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.

Matt Johnson is the senior NFL and college football editor for Sportsknot. His work including weekly NFL and college… More about Matt Johnson

The Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball is undoubtedly a talented player, and the buzz surrounding him generally stems from his ability on the court. However, recently, Ball’s driving skills have been discussed by many social media users, as he was recently involved in a two-car collision in downtown Charlotte at the busy Tread and Triton intersection.

Since the accident occurred on Thursday, days after he suited up for the Hornets in a matchup against the Houston Rockets, Ball was seen driving more cautiously in Charlotte, according to a post on Instagram by SportsCulture, with several social media users reacting to the recent incidents by saying that his poor driving was a regular occurrence.

As can be seen in the comments, many users talked about several incidents where Ball was seen driving recklessly, with some claiming that he came close to colliding with other vehicles and even people on several occasions. Although it is not clear whether social media users were joking that where there is smoke, there is usually fire.

Therefore, Ball being a bad driver seems to be a common sentiment among Charlotte residents, with many claiming to be aware of incidents where he was seen driving wildly.

Of course, the initial accident hints at something similar, with Ball’s Hummer appearing to collide with another car that had the right of way. However, the post-accident clip, in which LaMelo was seen driving his red Rolls-Royce Cullinan, shows a stark difference.

This time, Ball was seen driving cautiously around a turn and seemed intent on ensuring that he did not collide with any other vehicle. This will be a huge relief to fans, who are well aware of Ball’s importance to the Hornets.

The Charlotte Hornets missed a chance to get a big win over the Houston Rockets, losing 105-101 at the Spectrum Center on Thursday night, but LaMelo Ball is grateful he was even able to play. Following the loss, the star point guard spoke on the car accident he was involved in on Wednesday.

According to Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer, Ball told the media, “Unfortunate, {but} everybody’s good, so good blessings.” “God is great.”

The 24-year-old, who was driving a custom-built Hummer through an intersection, collided with another vehicle in downtown Charlotte. Footage from the scene shows Ball drifting out of his lane and into another car. However, it is still not completely clear what exactly caused the accident. One wheel of the Hummer rolled off after the collision, but it is difficult to say when it started coming loose.

LaMelo’s postgame press conference: Reaction to the accident, his game tonight and more. pic.twitter.com/1CfT3J9jPh

– Rod Boon (@rodboon) 20 February 2026

Thankfully, as the former Rookie of the Year said, no one was seriously hurt. The other person involved in the accident exited his vehicle immediately after the accident. After police arrived at the scene, Ball drove away in a Lamborghini that had come to pick him up. A reporter asked him why he walked away from the wreck, but the 2022 All-Star did not answer the question. “No, you’ll have to check it out,” he replied.

LaMelo Ball was apparently unable to drive the Hummer, so it makes sense that he would call for a ride. One would assume that he had provided the necessary information to the police and the other driver before leaving the scene. However, because of his history on the road, people will be extra curious about the accident.

Video compilations can be found in which he is shown driving recklessly. In 2024, a woman filed a lawsuit against the Hornets playmaker for running over her son’s foot. The child and other people huddled around Ball’s vehicle before it was driven away from the field. He denied responsibility, claiming that the boy harmed himself.

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft clearly wants to put this latest incident behind him immediately. A day after the accident, he posted 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting with seven assists and seven rebounds.

Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee discussed LaMelo Ball’s recent car accident ahead of Thursday’s game against the Houston Rockets. Fortunately, Ball and no one else were injured in the car accident, which was of most importance to the Hornets head coach.

Lee addressed Ball’s car accident during his Pregame media availability.

“The first thing you do when you hear about any type of accident is you hope that all parties involved are okay, that they’re healthy and safe,” Lee said. “So, he felt good today, ready to go, and he’ll be ready to play tonight.”

“The first thing you do when you hear about any type of accident is you hope that all parties involved are OK, that they’re healthy and safe.”

