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LABOR DAY WEEKEND WRAP UP & DUQUOIN RACE REPORT
McDOWELL'S WEEKEND BOTH FEAST AND FAMINE
After podium finish at Gateway. McD finds hard luck at DuQuoin.
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McDowell: Shook up but unshaken.. |
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DUQUOIN, IL (September 4, 2007) – Michael McDowell’s four-race tour of Illinois proved both successful and unsatisfying.
GATEWAY
McDowell’s Friday night was a fight till the finish. After qualifying an uncharacteristic tenth, the ARCA rookie charged to the front, leading 38 laps on the night. The final twenty laps of the race were spent in a duel with Eddie Sharp Racing teammate Josh Wise for the second place position. When McDowell’s machine lost fourth gear, he hung on to third place in his first visit to Gateway.
It wasn’t a victory, but McDowell was content with the performance.
“We got a little off sequence with our pit strategy, but we needed to stay out front, said McDowell. “Track position was crucial. The car was fantastic—it was a lot of fun racing my teammate at the end. I hate that we lost fourth gear, but it was still something we can be proud of.”
DuQUOIN
After the race, McDowell traveled from Madison to DuQuoin where he tried to one-up his runner-up dirt track finish from last month’s race at Springfield. That would prove to be a rather tall task.
The No. 2 Z-Line Designs / Make-A-Wish / Beck Dodge drew a late qualifying spot and clicked off a lap of 35.481 on a slick dirt track, good enough the sixteenth starting position. Adjustments were made to McDowell’s Dodge, hoping to prepare for a late-race charge but on lap 57, a blown left rear tire sent McDowell driver’s side-first into the outside wall. The hard hit ended McDowell’s day, resulting in a 36th place finish.
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“This was more challenging than Springfield. The car finally came to me but the tire went down and that was that,” said a shook-up McDowell. Despite the vicious hit, McDowell only came away with some soreness from the incident.
“It was quite a pop (with the wall), but I’m fine. When we hit the wall, we took a hit in the standings too. It was a strange day for us here. The good news is that we have tracks coming up like Salem and Toledo which we’ve proven we’re fast at. Chicago this coming weekend will be a strong race for us.”
McDowell now trails Frank Kimmel by 200 in the ARCA RE/MAX Series standings with four races left in 2007.
Up Next: Michael McDowell and Eddie Sharp Racing will descend upon Joliet, Illinois for the 200-mile race at Chicagoland Speedway.
Race Results
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 100:
DuQUOIN STATE FAIRGROUNDS |
| FIN |
STR |
NO |
DRIVER
HOMETOWN |
TEAM & CAR |
LAPS |
STATUS |
| 1 |
15 |
52 |
Ken Schrader
Fenton MO |
Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet |
100 |
Running |
| 2 |
10 |
22 |
Josh Wise Riverside CA |
ESR Development Team-NAPA Toyota |
100 |
Running |
| 36 |
16 |
2 |
Michael McDowell Phoenix AZ |
Z Line Design - Make A Wish - Beck Dodge |
57 |
Accident |
2007 ARCA RE/MAX SERIES DRIVER POINT STANDINGS
After Event #18, Southern Illinois 100,
DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, Springfield IL, 9-03-07 |
| POS |
NAME |
POINTS |
STARTS |
WINS |
TOP-5 |
TOP-10 |
| 1 |
Frank Kimmel |
4360 |
18 |
2 |
7 |
12 |
| 2 |
Michael McDowell |
4160 |
18 |
2 |
7 |
11 |
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GATEWAY RACE REPORT
McDOWELL GRABS THIRD AT GATEWAY
Seventh podium finish of season closes points gap to championship. |
| MADISON IL (August 31, 2007) - Michael McDowell, who led the most laps (38), finished third at Gateway International Raceway Friday night, in the Z Line-Make a Wish-Beck Dodge behind ESR teammate and SIM Factory Pole-winner Josh Wise.
"We got a little bit off sequence with the strategy and that was a move for us just to stay out of trouble and to stay out front," said McDowell. "We had a really good car there at the end we just didn't have the track position and then we broke fourth gear there with about seven laps to go. The No. 2 guys did a great job again and this gives us the momentum we need for the last couple of races to try and catch Frank (Kimmel)."
Polesitter Wise led the first 35 laps before Casola took the lead on lap 36. Casola led the next 11 laps before McDowell, after pitting early out of sequence with the leaders, took control of the top-spot on lap 47. McDowell showed the way up through lap 84 before giving up the lead to Clauson after McDowell made his final pit stop for fuel and tires. Clauson led the next six laps before Allgaier raced his way into the lead on lap 91. Allgaier held onto the lead for 12 laps before Clauson regained the top-spot on lap 103 of the 120-lap, 150-mile race. Wise and McDowell eventually cleared Allgaier and got within five lengths of the eventual winner before falling back in the closing laps.
"It got rough there for awhile," said Wise. "We were fortunate to qualify on the pole there and we were smooth sailing for awhile and then we came in for a pit stop and it put us right in the mix of everything for awhile and it kind of got us caught up in an accident. It was tough but it was fun to try and hang it out and run with everyone. I had fun racing with Michael McDowell, my teammate, and my new crew chief, Wayne Carroll."
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Catchin' Kimmel: Michael McDowell |
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Six cautions slowed the race for 41 laps. The race was also red flagged on lap 62 for a frightening incident on the backstretch when Surrey, British Columbia driver Ryan Fischer tumbled several times. Fischer was not injured.
