Tag: Michael McDowell

McDowell and FRM are fast, so now it’s about finding consistency

Michael McDowell and Front Row Motorsports have had a fast Ford Mustang Dark Horse early in the NASCAR Cup Series season, but they’re still working to put together consistent performances and results. “I think the speed has been great; I think our …

Michael McDowell and Front Row Motorsports have had a fast Ford Mustang Dark Horse early in the NASCAR Cup Series season, but they’re still working to put together consistent performances and results.

“I think the speed has been great; I think our execution just hasn’t been very good,” McDowell said at Phoenix Raceway. “And that’s on me. Last week we didn’t execute well, [but] less on me last week. The good news is we have speed, and speed makes up for a lot of things. We’ve just got to keep that speed up throughout the year and then clean up some of the things that we’ve had troubles with and I think we’ll be in a good spot to contend for wins.”

No team wants to be searching for speed. It’s far easier to be fighting for finishes.

McDowell has started no worse than 12th in the first three races. After earning a front-row starting spot in the Daytona 500, McDowell earned his first career pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway. An eighth-place finish at Atlanta is his best finish of the season; his average finish is 23rd going into Sunday’s race in his home state.

“I think that’s the good thing — we’re pretty close with everything,” McDowell said. “We just have a few little areas to clean up and I think we’ll be able to put ourselves in a better position, especially as we get into the summer months.”

The 39-year-old McDowell is amid a career breakout. Since NASCAR introduced its Next Gen car in 2022, McDowell has enjoyed career numbers by quickly adapting to its feel and driving characteristics. He’s earned 21 top-10 finishes driving the Next Gen car, which is more than he had in his previous 14 seasons as a Cup Series driver (17).

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

Front Row Motorsports is primed for even more success going forward with a new alliance with Team Penske. The technical partnership gives the small organization access to more information, like engineering support, but McDowell stressed it will take time for that to truly show results.

“Being able to lean on them more on that technical side for sure will help us to make better game day decisions and changes,” he said. “But all that, like I’ve been talking about, is going to take a process of being able to go through the information, understand it and then apply it, obviously. It’s still early, but I feel like…this week we made really big gains at home, at the shop, on how well we were able to utilize the information. We’re making gains, and I think it’ll get better and better every week.”

The next step for McDowell is turning their existing speed into top-five speed. It’s there where wins will come.

“Somewhere you’re going to get it right, you’re going to execute, get it all right, and you’re going to win a race,” McDowell said. “And winning a race, there’s such an emphasis on that in our series because it gets you in the playoffs and all the things it does. So, for me, it’s more about having those days of top-five speed than it is having top-15 speed throughout the entire year, if that makes sense.

“I think they go together, for sure, but I think just having more of that top-five speed is what’s going to allow us to contend for more wins.

McDowell earns first Cup pole, alongside Logano again in Atlanta

Michael McDowell and Joey Logano have flip-flopped starting positions from a week ago with McDowell earning his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Front Row Motorsports driver went to the top of the …

Michael McDowell and Joey Logano have flip-flopped starting positions from a week ago with McDowell earning his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The Front Row Motorsports driver went to the top of the leaderboard in single-car qualifying at 178.844mph (30.999s). He was the final competitor to get on track in the final round of qualifying after setting the pace in the first round.

McDowell’s first pole comes in his 467th start.

“That’s awesome,” McDowell said. “I’m just really proud of all the men and women at Front Row Motorsports — two weeks in a row we’ve sat on the front row. We’ve got a really fast Benebone Ford Mustang. That was a good lap but it really comes down to team and execution and they’ve done a really good job.

“We need to back that up with a good result tomorrow, but I’m really proud of everybody at Front Row. It’s a big effort for us; got both cars in the top five, which is awesome.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

Logano, who bested McDowell last weekend for the pole in the Daytona 500, will start second and is the defending race winner at Atlanta. His fastest lap was 178.424mph

Kyle Busch qualified third (178.235mph), Todd Gilliland fourth (178.080mph), Kyle Larson fifth (177.829mph), Ryan Blaney sixth (177.658mph) and Chris Buescher seventh (177.176mph).

Austin Cindric qualified eighth (177.147mph), Chase Briscoe ninth (177.125mph) and Austin Dillon completed the top 10 (177.102mph).

There were seven Ford drivers who advanced into the final round of qualifying. The other three drivers were from the Chevrolet camp.

Daytona 500 champion William Byron qualified 11th with a lap of 176.853mph.

