BRISTOL, Tenn: Entering the Bass Pro Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Michael McDowell knew the stakes and what he had to do to move into the Round of 12.
He had to win.
A rough practice left him 30th fastest on the charts going into qualifying; the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops | Delo Ford Mustang driver knew that he had long run speed and didn’t seem too concerned about his practice pace.
“When I rolled out for practice, I was in traffic,” explained McDowell before the race. “I didn’t actually set my fastest lap until Lap 15 or 16, so I wasn’t terribly worried about it. I thought our long run pace was good and the balance was close.”
McDowell showcased what he talked about as the Glendale, Ariz. native would return to the track and qualify a solid fourth at The Last Great Colosseum.
Starting Stage 1, the Front Row Motorsports driver would relay to the team that he was definitely too tight, but reassurance came from the team that they would work on it.
The caution would fly for an incident on Lap 70, and McDowell would come to pit road for two right-side tires and fuel and return to the field in the seventh position.
Rain would interrupt the race on Lap 107, and McDowell would continue to tell the team that they were still too tight through the corners. The team would bring him back to pit road for a set of Goodyear tires and fuel, returning to the track and finishing the first stage in 15th.
Working his way forward again in Stage 2, the team continued to adjust and work with McDowell to get him to drive deeper into Turn three.
Their coaching paid off.
McDowell would finish Stage 2 in the sixth position and looking to advance further up the charts to move forward in the Playoff picture.
Shortly after the start of the Stage 3, a multi-car accident would collect the car of Joey Logano, a Playoff contender. Even with Logano’s exit from the race, it did not change the objective for the Front Row Motorsports team, knowing their second win of the season was their only opportunity to enter the Round of 12.
Crew chief Travis Peterson would tell McDowell, “I know you have to get around these lappers, but you are faster on the bottom. Drive it like you got to win it.”
A final pit stop would come for the Ford driver on Lap 364. He would get a new set of tires, fuel, and an air adjustment. Once again, he received continued support from his team, “Leaders are in a lot of traffic. Full send. You can do this.”
Even with his strong run, McDowell would finish the race in sixth, a career-best in Thunder Valley. Still, his hard work wasn’t enough to advance, as he missed the cut by 16 points and officially eliminated his 2023 Cup Series championship efforts.
“It wasn’t enough,” offered McDowell after the race. “We were in a must-win situation. Still proud of everyone at Front Row Motorsports. Not quite fast enough to run with the top two or three guys, but pretty good.”
Always the gracious driver he is, McDowell still had a positive attitude at the end of the day.
“We’ll learn from this, get ready for next year,” he explained. “Still have a lot to fight for this year, too. Not the run we needed to have tonight, but still a good performance. Really proud of everybody.”
Looking forward, McDowell knows that he still has much to do this year and that this run for the championship wasn’t the last for this Front Row Motorsports team.
“Those first two races just killed us, put us so far behind,” sounded McDowell. “This is a learning experience. It’s a young group. We didn’t do what we wanted to do here in these playoffs. I think we showed speed, showed that we could do it.”
Next up for Michael McDowell will be Auto Trader Echo Park Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 24, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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