McDowell in the #00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry

Before the incident happened, McDowell started the 500-lap event 34th making his first pit stop of the day at Lap 45.

"We came in under caution for tires and a track bar adjustment," McDowell said. "We were tight off at that point."

As the race progressed, McDowell showed patience carefully picking off positions one by one and keeping the fenders on his Toyota. At Lap 167, McDowell was running 23rd while trying to keep the frontrunners from closing in behind him. Finally at Lap 179, the leader (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) caught the Aaron's Dream Machine and made the pass placing McDowell one lap down.

"The leader got by us," McDowell said. "I was giving a lot more out there than taking, especially with being the new guy. It's just one of those things where I have to go out there and earn the respect first."

At Lap 262, Crew Chief Bill Pappas made a great call for only right side tires and a track bar adjustment under caution. As the green flag waved at Lap 265, McDowell was in 24th place and in position to be the Lucky Dog recipient. Eight laps later, another caution occurred and the Glendale, Ariz., native advanced back onto the lead lap.

As the laps began to wind down, the leaders reeled in McDowell again. On Lap 477, Denny Hamlin finally caught the Aaron's Dream Machine. After he completed the pass, McDowell stayed on his bumper for several laps. McDowell did an impressive job of staying up front with the top five cars to try to gain his lap back.

"We got in the way of the leaders there at the end, but at the same time I ran on the 11's bumper for a long time," McDowell said. "We were racing to get by the 28 (Travis Kvapil) for the lead lap and also for position. At the same time the 11 was trying to pass the 28. I was just trying so hard to get back on the lead lap. The 31 (Jeff Burton, who finished third) put his nose in there and I let him go. I never held him up."

Inside ten laps to go, the 26 car of Jamie McMurray made contact with the #00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry. After McDowell was turned around, he was forced to enter pit road for the crew to change left side tires due to a left front flat tire.

"There at the end we got spun," McDowell said. "I'm not upset about it. We were running hard and they were running for the win. Maybe, next time I need to give him a little more room."

Next up, the #00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry team will travel to Texas Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 6th begins at 1:30 p.m. Eastern on FOX and 2 p.m. Eastern on PRN Radio.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP
McD SET FOR FIRST CUP START

Rookie qualifies 34th

McDowell meeting new fans before the race

MARTINSVILLE, VA. (March 28, 2008) - Michael McDowell qualified 34th (20.058 sec.) in the #00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career start on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

McDowell turned his first laps in the #00 Aaron's Dream Machine at the .526-mile oval today and was 33rd (20.070 sec.) during practice. The Glendale, Ariz., native battled tight conditions during the hour and a half session.

During qualifying, McDowell dealt with an opposite situation holding on to a loose handling Aaron's Dream Machine posting a time of 20.058 sec. on his first qualifying lap and 20.092 sec. on his second.

"I wasn't happy with my laps," McDowell said. "I thought I could pick up some time, but the Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry was a little too loose. I'm just grateful for the opportunity and want to thank Aaron's, Toyota and my Michael Waltrip Racing team. I'm really focused on doing a good job for them Sunday."

Michael Waltrip starts 16 th (19.926 sec.) behind the wheel of the #55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry and David Reutimann will roll off 15th (19.925 sec.) in the #44 UPS Toyota Camry.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP
McDOWELL MAKES NASCAR SPRINT CUP DEBUT AT MARTINSVILLE

McD steps into No. 00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry

MARTINSVILLE, VA. (March 24, 2008) – March 30th is significant to Michael McDowell because he will make his long-awaited  NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut with Michael Waltrip Racing in the Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

"I can't believe the time is finally here," McDowell said. "I know I can't underestimate how difficult it is going to be. I can act confident and say it's going to be easy and jump in and do it, but we all know there have been a lot of great drivers that haven't been able to do it." 

"... I can't underestimate how difficult it is going to be. I can act confident and say it's going to be easy and jump in and do it, but we all know there have been a lot of great drivers that haven't been able to do it." - Michael McDowell

As the 23-year-old steps into the #00 Toyota Camry, Aaron's Sales and Lease Ownership announces today that their partnership will continue with the Michael Waltrip Racing team through Richmond International Raceway.

"Aaron's has a longstanding relationship with Michael Waltrip Racing and I'm proud they will be with me for my Cup debut," McDowell said. "They were an associate sponsor for my Nationwide Series debut (11/3/07 at Texas Motor Speedway) and it is cool to have them as a primary sponsor this weekend. They have had a lot of success with Michael Waltrip Racing and I look forward to delivering a solid finish for them this weekend at Martinsville."

"We are thrilled to continue to be on the #00 for the next five races and help introduce Michael McDowell to the Cup side." stated Ken Butler, President of Aaron's Sales and Lease Ownership.  "We are proud to be able to extend our involvement in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Michael Waltrip Racing and look forward to having McDowell in the Aaron's Dream Machine especially at Talladega Superspeedway for our race, the Aaron's 499.  I have seen Michael race in the ARCA Series last year and was impressed with his driving.  I think he will do well at this level and everyone at Aaron's will be behind him 100 percent."

No. 00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry

This may be McDowell's first race in the #00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry, but this is his second visit to the .526-oval.

"In October, I raced for Darrell Waltrip Motorsports in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the biggest thing I learned is you have to be patient," McDowell said. "We got in a late race pileup and finished 30th, but I was able to complete 181 laps to gain some experience. This weekend, our goal is to finish every lap in the Aaron's Dream Machine and maintain a top 35 points position."

After Bristol Motor Speedway, all three Michael Waltrip Racing entries were locked into the top 35. McDowell is glad the pressure to make the race is no longer there.

"It's a relief that we are in the race, but we will still put pressure on ourselves to qualify well," McDowell said. "I do feel really comfortable about qualifying. I had nine poles in the ARCA RE/MAX Series last year and all the other series I've been in, I've been able to qualify pretty well. I'm ready to get going with my crew chief - Bill Pappas. He's new to the Series and his open wheel résumé' as a chief engineer is quite impressive. We look forward to learning and growing together to develop a solid program. We know we've got to make all the races and stay inside the top 35."

The Glendale, Ariz.-native has been extensively testing to prepare for his debut and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Raybestos rookie year.

"I started testing in the off season and did a lot of tests in November, December and January," McDowell said. "We tested in Caraway (N.C.) recently and I'm testing more this week before we head to Martinsville. There's no track you can test that can compare to Martinsville. You just have to look for trends that you can hopefully carry over."

To sharpen his skills, McDowell also competed in three NASCAR Nationwide Series events last year and the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. His success in the ARCA RE/MAX Series last year led to his ultimate opportunity with Michael Waltrip Racing.

"Michael Waltrip Racing had a program in place to develop drivers at Eddie Sharp Racing and I was racing there under my own deal," said McDowell, who finished second in the ARCA RE/MAX Series championship with four wins. "As we started having success, that led to the testing opportunities with Michael Waltrip Racing and then a few Nationwide races and then a truck race at Martinsville last year.  After that, I started testing Cup cars for them and it led to where I am now."

Live coverage of the Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, March 30th begins at 1:30 p.m. Eastern on FOX and 2 p.m. Eastern on MRN Radio.