NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C.: Michael McDowell had a fast car in Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Open at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway but contact with Ty Gibbs eliminated the opportunity for the Front Row Motorsports driver to earn one of the 24 positions available to win a million-dollar bonus.
On a restart with 44 laps to go, McDowell utilized the outside lane to propel himself into third but by the time the cars screamed back to Turn 3, Gibb’s bumper was planted to the rear of McDowell’s Ford Mustang.
The contact moved McDowell up the race track where they became three wide with Justin Haley. Tight racing quarters forced additional contact between McDowell and Justin Haley with both cars slamming the outside frontstretch wall.
McDowell’s No. 34 Fr8 Auctions Ford Mustang was heavily damaged from the accident, but he was able to continue. Haley’s damage was deemed terminal and he was eliminated from the exhibition event.
Later in the race, McDowell ran at a much slower pace because of the damage was being lapped by Gibbs when McDowell blocked his lane – which allowed Josh Berry to pass Gibbs for the race lead.
The leaders including Berry and Gibbs lapped McDowell an additional time before the conclusion of the 100-lap race without incident.
After the race, McDowell expressed his frustration about the on-track run-in.
“He just drove me all the way through the corner and into the 31 and wrecked both of us,” said McDowell after the race. “I mean, it’s pretty clear none of us were gonna make the corner with the 54 (Gibbs) driving me wide-open into the corner.
“Listen, it’s short track racing and we’re all trying to get into the All-Star Race. It’s a big night, so people are gonna leave with hurt feelings and tempers are gonna flare. That’s part of it.”
McDowell, the winner of the 2021 Daytona 500 says his retaliation on Gibbs wasn’t about destroying his race car – it was about letting him know he did not approve of how he was being raced.
“It sucks that the guy that moved you and moved a lot of cars made it in, but at the same time I’m not gonna wreck him and send him out or do something stupid with a broken car,” explained McDowell.
“I just wanted to let him know that it’s unacceptable and he knows that. He knows what he’s doing out there. He gets away with a lot more than he should. It was unfortunate. I felt like our FR8 Auction Ford Mustang was pretty good. We got a good restart and we were making things happen and then we just got nailed.”
The Phoenix, Ariz. native’s reaction to the on-track tango with Gibbs was uncharacteristic to many – but the driver admitted he wasn’t worried about how he was being perceived, rather than just frustrated about the outcome.
“I don’t think about any of that,” explained McDowell. “I don’t care about all that. It just sucks because we moved up. We were moving forward and felt like we had a car that if we got the position, we could probably hold it and I had the position – got a great restart, cleared him, and got down and he just never lifted. There was no chance that I was ever gonna make turn three and, in the process, I wiped out Justin Haley with the 54 driving me through the rear bumper. It’s short-track racing.
“I know we’re gonna beat and bang, but there was no chance of me making the corner. That wasn’t knocking somebody a little bit up the track. I was full lock and still going straight with him pushing, so it sucks. It is what it is. I hate it for the FR8 Auction folks. We had a fast car and felt like we could at least have a shot at running in that top three and see what we could do.
“I don’t have a budget for the fine, otherwise I would not be standing here, I’d be standing down there.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 and email at: [email protected].
