(Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Michael McDowell put together a career-best effort at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing sixth for the highest finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career on a traditional oval.
At the same time, he dealt with the frustration of getting eliminated from the playoffs, falling 16 points short of a transfer spot.
“It’s disappointing not to advance, for sure,” McDowell said after the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday. “I’m still really proud of the speed that we brought and the effort that we brought. We still needed a little bit more to contend for that win, but we gave ourselves a fighting chance.”
McDowell had a complete effort, qualifying in the top five and earning points in Stage 2. However, the failure to advance out of the first round falls on the execution of the first two races.
Late in the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, the 38-year-old from Glendale, Arizona got caught in a crash and recorded just his third DNF of the season, finishing 32nd. His only other DNF because of a crash — ironically enough — came at Darlington in the spring.
McDowell also suffered damage in the second race of the playoffs at Kansas Speedway. Some of the frustration for not advancing, he said, stems from execution issues after qualifying in the top 10 of all three races.
“We dug ourselves such a big hole those first two races that we were in a must-win situation,” McDowell said. “The performance was there. I don’t want to downplay that, but we just didn’t execute well and we had some issues. We qualified in the second round of all three races, which you need to do if you want to advance, so we got that part down. At Darlington, we got into that crash at the end and that’s 10-15 spots. That’s all you need to make it, so a lot of things could have gone differently that would have put us in a position to advance, but it just didn’t work out. It wasn’t meant to be. We’ll learn from it and get better for the next time.”
(Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)
As the laps clicked off at Bristol, McDowell ran in the top 10 but wasn’t good enough to win. A caution came out on Lap 362 for a Martin Truex Jr. half-spin, but the race stayed green the rest of the way.
The 2021 Daytona 500 champion had hoped late-race chaos would increase his likelihood of stealing a win and a bid in the Round of 12.
“Unfortunately, at the end, there wasn’t enough action,” McDowell said. “Normally at Bristol, you get a late-race caution and get the front row beating and banging and maybe you get an opportunity, but that just never happened. We’re learning. It’s a learning experience for us.”
Regardless, it’s a successful season for McDowell and his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team. Together, they dominated and won at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and have finished in the top 10 seven times. No matter what happens over the final seven races, the entry will finish in the top 16 of owner’s points, leading to a crucial payout for the team often considered as “underfunded” at the Cup level.
McDowell made the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, and despite another early exit, he leaves with his head held high.
“This is only the second time we’ve been in the playoffs. We’ve had a good season,” he said. “We’ve showed good speed and we’ll learn from the mistakes that we made here in this first round and we’ll keep working hard the rest of the season to try to treat it like we are in and we’re fighting for a championship because hopefully next year we will be. So, it’s a learning experience for us. It’s not what we wanted, but I’m still proud of the effort.”