McDowell was the highest finishing rookie and made up 45 point in his chase of 8-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel.AUDIO: Here Wise and McDowell's post-race interviews on ARCAracing.com
Race Results
ARCA 150: GATEWAY INT'L RACEWAY |
| FIN |
STR |
NO |
DRIVER
HOMETOWN |
TEAM & CAR |
LAPS |
STATUS |
| 1 |
15 |
22 |
Bryan Clauson Noblesville, IN |
Memorex Dodge |
120 |
Running |
| 2 |
Pole |
22 |
Josh Wise Riverside CA |
ESR Development Team-NAPA Toyota |
120 |
Running |
| 3 |
10 |
2 |
Michael McDowell Phoenix AZ |
Z Line Design - Make A Wish - Beck Dodge |
120 |
Running |
UP NEXT: The ARCA RE/MAX Series will be the Southern Illinois 100 at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds mile-dirt Monday, Labor Day.
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RACE PREVIEW
McDOWELL GEARS UP FOR GATEWAY, DuQUOIN
Labor day weekend brings two races in a four-day span for ARCA rookie. |
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"...The road course tendencies are there but it is its own beast. It will provide some good racing because you have to put on your thinking cap to tackle this place.” -Michael McDowell |
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MOORESVILLE, NC (August 30, 2007) – Fresh off of a fourth place finish at The Milwaukee Mile, ARCA RE/MAX Series rookie Michael McDowell heads to the state of Illinois for a dual-race weekend.
First up is the road course-like confine of Gateway International Raceway in Madison.
McDowell, a winner on the Rolex Sports Car Series and the Star Mazda Series, has an affinity for road course racing, but admits that Gateway, a 1.25 mile oval, is a little bit different:
“There is uniqueness to this track,” said McDowell. “We tested here and were really able to understand the track a little bit. The road course tendencies are there but it is its own beast. It will provide some good racing because you have to put on your thinking cap to tackle this place.”
McDowell brings his No. 2 Z-Line Designs / Make-A-Wish / Beck Dodge to Gateway just 95 points behind leader Frank Kimmel in the series standings. The Arizona native hopes to narrow the distance between he and Kimmel by virtue of winning:
“The car we have for Gateway is fast. We’ve adopted a ‘one race at a time’ approach and I think you’ll see that pay off there. We’re certainly capable of winning the championship but Friday night will be all about getting Eddie Sharp Racing a race win.”
And if Friday bodes as well as McDowell expects, he’ll bring a head of steam to the Labor Day ARCA spectacular at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds.
The second and final dirt track event of the 2007 ARCA season, DuQuoin has been circled on McDowell’s calendar ever since his runner-up finish at sister dirt track Springfield. To say he’s eager to play in the dirt again is an understatement:
“Oh, DuQuoin is going to be a good time,” grinned McDowell. “I had never driven dirt until Springfield—didn’t have any idea what to expect, but it was non-stop fun.
“We went into Springfield without a game plan, just hoping to survive the madness. Now, I think we can go for the win. Frank (Kimmel) will be tough, Ken Schrader is always good, but I think we can mix it up.”
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Be sure to tune in to watch McDowell take on Gateway International Raceway on Friday night, August 31, live on SPEED at 9 pm EST.
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| Gateway ARCA 150 |
| Date: |
Friday, August 31, 2007 |
| Track: |
Gateway International Raceway (Madison, IL) |
| Race Distance: |
120 Laps (150 Miles) |
| Team: |
Eddie Sharp Racing |
| Crew Chief: |
Patrick Donahue |
| Practice, qualifying and the race all take place on Friday. Green flag drops at 8pm local! SPEED will broadcast the race LIVE from 9-11 pm ET |
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| Southern Illinois 100 |
| Date: |
Monday, September 3, 2007 |
| Track: |
DuQuoin State Fairgrounds (DuQuoin, IL) |
| Race Distance: |
100 Laps (100 Miles) |
| Team: |
Eddie Sharp Racing |
| Crew Chief: |
Patrick Donahue |
| Practice, qualifying and the race all take place on Monday. Green flag drops at 1pm local! |
McFACTS
> DuQuoin will be McDowell’s second race on a dirt oval; the first came earlier this month at Springfield where he finished second.
> McDowell trails Frank Kimmel by 95 points in the ARCA RE/MAX Series standings and leads the ARCA Rookie of the Year standings by 22 points heading into Gateway.
> If McDowell wins a pole in these next two races, that will be his eighth ARCA SIM Factory Pole Award of 2007. He is currently tied with ARCA legends Bill Baird, Bob Dotter, and Jack Bowsher for 23rd in career pole wins (7).
> McDowell has led over 500 laps (508 to be exact), tops in the ARCA RE/MAX Series by 265 laps.
2007 ARCA RE/MAX SERIES DRIVER POINT STANDINGS
After Event #17, Governor's Cup 200,
Milwaukee Mile, West Allis WI, 8-26-07 |
| POS |
NAME |
POINTS |
STARTS |
WINS |
TOP-5 |
TOP-10 |
| 1 |
Frank Kimmel |
3980 |
17 |
3 |
7 |
12 |
| 2 |
Michael McDowell |
3885 |
17 |
2 |
7 |
11 |
For more information on Eddie Sharp Racing, visit www.teamesr.com. |
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