Michael McDowell picked to replace Josh Williams for Kaulig Racing at Watkins Glen

For the second week in a row, we have the replacement for Josh Williams at Kaulig Racing. This time, it’s Michael McDowell. The Spire Motorsports driver is going to take over the No. 11 Chevy for the Watkins Glen NASCAR Xfinity Series race.

Michael McDowell is a great choice to run Watkins Glen. Carson Hocevar took over the car this weekend at Iowa, and he ended up P6. McDowell on a road course, this is going to be great for Kaulig to measure where that program stands.

Of course, McDowell has one win in his Xfinity Series career. He took the checkered flag at Road America in 2016. That was the last time McDowell suited up in the Xfinity Series.

This is the second week in a row that Kaulig Racing has tapped Spire Motorsports for their Cup Series talent. Kaulig apparently doesn’t want to spread its own Cup drivers too thin at this point in the season. So, they’re asking others to do it.

There have also been rumors out there about Spire Motorsports potentially buying or partnering with the Kaulig Racing Xfinity Series program. It makes sense as Spire continues to spend big money, make big moves, and is solidifying its driver development program.

Michael McDowell is going to test out this Kaulig car. He should be able to give the folks at Kaulig great feedback for the rest of the season. Perhaps he lets his team at Spire know if the cars are worth investing in?

Does Michael McDowell news signal Spire Motorsports move?

This season, Spire Motorsports has fielded cars and trucks in ARCA, the Truck Series, and the Cup Series. Having Carson Hocevar and then Michael McDowell in the No. 11 car certainly raises suspicions.

Right now, Spire has its teeth in almost all levels of NASCAR. Corey Day, even if he is a Hendrick development driver, has spent a lot of time in Spire equipment in both ARCA and the Truck Series.

Then you look at a driver like Tristan McKee. McKee just turned 15 this weekend. He is the youngest winner all-time in the CARS Tour and the second youngest driver to ever win a Trans-Am TA2 race. McKee is a Spire development driver. If Spire is creating a full-on program to develop drivers from the ground up, an Xfinity program would come in handy.

Spire Motorsports has a ton of money behind it. TWG Motorsports and TWG Global are big backers in this organization. It is an organization that is tied up in the same sports family now as the Cadillac F1 Team, Andretti Global, Wayne Taylor Racing, the Los Angeles Lakers, Dodgers, Sparks, Chelsea F.C., and more. Buying up an Xfinity Series program would be no problem for Dan Towriss and company.