There are 37 drivers qualified for the Ambetter 400. Erik Jones ended up last at 164.554mph after fighting to keep the car from spinning in Turns 3 and 4 in the first round of qualifying.

Saturday’s session was the only on-track activity for the Cup Series prior to the green flag just after 3 p.m. ET Sunday.

RESULTS

NASCAR starting lineup for Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta

Check out the NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup for the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend!

Atlanta Motor Speedway is next for the NASCAR Cup Series, and Front Row Motorsports will lead the field to the green flag. [autotag]Michael McDowell[/autotag] won the pole for the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta this weekend. Joey Logano will join McDowell on the front row for Sunday afternoon’s event. In the 2024 Daytona 500, both drivers were also on the front row.

Kyle Busch and Todd Gilliland will follow the two drivers on the second row. Busch is the highest Chevrolet in Cup Series qualifying at Atlanta, while Martin Truex Jr. is the highest Toyota driver in 12th place. It is similar to the Daytona 500 qualifying session, as Ford dominated due to its fast one-lap speed. However, the race speed will be necessary for a hard-handling track.

The full starting lineup is available below.

Ambetter Health 400 starting lineup:

  1. No. 34 Michael McDowell
  2. No. 22 Joey Logano
  3. No. 8 Kyle Busch
  4. No. 38 Todd Gilliland
  5. No. 5 Kyle Larson
  6. No. 12 Ryan Blaney
  7. No. 17 Chris Buescher
  8. No. 2 Austin Cindric
  9. No. 14 Chase Briscoe
  10. No. 3 Austin Dillon
  11. No. 24 William Byron
  12. No. 19 Martin Truex Jr.
  13. No. 11 Denny Hamlin
  14. No. 4 Josh Berry
  15. No. 10 Noah Gragson
  16. No. 21 Harrison Burton
  17. No. 48 Alex Bowman
  18. No 23 Bubba Wallace
  19. No. 45 Tyler Reddick
  20. No. 41 Ryan Preece
  21. No. 1 Ross Chastain
  22. No. 20 Christopher Bell
  23. No. 99 Daniel Suarez
  24. No. 6 Brad Keselowski
  25. No. 54 Ty Gibbs
  26. No. 31 Daniel Hemric
  27. No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  28. No. 9 Chase Elliott
  29. No. 71 Zane Smith
  30. No. 16 Josh Williams
  31. No. 51 Justin Haley
  32. No. 7 Corey LaJoie
  33. No. 15 Kaz Grala
  34. No. 42 John Hunter Nemechek
  35. No. 77 Carson Hocevar
  36. No. 78 B.J. McLeod
  37. No. 43 Erik Jones

[lawrence-related id=5731]

Front Row Motorsports signs B’laster as a primary sponsor in 2024

Front Row Motorsports signs B’laster as a primary sponsor for Michael McDowell in 2024. Check out McDowell’s new paint scheme and schedule!

[autotag]Front Row Motorsports[/autotag] has been a popular organization for releasing paint schemes and sponsor schedules for the 2024 season. This continued following the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum. On Tuesday morning, Front Row Motorsports announced that it has signed B’laster as a primary sponsor during the 2024 NASCAR season.

B’laster will sponsor [autotag]Michael McDowell[/autotag] and the No. 34 team in a multi-race agreement. McDowell will run the company’s colors at Pocono Raceway on July 14 and continue into the fall months of the 2024 season. As of now, Pocono is the only announced race for B’laster; however, it will feature select brands from the company’s portfolio later in the year.

This will be B’laster’s debut for the 2024 NASCAR season, and McDowell is a great choice. Despite a 19th-place finish at the Busch Light Clash due to a wreck, the No. 34 team has made strides in the right direction. McDowell is currently in his driver’s prime, winning at least one race in two of the last three years. Now, B’laster hopes it will be on one of those winning entries.

[lawrence-related id=6027]

Michael McDowell’s schedule, paint scheme for Benebone in 2024 revealed

Michael McDowell’s schedule and paint scheme for Benebone in 2024 has been revealed. Check out McDowell’s scheme and schedule for 2024!

Front Row Motorsports has started to ramp up its efforts when it come to releasing paint schemes and sponsorship schedules for its drivers in 2024. On Thursday morning, Front Row Motorsports announced that Benebone will return for [autotag]Michael McDowell[/autotag] and the No. 34 team this season. Benebone was on the No. 34 car once last season at Pocono Raceway.

