Michael McDowell’s journey to NASCAR’s most underrated driver

Michael McDowell’s racing career has always been overlooked but his win in Indianapolis proves why he’s NASCAR’s most underrated driver.

[autotag]Michael McDowell[/autotag] stood near victory lane after his impressive NASCAR Cup Series victory at the Indianapolis Road Course and said he was picking the best races to win with Front Row Motorsports. Well, there is no doubt that is true after winning at two of racing’s most important venues.

McDowell won the 2021 Daytona 500 for his first career Cup Series victory but that is not the most impressive win for him. The driver of the No. 34 car trumped the Daytona 500 after dominating at the Indianapolis Road Course and holding off Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott, who is the most successful road course driver of the current generation.

It was very impressive and further proves why McDowell is NASCAR’s most underrated driver. Let’s be honest. Front Row Motorsports is not on the same level as Hendrick Motorsports. The organization only has four victories over 19 seasons of competition in the Cup Series. Two of those wins came on superspeedway tracks while the other came in a weather-shortened race at Pocono Raceway.

This victory looks down on the rest. McDowell led 54 of the 82 laps and outran the rest of the competition over the longest green-flag run in recent memory. This victory was not by mistake. It was due to perfect execution from McDowell and the No. 34 team. Now, this represents the tip of the iceberg for the entire organization that is budding with speed.

McDowell entered Indianapolis with the most points of any driver on road courses with the NextGen car. He was fighting for a playoff spot on points with Front Row Motorsports alongside Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, and 23XI Racing. What else needs to be said about McDowell?

None of this is by mistake. This isn’t a winner that came out of nowhere to shake up the entire 2023 NASCAR playoff picture. This is a victory that has been slowly coming to fruition. It started when McDowell came back to Front Row Motorsports with the NextGen car in 2022. The Arizona native had a career-high 12 top-10 finishes and is now backing that up with one of his best seasons yet.

McDowell has come a long way from being the driver of the No. 00 car that violently flipped during qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway. He has turned into a driver that should be a threat on every road course and superspeedway while having the potential to take the next step on short and intermediate tracks. The only people who disagree are the ones who have overlooked him.

Sure, McDowell may not be competing for the title when NASCAR enters Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway in November but one thing is for certain. As McDowell said in a post-race interview, the No. 34 car will make some people angry when the Round of 16 is underway next month.

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