Michael McDowell (Steering Rack) to the Rear for Phoenix Race
Michael McDowell, the driver of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, was slated to roll from the starting grid from the seventh position, which he earned in Saturday's qualifying session at Phoenix Raceway. However, a mechanical issue will force him to drop to the rear of the field before the green flag of Sunday's Shriners Children's 500.
McDowell's car had an issue with the steering rack. After the team looked over the issue on Sunday morning, the decision was made the change out the steering rack entirely.
That adjustment to the No. 71 Chevrolet is not an approved one by NASCAR, and as a result, the sanctioning body ruled McDowell will drop to the rear due to the repairs made to the steering compartment.
As far as the history book, and fantasy racing implications, McDowell will show an official starting position of seventh, but will have to battle his way from the rear of the field to have a shot at a solid finish in Sunday's race.
Spire Motorsports was the biggest surprise in NASCAR Cup Series qualifying on Saturday as McDowell (seventh), along with his teammates Carson Hocevar (third), and Justin Haley (eighth) all qualified inside the top-eight. This is the first time in Spire Motorsports' company history that all three of its cars have qualified inside the top-eight in the same qualifying session.
McDowell suffered a power steering issue in the second race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and had to go behind the wall for six laps to receive repairs. After the repairs, McDowell was able to successfully receive six consecutive free passes, which put him back on the lead lap, and allowed him to tough out a solid 13th-place finish.
While starting at the rear Sunday at Phoenix isn't ideal, it seems like child's play compared to the six-lap down situation McDowell and the No. 71 team overcame at Atlanta.
William Byron won the pole for the Shriners Children's 500, and will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway. Joey Logano will start alongside from the runner-up spot when the race goes green at approximately 3:41 PM ET.
Christopher Bell, who is on a quest to become the first driver in the Next Gen car era to score three-consecutive NASCAR Cup Series wins, will start from the 11th position. And Katherine Legge, who is set to become the first female racer to start a NASCAR Cup Series event since Danica Patrick ran the Daytona 500 in 2018, will start from the 37th and final starting spot in the field in the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet.
The race will be televised on FS1 (streamable with a valid cable subscription login on the FOX Sports App) with coverage set to kick off at 3:30 PM ET.
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Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.