McDowell’s paint scheme with Benebone does look different compared to 2023, as the car has more light green and a different design on the hood. The company will be on the No. 34 car for two races during the 2024 NASCAR season at Atlanta on February 25 and Watkins Glen on September 15. Overall, it is a good partnership, as McDowell has a dog in his family.

Benebone will hope that McDowell can bring the No. 34 car to victory lane at Atlanta or Watkins Glen. Luckily for them, the 2021 Daytona 500 winner has two wins between a road course and superspeedway in his NASCAR Cup Series career. McDowell should improve going into 2024, and Benebone is taking more stock by upping its sponsorship by one race.

[lawrence-related id=6027]

McDowell leads playoff-heavy Cup speed charts in Texas practice

Michael McDowell (185.771mph, 29.715s) laid down the quickest lap in practice for Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. He turned 19 total laps in the session with his quickest one coming just two laps in. Joey Logano …

Michael McDowell (185.771mph, 29.715s) laid down the quickest lap in practice for Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.

He turned 19 total laps in the session with his quickest one coming just two laps in.

Joey Logano (185.764mph, 29.068s), Kyle Busch (185.592mph, 29.069s), Aric Almirola (185.305mph, 29.096s) and Kyle Larson (185.293mph, 29.141s) rounded out the top five speeds, while Erik Jones (185.236mph), William Byron (185.204mph), Denny Hamlin (185.140mph), AJ Allmendinger (185.083mph) and Ross Chastain (185.071mph) completed the top 10.

Larson topped the 10 lap average category (184.279mph), followed by Hamlin, Chastain, Allmendinger, Busch, Truex, Justin Haley, Ty Gibbs, Carson Hocevar, and Chase Elliott.

Larson was also fastest in 10, 15 and 20-lap averages, while Hamlin topped the 25-lap average. Chastain and Gibbs turned 27 laps, the most in the field.

As far as other playoff drivers that turned laps in the session, Chris Buescher ended up 11th, Ryan Blaney 13th, Bubba Wallace 14th, Brad Keselowski 15th, Martin Truex Jr. 17th, Tyler Reddick 21st and Christopher Bell 23rd.

Bell spun off Turn 2 with about five minutes remaining in Group A’s session, bringing out a brief stoppage. It was the only incident in the afternoon’s dual sessions.

There are 36 drivers entered for Sunday’s race (3:30 p.m. ET on USA).

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.

[lawrence-related id=359]

McDowell snatches Cup playoff berth with dominant Indy win

Running a race he knew he could win, Michael McDowell held off Chase Elliott in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard a grabbed a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford led 54 of 82 laps at the …

Running a race he knew he could win, Michael McDowell held off Chase Elliott in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard a grabbed a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

The driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford led 54 of 82 laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in a race that featured just one caution and ran under the green flag for the final 77 laps.

“My family comes to the races we think we can win,” said McDowell, who shared hugs with his wife and children after climbing from his car. “We thought we could win this one.”

McDowell’s second career victory was a convincing one. He passed pole winner Daniel Suárez for the lead after a restart on lap six and held it until he brought the No. 34 Mustang to pit road on lap 17 for a green-flag stop.

After pitting for a second time on lap 49, McDowell regained the top spot when Bubba Wallace pitted on lap 53 and held it the rest of the way. Over the last 29 laps, Elliott—needing a victory to advance to the Playoffs—narrowed McDowell’s 4s margin to 0.937s at the finish, but that was as close as the 2020 series champion could get.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

“I was really trying to pace myself,” McDowell said. “I figured there would be a late-race caution, and I didn’t want to burn my stuff up. I was just trying to maintain that gap.

“Then when I got into traffic, [Elliott] started closing, I had to push it, but I just can’t believe it.”

McDowell now has victories at Daytona (the 2021 Daytona 500) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, arguably the two most iconic venues in the sport. He put a Ford in Victory Lane at a road course for the first time since Ryan Blaney won the inaugural race at the Charlotte Roval in 2018.

“Winning the Daytona 500 was one of the coolest moments you could ever have,” said McDowell, one of the most accomplished road racers in the Cup Series. “But going to Victory Lane without your family, that was tough.

“So we cherry-pick. We come to the races we think we can win… Just so proud… You know, I thought we could point our way in [to the Playoffs], but after the car that we had yesterday in practice, I thought, ‘Man, we’ve got a good shot at winning if we could just get track position and maintain it.’”

That’s exactly what McDowell did. After Suarez beat McDowell of pit road on lap 17, McDowell chased the No. 99 Chevrolet until they caught the cars of Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski at the end of Stage 2 on lap 35.

