Denny Hamlin considers if Michael McDowell’s jump to Spire Motorsports is a ‘lateral move’

Michael McDowell is officially moving from Front Row Motorsports to Spire Motorsports next season, and Denny Hamlin had some thoughts on the matter.

During the latest episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast, the No. 11 wheelman elaborated on why he believes McDowell isn’t necessarily moving to a more competitive team in Spire, but the move was made with the idea of stability in mind.

“Hmm. It seems like that’s been the reaction from others as well, ‘Oh wow,’ and not an ‘Oh wow’ like, ‘Oh, that’s better,’ or ‘Oh, that’s a terrible move,’ it’s just, ‘Interesting, interesting,’ right? I think, and this is my opinion, and it is only an opinion, it is not a fact, is I think Spire likely paid him more. I think, a multi-year deal that pays you more, versus what he was paid over at Front Row, and a year-by-year thing, he just wanted some stability,” Hamlin explained. “Now, if I were an agent, however, I would say, it’s okay to bet on yourself. Michael McDowell’s been running better. Over the last few years, he’s done a really, really good job, and he’s got the team in the playoffs last year, and he’s had some really strong runs this year. Even if you’re on a year-to-year deal, which I understand is not ideal whatsoever. It certainly is not ideal. You’re still running good enough where, even if your team let you go, you’d be able to get in another ride, that’s comparable to what you’re in, even if you got caught off guard. So, to me, he must view it as, the No. 71 will be equal to what he’s in.

“I don’t necessarily think that’s the case right in this one moment right now. Down the road, I don’t know. … In the current time that we live in, I don’t know that it’s a better ride than what you’re leaving, because you know, you’ve got the Front Row cars, that now have Penske Tier 1 information. … I don’t fault the deal, at all. I think Spire gets a really, really good driver. I think that they probably get the best end of the deal, is the long and the short of it. McDowell, I think it’s a lateral — a lateral-ish move. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it, and we might be talking about two years from now, that it was a good move.”

In the end, Michael McDowell made the move he felt was best for Michael McDowell, not Denny Hamlin. We’ll see how it all works out for the former Daytona 500 champion, as he looks to continue his rise in the NASCAR Cup Series moving forward.