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Spire Motorsports driver Michael McDowell offers emotional tribute to late best friend

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones23 hours agobrianjones_93

Veteran NASCAR driver Michael McDowell paid tribute to his best friend, who died on Tuesday. On social media, McDowell sent an emotional message to his friend, who was dealing with an illness.

“Today, my best friend went to be with the Lord,” Michael McDowell wrote in a post shared on X/Twitter. “No more pain, no more suffering, no more treatments. It is a great reminder that this Earth is not our home. Faith, Family, and Friends will last for eternity.”

According to an obituary, McDowell’s best friend, Joshua Brian Mann, died after an “extended battle with cancer.” He enlisted in the Navy in September 2000 and “completed two tours of duty, including Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.”

“Josh was passionate about life and about living it as fully as he could with his family, especially over the last two years following his diagnosis,” the obituary stated. “During that time, you could not find a more devoted husband or a better father. Josh was also deeply devoted to his many friends. One especially dear friend, who remained by his side through it all, was Michael McDowell. Mike, his wife Jami, and their family have been a tremendous source of friendship and support for all of Josh’s family, and they are loved very much in return.”

Looking at Michael McDowell’s 2025 NASCAR season

McDowell paid tribute to his friend a few weeks after completing the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. The 40-year-old joined Spire Motorsports this past season and finished the year with six top-10 finishes and three finishes in the top five.

Earlier this month, McDowell spoke to reporters about possibly retiring from NASCAR. “Well, do I see that in the future?” McDowell said in Phoenix, per Matt Weaver of Motorsport. “Not in the near future.

“For me, I have been doing this a long time, but for those who have followed the sport, they know my first 10 years were a struggle where I was not in a competitive environment or enjoying myself. I was just trying to stay in the sport and stay in a seat long enough to get to where I am now.”