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"...exactly what we needed. It was important for us to finish on the lead lap and mix things up a little with some of the heavy hitters in the series..." -Michael McDowell |
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AVONDALE, AZ (November 12, 2007) - One week after making his NASCAR Busch Series debut, Michael McDowell returned to his native Phoenix, Arizona for an encore showing.
McDowell has won before at Phoenix International Raceway-in a 2004 Star Mazda Series race-but had yet to run a stock car at the mile-oval in the Arizona desert. In front of friends and family, the 22 year-old put on a show to be remembered.
After pacing the rookie practice session on Friday, McDowell arrived to the track early on Saturday morning and logged a lap of 27.783 seconds, which would put him in 27th starting spot for the afternoon's race. Despite the disappointing qualifying run, McDowell was optimistic about his chances of navigating the No. 00 Aaron's / Best Western Toyota through the 43-car field.
In the race's first few green flag runs, McDowell fought a loose condition. A caution on lap 43 gave the Michael Waltrip Racing team a chance to correct the situation as McDowell pitted for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment.
As McDowell wrestled the car's new off-balance feel to the 24th position, he radioed to crew chief Butch Hylton that one of his tires was going down (this was later diagnosed as a loose wheel). Close to a round of green flag pit stops, Hylton suggested that the team pit early-a decision that would have paid off, if not for the caution flag that flew immediately as McDowell entered his pit box. Instead of changing tires and going down two laps, the crew called an audible on the planned emergency stop, instead deciding to skip the tire change. He rejoined the field on the track, only losing one lap. His eventual stop would include four new tires, fuel, and a second air pressure adjustment.
A caution on lap 137 would allow McDowell to get his lap back via the Aaron's Lucky Dog Free Pass and also gave the team more time to tinker on his car, setting the Aaron's / Best Western Toyota up for a solid final run.
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McDowell made the call to stay out on lap 171 after storming from 24th to 17th. His gamble didn't pan out as several cars behind him with fresher tires swooped by for position. Luckily, another caution on lap 181 awarded the No. 00 team an opportunity to rectify the mistake: four new tires proved to be all the difference as McDowell zoomed from 21st to 14th for the finish.
Afterwards, McDowell relished the learning experience that came with Saturday afternoon's 200-mile race and was pleased with the team's effort:
"That last run there was exciting," said McDowell. "We made a bad call by staying out but the opportunity arose for us to make up for it. The car was good and the finish was exactly what we needed. It was important for us to finish on the lead lap and mix things up a little with some of the heavy hitters in the series and we did that. Now, we can go to Homestead and improve some more on our performance."
Top of the Charts: In both of his NASCAR Busch Series starts, McDowell has paced the weekend's Rookie Practice Session. At Phoenix, his mock qualifying run of 27.640 was over a half-tenth of a second faster than the second-quickest car.
Runner-Up Among Non-Winners: McDowell finished behind A.J. Allmendinger (13th place), making him the second highest finisher among non- Busch Series race winners.
RACE RESULTS
Arizona Travel 200 | Phoenix International Speedway |
| Start |
Finish |
Car |
Driver |
Time |
Speed |
Behind |
| 27 |
14 |
00 |
Michael McDowell |
27.783 |
129.576 |
-0.706 |
Next Up: Michael McDowell will hop into the seat of the No. 00 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota for the NASCAR Busch Series season finale at Homestead- Miami Speedway on Saturday night, November 17. |
AVONDALE, AZ (November 9, 2007) - NASCAR Busch Series rookie Michael McDowell was fastest in this afternoon's Rookie Practice session for Saturday's Arizona Travel 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. McD posted his fastest time on the last lap of 5 he ran in the session -0.068 sec faster than anyone else.
In this morning's earlier Practice 1, Michael ran 42 laps, but posted his best time on the eleventh lap -0.682 sec off the pace of the lead, placing him 26th in the field of 46 on the chart.
In the final, full field, Happy Hour practice session, McDowell improved on his pace to 21st from Practice 1. His best time (lap 11 of 31) was 0.500 off the leader. |
PRACTICE SPEEDS
Arizona Travel 200 | Phoenix International Speedway |
| Pos |
Car |
Driver |
Team |
Time |
Speed |
| November 9, 2007 | Practice 1 |
| 26 |
00 |
Michael McDowell |
NAPA/Best Western Toyota |
28.127 |
127.991 |
| November 9, 2007 | Rookie Practice |
| 1 |
00 |
Michael McDowell |
NAPA/Best Western Toyota |
27.640 |
130.246 |
| November 9, 2007 | Final Practice |
| 21 |
00 |
Michael McDowell |
NAPA/Best Western Toyota |
28.018 |
128.489 |
Qualifying is at noon on Saturday with McD scheduled to go out 23rd on the track. |
| CORNELIUS, NC (November 7, 2007) - This weekend, Michael McDowell will return to his native Phoenix, Arizona for the NASCAR Busch Series Arizona Travel 200. For McDowell, the road from Phoenix to Charlotte and back and has been a successful one.
After claiming four wins, nine poles, and running away with the Rookie of the Year Award in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, McDowell continued his stock car assimilation last weekend by making his NASCAR stock car debut at Texas Motor Speedway with a 20th place finish. For a newly-assembled team with a new driver-crew chief pairing (McDowell with NASCAR race-winning crew chief Butch Hylton), the top-twenty finish was a stepping stone for Michael Waltrip Racing's newly- hired gun.
But this Saturday, under the Phoenix sun, McDowell wants more.
"I think we pretty much proved to everyone last week that we can run in this series," said McDowell. "We're going to unload a better car and we're at a mile-track which always makes for a fun race. We have a great bunch of guys here at MWR that want to lead laps and win races and I certainly think we have the ability to shake things up a bit this weekend."
Typically, it's McDowell and wife Jami at the race track each weekend; however, racing in his hometown, McDowell expects to see a few more friendly faces in his pit area when his No. 00 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota rolls out of the garage area:
"This weekend is going to be special for me and my wife," McDowell continued. "We're both from Phoenix and we're going to have friends and family here with us, which will be a really cool deal. They have all been so supportive of my racing career and I'd love more than anything to put on a great show for them."
Following the race at Phoenix, McDowell and Michael Waltrip Racing will compete in the season finale for the NASCAR Busch Series at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, November 17.
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RACE: |
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| Arizona Travel 200 |
| Date: |
Saturday, November 10, 2007 |
| Track: |
Phoenix International Raceway (Avondale, AZ) |
| Race Distance: |
200 Laps (200 miles) |
| Television: |
4 pm EST on ESPN2 |
| Team: |
Michael Waltrip Racing |
| Crew Chief: |
Butch Hylton |
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"We have a great bunch of guys here at MWR that want to lead laps and win races and I certainly think we have the ability to shake things up a bit this weekend." -Michael McDowell |
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McFACTS:
> McDowell is making his first stock car start at Phoenix International Raceway; however, he has made one open-wheel start at the track-in the Star Mazda Series. In 2004, he won the pole and the race at the mile-oval in Avondale, Arizona.
> His most recent start at a mile-track was at Toledo Speedway in October in a 200-lap race in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. McDowell started on the pole and won the race.
> He made his first career NASCAR Busch Series start last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, posting the second-fastest lap of all of Friday's practice sessions before qualifying 17th. He finished the Texas 300 in 20th.
> McDowell is one of ten former PIR track winners competing in Saturday's NASCAR Busch Series race, joining Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Bobby Hamilton Jr., Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, Scott Wimmer, and Sam Hornish Jr. |
