For the first time since he earned his first career NASCAR national series win at Road America in 2016, Michael McDowell returned to the NASCAR Xfinity Series in its most recent race at Watkins Glen International two weekends ago.
McDowell was in the mix for the win before being taken out in a 16-car wreck triggered by an ill-advised moved from Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill as he came out of the carousel to McDowell's outside.
McDowell, who competes full-time for Spire Motorsports in the Cup Series, drove the No. 11 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing, the car that had been driven full-time by Josh Williams before the team cut ties with him ahead of the race at Iowa Speedway in early August.
With Carson Hocevar having driven the No. 11 car at Iowa, McDowell continued the trend of Spire Motorsports Cup drivers getting behind the wheel, and while McDowell won't be back in the car this weekend, that trend is set to continue for yet another weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
Michael McDowell replacement confirmed for Daytona
Justin Haley is set to return to Kaulig Racing, the team he left following the 2023 season after running five total seasons as a full-time driver across the Xfinity Series (2019 to 2021) and Cup Series (2022 and 2023). He has not competed in any Xfinity Series races since 2023, when he ran five races for Matt Kaulig's team, including two at Daytona.
Haley, who has two Xfinity Series wins at Daytona, finished in 10th place in both of his Daytona Xfinity Series starts in 2023. His other two Xfinity Series wins both came at Talladega Superspeedway, so he is somewhat of a superspeedway specialist at NASCAR's second-highest level.
Beyond this weekend, none of the Spire Motorsports trio have any more confirmed Xfinity Series starts with Kaulig Racing this year, which stands to reason since the playoffs are right around the corner.
Kaulig Racing have already announced that Will Brown is set to compete in next weekend's road course race at Portland International Raceway.
Daytona International Speedway is scheduled to host the Wawa 250 this Saturday, August 22, with live coverage set to be provided by the CW Network beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss it!