‘Everything just fell into place’: How Steve McGowan and MMI Racing earned the West Series owner’s title after 17 years

A staple in the ARCA Menards Series West since the late 2000s has been the No. 17 MMI Racing Chevrolet operated by Steve McGowan.

The organization found its identity with veteran racer David Mayhew taking the team to Victory Lane on eight occasions before later enjoying strong runs with drivers like Zane Smith and Josh Berry. Although MMI Racing has enjoyed bountiful success, a championship had always eluded the team.

Alongside co-owner Bruce Cook, McGowan finally got to see that 17-year dry spell end this season at Phoenix Raceway. After winning two of the previous four West Series races, driver Kaden Honeycutt secured MMI Racing the 2023 owner’s title with a ninth-place finish.

The path to that first owner’s title might have been a bit unorthodox for McGowan with Honeycutt not arriving until September, but he was more than thrilled to see the fruits of years of hard work at MMI Racing.

“It’s pretty unbelievable,” McGowan said. “We’ve gotten some seconds and thirds in the championship standings, and we finally got [an owner’s title] this year with two drivers. This has been a long time coming.”

A championship was always McGowan’s goal from the moment he turned his first competitive laps at Mesa Marin Speedway. Following a few years of inconsistent results, McGowan realized that dream would not be achieved behind the wheel.

McGowan utilized his connection with Kevin Harvick to quickly build MMI Racing into a program that could immediately contend for wins on the West Coast. It was through this relationship that McGowan in 2009 met Cook, who was working with Kevin Harvick Inc. at the time.

The following several years saw McGowan and Cook work together on ideas and setups. They went into a full partnership in the late 2010s, with Cook moving his equipment to the East Coast while McGowan maintained a role as co-owner of MMI Racing.

Logistically, operating a West Series team from Mooresville, North Carolina presented challenges. The commutes proved to be both physically and mentally demanding for everyone, but spirits remained high in 2023 as the team embarked on its first full-time campaign since 2015 with Landen Lewis as the driver.

Everything started off promising for Lewis and MMI Racing. The first four events saw Lewis tally three consecutive top-two finishes along with a victory at Portland International Raceway, all of which kept MMI Racing within striking distance of the driver’s and owner’s title.

Lewis’ sudden departure with four races remaining in the season forced MMI Racing to scramble. Salvation came in the form of Honeycutt, who proceeded to knock off victories at All American Speedway and Madera Speedway to secure the owner’s title points lead for MMI Racing.

“It was an unfortunate situation with Landen leaving,” McGowan said. “He’s a great kid, but we needed to protect the owner’s championship, and Bruce was the one who sought out Kaden. We ended up winning two of those last four races, which was pretty awesome.”

Cook saw the talent Honeycutt possessed after previously working with him in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and he knew the driver would be a perfect fit for MMI Racing despite a lack of financial backing.

Even though he and McGowan were essentially funding Honeycutt out of their own pockets, Cook said no one at MMI Racing missed a beat as focus shifted over to fending off Venturini Motorsports for the West Series owner’s crown.

“To me, owner’s points are the most important thing,” Cook said. “That’s where the check goes and where the team comes in. Kaden was a breath of fresh air. He came out by himself, and in his first race, he sits on the outside pole, leads all the laps and wins the race.

“Everything just fell into place.”

Honeycutt was so dominant during the closing stretch of the season that he believes MMI Racing would have earned three consecutive victories if not for an engine issue at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The efficiency Honeycutt displayed was enough to put him in control of his own destiny against Hingorani at Phoenix. An early flat tire proved to be the only obstacle Honeycutt faced all day, as he successfully rebounded to deliver MMI Racing their long-awaited championship hardware in the West Series.

“This is definitely one heck of a feeling,” Cook said. “For 17 years, Steve McGowan has been a fixture on the West Coast, and he’s owned ARCA cars for a long time. To finally run all the races and put a championship on top of it was a great feeling for me to do with him as my partner.”

In the time Cook has worked with McGowan and MMI Racing, he never once doubted the program’s capability of winning a West Series title.

Among the West Series stalwarts MMI Racing had to face in their early days included champions like Eric Holmes, Greg Pursley and Derek Thorn. Even with an influx of younger drivers into the West Series during the past few years, many of those same championship-caliber teams have remained on top of the leaderboard.

Cook cited the competitive depth as the primary hurdle standing in the way of a championship for MMI Racing during the years in which they competed full-time.

“It’s a very strong division,” Cook said. “The car counts are great on the West Coast, and the cars are a lot closer competition-wise. It’s very hard to win the West Series championship, especially for an East Coast-based team. It was really taxing on the people, but I’m proud of everyone for stepping up and doing their part.”

McGowan admitted the owner’s title run with both Honeycutt and Lewis would not have been possible without Cook’s guidance.

Having the heart of MMI Racing move to the other side of the country was something McGowan knew was a monumental-but-necessary risk given how the West Series was evolving. The decision more than paid off for McGowan, who is now more excited about MMI Racing’s future than ever before.

“I have to thank everyone at MMI Racing for their hard work during all their time away from home,” McGowan said. “They came out to the West Coast, which was a long, hard trek in of itself.

“Hard work and good people are what you’ve got to have.”

McGowan would love to check the West Series driver’s championship off his list next. He and Cook are talking with several drivers about piloting the iconic No. 17 in 2024, but details are yet to be finalized.

Whether it’s the driver’s or owner’s title, McGowan is confident he will not have to wait 17 more years to hoist another trophy.