Hornets head coach Charles Lee on LaMelo Ball’s car accident.

(via @DaShawnWSOC9)pic.twitter.com/HFKVh6VFoU https://t.co/n8JgD68DL9

– ClutchPoints (@clutchpoints) 20 February 2026

The video of the car accident surfaced on social media on Wednesday. LaMelo Ball is expected to start for Charles Lee and the Hornets in Thursday’s game.

New video of Hornets guard LaMelo Ball’s car accident

Following the initial footage, a new video of Hornets guard LaMelo Ball’s car accident shows him colliding with another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction from a different angle. When he side-swipes another car, the ball moves slightly to his left and into the opposing lane.

New video offers a closer look The impact of a ball colliding with oncoming traffic in downtown Charlotte.

LaMelo Ball veered into oncoming traffic🤔 pic.twitter.com/iGl9rsEu92

– BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) 19 February 2026

Ball and the Hornets entered the All-Star break winning nine of their last 10 games and improving to 26–29, the ninth-best record in the Eastern Conference standings. Ball has scored 20+ points in four of his last five games, including a 24-point performance in the Hornets’ 110–107 win against the Hawks, which snapped a nine-game winning streak.

Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball was recently involved in a scary car accident. Fortunately, reports indicate that no one was injured. A new video has surfaced showing a new angle of the accident.

In the clip originally shared on Instagram, you can see the driver’s side tire of Ball’s car explode immediately after colliding with another vehicle. It’s not entirely clear who was at fault, but it seems the 24-year-old guard was trying to turn while the other driver veered into the middle of the lane.

Another side of LaMelo’s car accident 😬 pic.twitter.com/O7Q8CfSQAv

– NBCCentral (@TheDunkCentral) 19 February 2026

Ball has a bit of a history of bad driving. So much so that a compilation clip of his driving skills went viral in 2024. He has a history of running red lights and turning onto the roadway into traffic. Although Wednesday’s accident may not have been his fault, the six-year NBA veteran is an extremely bad driver.

Someone compiled a clip of LaMelo Ball’s reckless and dangerous driving from the Charlotte Hornets Arena 😳 pic.twitter.com/6C48PDc6E6

– ClutchPoints (@clutchpoints) 22 May 2024

LaMelo Ball was not injured in the crash in Uptown Charlotte, nor was anyone else involved. That means Ball is expected to play for the Hornets on Thursday when the team takes on the Houston Rockets. This will be the club’s first game after the All-Star break.

The star point guard has played 45 games so far this season. However, Ball is facing a bit of a setback compared to the rest of his career. He enters Thursday’s contest averaging 19.3 points, 4.8 rebounds (career-low), 7.4 assists (career-low), and 1.1 steals (career-low) per game. He is shooting 40.1% from the field (career-low) and 36.3% from beyond the three-point line.

Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball was recently involved in a car accident in Uptown. Video released shows Ball’s Hummer colliding with a car as the two were passing through an intersection. The car the ball hit stopped immediately, the driver got out, and went to the Hornets guard to see if he was OK.

It is not certain who was at fault for the accident, but it seems that both parties are safe.

Witnesses told local news that the sedan was heading east on Trade Street, while Ball was heading west. He tried to go left on the one-way road, which is why the collision occurred. Eyewitnesses also claimed that when Ball got out of the Hummer, he got into a Lamorgini. Both the Hummer and the sedan were towed.

Ball has received criticism for his driving over the years. Several videos have been posted of him exiting the Spectrum Center and driving away at speed.

The Hornets are set to play the Houston Rockets at home on Thursday, and so far, it doesn’t look like Ball will suffer any injuries as a result of the accident.

Over the past few weeks, the Hornets have been one of the hottest teams in the league and have climbed up the Eastern Conference standings after once missing out on the play-ins. They are now seeded ninth, and have plenty of time to make a move up the standings if they continue to play like this.