(Photo: Erik Smith | The Podium Finish)
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Michael McDowell is back home.
Sure, the Phoenix native hasn’t always had the best track record in the desert. But maybe a return to Phoenix Raceway can build some momentum for the 39-year-old.
Through three races, McDowell has qualified well but hasn’t completely backed it with the results. After starting second in the Daytona 500, he suffered mechanical issues and finished several laps off the pace. A week later, he earned his first career pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway and wrecked with William Byron entering pit road, but miraculously bounced back to finish eighth. Last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he started 12th but ended up 25th.
Through three races, the Front Row Motorsports driver sits 22nd in NASCAR Cup Series points.
“These first 10 to 15 races you’re just hyper-focused on on trying to get a win and trying to get yourself locked into the playoffs,” McDowell said in a press conference Friday. “That’s not going to happen every weekend. It’s not going to present the opportunity every weekend. So maximizing the points and making the most of every race these first five to six races are really critical and we’ve had an OK start but not a great start so I feel like we need to come out of here feeling pretty good about where we’re at.
“I think the speed has been great. I think our execution just hasn’t been very good. And that’s on me. And last week we didn’t execute well, less on me last week. But 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.”
McDowell has made 26 starts at Phoneix, most of which have come in underfunded equipment. His two starts at the one-mile tri-oval last year were his best, finishing 13th in the spring while recording his first top 10 in the season finale. McDowell’s average finish is 29.1, but early in his career, he had a stretch of six consecutive DNFs in the Valley of the Sun.
LAS VEGAS, NV – March 3, 2024 – Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series Race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Photo: Erik Smith | The Podium Finish)
“This hasn’t been a strong track for me and for us in the past, but I feel like we turned that corner last year, especially with our short-track program,” he said. “We made good gains last year, and we want to keep that up this year and put ourselves in contention. So it’s fun. It’s good to have a strong day. I probably don’t think about it too much as far as the hometown thing, because I’m thinking about points and trying to get a win, and every week counts. But it’s nice when you have a good day.”
Before the season-opener at Daytona, FRM announced that it switched its technical alliance from RFK Racing to Team Penske. With the move, FRM also became a Tier 1 Ford organization. It will allow Ford and FRM to develop McDowell and Todd Gilliland more on the Cup side, along with rookie Layne Riggs in the Craftsman Truck Series.
So far, McDowell believes the switch has paid off. The alliance, led by two from Joey Logano of Team Penske, won the first three pole awards of the season, even if it hasn’t won a race yet. The sides share information and FRM will have more resources overall, but in the end, each team will continue to develop their own setups and race strategies.
(Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
“We’re tied in information-wise and sharing that information of what we could possibly learn and try different things,” McDowell said. “I think everyone’s pretty much on their own agenda, if that makes sense, because each team kind of has their own punch list of things that they want to try, whether it be different setups or different packages. But obviously, the more data and the more data points that you have help you make a better decision come Sunday.
“We can see what they’re doing, they can see what we’re doing. We had a meeting prior to getting here on, you know, directionally what everybody’s thinking, but at the same time it wasn’t like you’re gonna do this, you’re gonna do this, you’re gonna do this, you’re gonna do this, and we’ll come together and we’ll make one package after that. I think everybody individually, each car number individually, is kind of trying what they want to try and we’ll take the notes when we’re done.”
Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 from Phoenix is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. William Byron is the defending winner while Ross Chastain won last fall.
