Did Michael McDowell Make the Right Decision Leaving Front Row for Spire?

The first domino of silly season for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season has fallen. Michael McDowell will depart Front Row Motorsports for Spire Motorsports.

McDowell has been with Front Row for seven years. He has notched two victories and made two playoff appearances.

Yet the 39-year-old veteran chose Spire, an organization that is fielding three full-time entries for the first time this season.

As such, Joy Tomlinson and Mark Kristl debate whether McDowell made the right decision in this week’s 2-Headed Monster.

McDowell Will Benefit From a Change in Scenery

McDowell has been a strong performer over the past two years, but overall, he can benefit from a change of scenery.

Since he joined Front Row, he’s only had two top-20 points finishes. In the Next Gen era, he has one win, four top fives and 23 top 10s in 85 races.

Diving further into those numbers, McDowell is tied for the least amount of top fives and had the fewest top 10s of the playoff drivers. He also had the fewest lead-lap finishes, showing that while he impressively piloted his racecar – he was borderline on making the playoffs on points alone – FRM was not bringing him fast racecars right out of the hauler nor improved his racecar throughout races.

McDowell will surpass 500 Cup starts in the penultimate race of the 2024 season. He is experienced and has fared decently in the Next Gen era.

Enter Spire, a growing organization. The team has two top-10 running NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series entries with three wins. Yes, it bought Kyle Busch Motorsports, but Rajah Caruth’s growth this season is a testament to Spire.

Unfortunately, Spire has not experienced the same success in its Cup program with a pair of rookies and Corey LaJoie piloting its racecars.

McDowell joining Spire is a win for both parties. For McDowell, Spire’s amount of sponsorship probably yields him the largest salary of his career. At age 39, a hefty payday, when he might only run competing full time for another decade at the most, sounds too good to pass up.

I’m sure the organization’s Truck success also caught his eye. If this team can improve its Truck program, there’s potential for it to likewise improve its Cup program. As an experienced driver who has piloted underfunded racecars, McDowell knows what it takes to improve a team overall. His input will be vital.

You know what else McDowell brings to Spire? Wins on his resume, something LaJoie and the two…