"My biggest thing was just learning how to give a little, but not lose a lot. Tonight I gave a lot and lost a lot and probably cost myself a lap by doing it. But, we finished and that's what we needed to do. We were the highest finishing Raybestos Rookie so that's good. Tonight is our first time doing that."
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"It's tough for me to be okay with the finish tonight because my expectations are so high and they might not be realistic, but they are what they are," McDowell said. "I get down and frustrated. I don't want to run 28th and I don't want to run 26th. We want to run better. The guys gave me a great car today. I just had a couple of bad runs there and was trying to get back in my rhythm. When you are running a lap down and the leaders are trying to get by, it is tough. This place is tough enough anyway and when somebody tries to get by you, if you don't give way, you end up slowing the whole pack. Then you get run over."
McDowell ran in the top 20 during the first 20 laps of the race and made his initial pit stop under green at Lap 58.
"We started the race tight off," McDowell said. "We came in for tires and a track bar adjustment on a green flag stop. We ended up being a lap down after we pitted and we were not able to recover from that."
After leaving pit road in 39th place, McDowell radioed crew chief Bill Pappas 18 laps later that his Toyota Camry was extremely loose. Pappas called him to pit road for another green flag stop at Lap 115 to make adjustments.
"We were so loose," McDowell said. "The car was just entirely too free."
The No. 00 Toyota Camry crew continued to work on handling and by Lap 144 the car had a better balance.
"The car was getting better," McDowell said. "We got to a point there where we were fine on entry and okay in the middle, but a little tight off. It was something I needed to live with because if it was too free, there could have been a situation where we could have wrecked. We just teetered back and forth."
In the end, McDowell earned a respectable finish and gained a spot in the top 35 while learning a couple lessons along the way.
"My biggest thing was just learning how to give a little, but not lose a lot," McDowell said. "Tonight I gave a lot and lost a lot and probably cost myself a lap by doing it. But, we finished and that's what we needed to do. We were the highest finishing Raybestos Rookie so that's good. Tonight is our first time doing that."
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Even though McDowell has now only run six Cup races, he's his toughest critic.
"I feel bad for the guys because they deserve to run better," McDowell said. "Obviously, our cars are capable of running better because our teammates ran up there. David ran 19th so that's a good finish for them. We're just going to keep plugging away. It's not easy by any means and I knew it wasn't going to be. We qualified well this weekend and that was a big thing that we wanted to work on. It's just going to take us a little bit of time to get going, but I think we're heading in the right direction."
MWR RACE RESULTS AT DARLINGTON
May 10, 2008 |
| FIN |
ST |
CAR |
DRIVER |
STATUS |
| 19 |
30 |
44 |
Reutimann |
Running |
| 24 |
37 |
55 |
Waltrip |
Running |
| 28 |
18 |
00 |
McDowell |
Running |
Next up for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the Sprint All-Star event at Lowe's Motor Speedway, but McDowell will not be competing. His next race will take place at the venue during the Coca-Cola 600.
"Darlington has to be the toughest place we go to maybe other than Lowe's," McDowell said. "I've got those races back-to-back, but I'm not running the All-Star. I wish we could have done that to gain experience. The biggest thing is that these races are long and they're mentally straining and physically straining. These guys that have been doing it for 10 years, it's like no big deal, a no brainer, and for me it takes a lot of effort. I've just got to keep plugging away at it and keep learning as much as I can and come back better every time."
Live coverage of the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 25th begins at 5 p.m. ET on FOX and 5:30 p.m. ET on PRN. |
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"We went out early and I figured the track was going to get faster and faster," McDowell said. "My hope was for us to be at least in the top-20. Everybody here at Michael Waltrip Racing has really worked hard."
"We struggled last week at and then we came home and we regrouped. We came back better and that's what you've got to do. I'm real excited for everybody on the 00 team. This week we've got Max Helton on the car and we are trying to bring awareness to Brain Cancer Action Week. That's really special for Michael Waltrip and Darrell Waltrip and everybody on the entire crew."
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McDowell only made one lap during the two-lap qualifying session.
"I just got a little greedy and got loose into Turn one and I knew I was going to wreck if I kept my foot in it so I pulled out of it," McDowell said. "That's just the way it goes sometimes. We'll start 18th and that's not bad for my first time here. We just need to leave here with a solid finish on Saturday night."
| MWR QUALIFYING RESULTS AT DARLINGTON |
| POS |
CAR |
DRIVER |
SPEED |
TIME |
BEHIND |
| 18 |
00 |
Michael McDowell |
177.070 |
27.772 |
-0.367 |
| 30 |
44 |
David Reutimann |
176.126 |
27.921 |
-0.516 |
| 37 |
55 |
Michael Waltrip |
174.253 |
28.221 |
-0.816 |
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RACE PREVIEW
LOVE YOU MOM!
Waltrip Honors Friend, McDowell Pays Special Tribute to Mother
DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 6, 2008) – For Brain Cancer Awareness week May 4-10, Michael Waltrip designed a special paint scheme for the No. 00 Toyota Camry to honor his dearly departed friend Max Helton who was instrumental in establishing Motor Racing Outreach (MRO) in 1988. |
"I don't believe our racing family would have the continuity and the family atmosphere it has if it wasn't for Max and MRO," -Darrell Waltrip
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"Max was a really special person in my life," Waltrip said. "I cherished the time I spent with him and the positive influence he had on me. We will miss him, but we will never forget him."
Helton's vision came to life with the help of Darrell and Stevie Waltrip and so many others. Michael befriended Helton in the late 80's as he began work in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing community providing ministries for drivers, team members, family and friends.
Helton left MRO 15 years later, but continued his ministry in motorsports by founding WorldSpan Ministries with his son-in-law Daryl Barker. Waltrip maintained his close relationship and watched him touch so many lives including his and his brother Darrell's.
"I don't believe our racing family would have the continuity and the family atmosphere it has if it wasn't for Max and MRO," Darrell Waltrip said. "Max came to my wife Stevie and me in Riverside, California in 1987 and said he wanted to start a ministry in NASCAR. He said he was willing to move to North Carolina. We were excited because he was an ordained minister. When he came to NASCAR, people immediately fell in love with him.
"I am so proud of Michael Waltrip and Michael McDowell for recognizing his accomplishments. Max meant a lot to everyone in this sport."
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Michael Waltrip and Michael McDowell |
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This weekend is also Mother's Day and Michael Waltrip wanted to also pay tribute to mothers with a "Love You Mom" decal on the back of the No. 00 Toyota Camry.
"We put a special note on McDowell's car to all the mothers watching the race on Saturday," Waltrip said. "Our mom is an important part of our lives. I love the fact that we are racing on Saturday, so that we can spend Mother's Day with her at home on Sunday."
McDowell was a huge supporter of the idea because he wanted to show admiration for his mom that he lost to pancreatic cancer at age 45 when he was only 21.
"I wanted to pay tribute to my mom," McDowell said. "In addition to MW's ‘Love You Mom' decal, I'm also running one I designed to honor my mom. She had such a positive impact on my life. Everybody that knew her loved her. She was just a happy person. I miss seeing her smiling face, but I know she's with me every day. My wife Jami and I want to wish all the mother's a Happy Mother's Day." |
