.
The situation has become even worse in 2026. Through 11 races, McDowell ranks 23rd in points (189), 18th in average starting position (19.0) and 24th in average finishing position (21.5).
Spire has made it clear in recent years that it wants to become one of the top teams in the Cup Series. Carson Hocevar, who scored his first Cup Series win at Talladega, is emerging as a superstar, and Daniel Suarez is enjoying a breakout year in his first season with Spire.
McDowell is undoubtedly the worst performing driver at Spire Motorsports at the moment. Ultimately, if his contract expires after the 2026 season, it wouldn't be at all surprising if Spier decides to find someone else to drive the No. 71 car next year.