Hamlin and Keselowski were on older tires, and McDowell surged past Keselowski and Suárez through the Turn 12 and 13 complex. When Hamlin and Keselowski finally came to pit road on lap 36, McDowell was back in the lead.

Much of the race was a three-way battle between McDowell, Elliott and Suárez, but Suárez lost valuable time when his left front tire landed on an air gun hose during the lap 49 stop. The snafu cost Suárez 6s and a chance to win.

“We win and we lose as a team, and that’s all I can say,” said Suárez, who salvaged a third-place finish. “The guys brought a very fast race car. I felt that maybe we were one adjustment behind in the first run with the back of the car, but then we made it a little bit better.

“But I felt like I was always one step behind the No. 9 and the No. 34, and then at the end, I felt that when my car came alive again, we had that issue.

“Just a little bit heartbreaking, but that’s part of the sport. All we can do is continue to push, continue to build race cars like this, and I’ll keep on winning races.”

Elliott was gracious in his praise for McDowell, and he identified where his No. 9 Chevrolet needed to be stronger.

“Just to be a little better through the back half [of the course] over there and get off of [Turn] 14 a little better just to have myself in a better spot getting into [Turn] 1.

“Just really appreciate the effort, man. Our Napa Chevy was really good, really good. Just needed just a little bit more and came up a bit short. But congrats to Michael, man. He did a good job. Ran a great race and stayed mistake-free, and that’s what you’ve got to do to win.”

Tyler Reddick finished fourth, followed by Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. Shane van Gisbergen, who won the Chicago Street Race in July was 10th in his second NASCAR Cup start.

McDowell’s win reduces the number of available Playoff spots to three. Keselowski and Kevin Harvick are comfortably situated on points—barring more different winners at Watkins Glen and Daytona—but Wallace’s hold on the final spot was reduced from 58 points pre-race to 28 over Suarez.

RESULTS

NASCAR Studs and Duds: Michael McDowell clinches playoff spot at Indianapolis

Check out a couple studs and duds from the NASCAR Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Road Course.

The NASCAR Cup Series is used to having chaotic races at the Indianapolis Road Course but the third running of the event proved to be the opposite. There was only one caution on Lap 2 and the finish did not disappoint as the Cup Series has a 13th new winner.

[autotag]Michael McDowell[/autotag] held off a hard-charging Chase Elliott for his second career victory and clinches a spot in the 2023 NASCAR playoffs. McDowell won Stage 1 and led a race-high 54 laps in dominant fashion. The No. 34 car beat the No. 9 car by 0.937 seconds.

Following the Cup Series race at Indianapolis, here are a couple of studs and duds from the overall field.

McDowell leads the way in Indy Cup practice

Michael McDowell was fastest overall in NASCAR Cup Series practice on the Indianapolis road course Saturday morning at 98.516 mph. McDowell ran 10 laps in his Front row Motorsports Ford. He was quickest ahead of Kyle Larson, who ran 98.436 mph. …

Michael McDowell was fastest overall in NASCAR Cup Series practice on the Indianapolis road course Saturday morning at 98.516 mph.

McDowell ran 10 laps in his Front row Motorsports Ford. He was quickest ahead of Kyle Larson, who ran 98.436 mph. McDowell was also fastest in the best 10 consecutive lap average.

Todd Gilliland, McDowell’s teammate, was third quickest. Gilliland ran a fast lap of 98.403 mph but then went off course and got stuck in the gravel trap to end the practice session.

Ty Gibbs was fourth fastest at 98.329 mph and Alex Bowman completed the top five at 98.265 mph.

Christopher Bell was sixth fastest at 98.259 mph, Austin Cindric was seventh fastest at 98.251 mph and Daniel Suarez was eighth fastest at 98.232 mph. William Byron was ninth fastest at 98.054 mph and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top 10 in practice at 98.049 mph.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1428]

In his return to the Cup Series after his Chicago triumph, Shane van Gisbergen was 12th fastest in practice. van Gisbergen ran a fast lap of 97.957 mph.

Defending race winner Tyler Reddick was 15th fastest in practice at 97.939 mph.

Kamui Kobayashi was 31st fastest in practice. Kobayashi is making his Cup series debut with 23XI Racing.

Brodie Kostecki, also making his Cup Series debut, was 38th fastest in practice. Kostecki is in a third Richard Childress Racing entry.

Mike Rockenfeller was 39th fastest in practice. Rockenfeller is in the No. 42 for Legacy Motor Club for the next two races.