The Craftsman Truck Series lineup at Daytona International Speedway has expanded with two members of the Spire Motorsports roster.
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The Mooresville-based team announced on Jan. 29 that Michael McDowell and Justin Haley will pull double duty to kick off the season. They will both compete in the season-opening Truck Series race at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Haley will drive the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST. McDowell will drive the No. 07 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST. The team did not provide any sponsor details.
Just a couple Daytona winners going Truck racing.@Mc_Driver and @Justin_Haley_ will compete in the @NASCAR_Trucks race in Daytona in the Nos. 07 and 7, respectively. pic.twitter.com/FOhTJVeazE
— Spire Motorsports (@SpireMotorsport) January 29, 2025
Haley has not competed in a Truck Series race since the 2020 season when he finished seventh at Texas Motor Speedway for GMS Racing, but he has 51 career starts in the third-tier NASCAR series.
Haley's most extensive campaign was in 2018 as he drove the No. 24 full-time for GMS Racing. He won three races that season — World Wide Technology Raceway, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, and Texas Motor Speedway. He finished third in the championship standings behind Brett Moffitt and Noah Gragson.
The Indiana native has only made one Truck Series start at Daytona International Speedway. He finished second in the 2018 season opener behind teammate Johnny Sauter. However, he has a rain-shortened Cup win and two Xfinity wins at the superspeedway.
McDowell, for comparison, has limited experience in the Truck Series. He has two career starts. His first was in 2007 as he drove for Darrell Waltrip at Martinsville Speedway. He finished 30th.
The last time @Mc_Driver ran a NASTruck race... pic.twitter.com/ArjOI83l2j
— Charles Krall (@ChasKrall) January 29, 2025
McDowell's last start in the Truck Series was at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2009. He drove the No. 98 for ThorSport Racing and finished 14th.
The new addition to the Spire Motorsports lineup does not have superspeedway experience in the Truck Series, but he has success at Daytona. He won the 2021 Daytona 500 after avoiding a crashing Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski on the final lap.
McDowell will now get his first taste of Truck Series action at the Florida track. He will have an extended practice session to adjust to the series as part of NASCAR's updated practice format for the 2025 season. Superspeedway weekends usually don't feature practice, but the season-opening trip to Daytona is an exception.
