If Carson Hocevar’s suspension from the final race of the 2026 season is anything to go by, Spire Motorsports team co-owner Jeff Dickerson is done messing about. With two victories in a year that saw heavyweights like HMS’s No. 24 crew struggle to adapt to the updated Chevrolet body, the former racer is aiming to strike gold in 2027.
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“We’re just an adjustment or two away from really being in it,” said Dickerson in an interview with Above The Yellow Line Media after the Homestead-Miami finale. “If you look through the Chase, we had our opportunities to have some real meaningful races in late October and November that we kind of kicked. But the expectation here is to compete for championships. I don’t think it’s a pipe dream anymore. I think we’re building a real championship-capable group.”
While Hocevar was forced to sit the race out, both Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell closed out the year with top-10 finishes. Despite contact with Noah Gragson and a resulting spin, Suarez managed to bag P8, while McDowell finished P10. Justin Haley substituted for Hocevar; he finished just outside the top-20, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet.
“2026 was a great year for our organization,” added Dickerson. “I mean, we met and exceeded some expectations. But it’s kind of funny. You get to the end, and you look back, and you’re like, ‘Man, we left a lot out there too.’ I think we showed the garage what we’re about.”
Both Daniel Suarez and Carson Hocevar captured wins in marquee events and made it to the Chase, eventually finishing 13th and 14th in the standings. Hocevar bagged his first Cup win at the famed Talladega Superspeedway, with an unforgettable celebration that followed.
Suarez claimed the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, managing to win in his first year as a Spire driver. Results across the season also looked great for the team, with Hocevar securing six top-5 finishes and Suarez and McDowell securing three each.
However, the team needs to take care of two things: controversies and inconsistent performance. For the former, it is just Carson Hocevar who is in need of toning down his aggressiveness on track, and as for the latter, the team has to reduce the probability of DNFs (seven combined across the three garages).
“Obviously, making a couple changes here going into the next year. And we’ll just, we’ll see what happens,” said Dickerson, anticipating how more consistency from his drivers could position the organization next year.
Considering how the team, an outfit certainly smaller than the likes of Hendrick Motorsports, adapted to the updated Chevrolet Camaro body is a sign of strength going forward.
Obviously, Spire still has the ghosts of Joe Gibbs Racing’s lawsuit against them hanging around. However, on-track performance or morale doesn’t seem to have taken a hit because of that.
Now all that remains for the Mooresville-based outfit is to iron out anomalies in their system if they hope to be in contention for next year’s title. With the Chase format back in place, consistency over the year can make a bigger difference in someone like Spire clinching the title, especially with the era of ‘win, and you’re in’ style of Playoff racing being over.