Michael McDowell (racing driver)

Michael McDowell
McDowell at Daytona International Speedway in 2015
Born	(1984-12-21) December 21, 1984 Glendale, Arizona, U.S.
Achievements	2004 Star Mazda Championship Champion
Awards	2007 ARCA Re/MAX Series Rookie of the Year 2003 Star Mazda Championship Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
182 races run over 8 years
Car no., team	No. 95 (Leavine Family Racing)
2015 position	39th
Best finish	36th (2011)
First race	2008 Goody's Cool Orange 500 (Martinsville)
Last race	2015 Ford EcoBoost 400 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 2 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
93 races run over 8 years
2014 position	87th
Best finish	13th (2009)
First race	2007 O'Reilly Challenge (Texas)
Last race	2014 VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 (Kentucky)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 19 2
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
2 races run over 2 years
Best finish	111th (2009)
First race	2007 Kroger 200 (Martinsville)
Last race	2009 Heluva Good! 200 (Loudon)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Champ Car career
2 races run over 1 year
Best finish	21st (2005)
First race	2005 Lexmark Indy 300 (Surfers Paradise)
Last race	2005 Gran Premio Telmex Tecate (Mexico City)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 0 0
Statistics current as of November 22, 2015.

Michael Christopher McDowell (born December 21, 1984 in Glendale, Arizona) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently drives the No. 95 Ford Fusion for Leavine Family Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He is married to Jami and they have three children, Trace, Emma and Rylie.

Early career

McDowell started out his career at the age of three racing BMX bicycles. He would always win his division because there were not any other three- or four-year-olds to compete against. At the start of each race, someone would have to hold him in the starting gate because his feet did not reach the ground. Then, when Michael was eight years old, he moved to karting with help from his mother Tracy, his father Bill, and his older brother Billy, who were all avid race fans. After ten years in karts, he would win not only the World Karting Association championship, but he would also take back to back undefeated International Kart Federation championships, along with 18 consecutive feature wins.

Open wheel

From karts McDowell moved into Formula Renault with World Speed Motorsports in 2002 and won the Infineon Raceway, Las Vegas, and Firebird International Raceway events in his rookies season. Moving up the ladder, Michael would move to the Star Mazda Series in 2003. He took victories at Sebring and Road America en route to a runner-up finish in the points. McDowell won seven races in 2004 en route to winning the series championship. McDowell would be picked up by Champ Car team Rocketsports for Surfer's Paradise and Mexico City, but decided to move on in 2005 to the Grand-Am Cup Series.

Grand-Am

During his run for the Star Mazda championship, Michael would meet businessman Rob Finlay at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, where McDowell was an instructor. McDowell and Finlay soon established a partnership, and McDowell would drive his first sports car, a Porsche 996 in the Grand-Am Cup Series for Finlay Motorsports. In 2005, Michael would stay at Finlay, but moved up to the Rolex Sports Car Series, joining veteran Memo Gidley in a BMW powered Riley sponsored by the Make A Wish Foundation. Together, they finished sixth in the overall points and took the team's first victory at Mexico City. McDowell made history by becoming the youngest driver to stand on podium for a Grand-Am race at Barber Motorsports Park, and became the first driver since Mario Andretti to compete in both an open wheel race and a sports car race in the same weekend. Michael would also drive the team's #60 BMW M3 in the Grand-Am Cup series to a podium finish at Daytona. McDowell would stick with Finlay for 2006, and was again partnered with Gidley. The duo would improve to fourth in points despite being winless. Michael would also drive a #15 Ford Mustang with owner Finlay, driving the car to a win at Barber. He would cap off his Grand-Am year with a second-place finish at Miller Motorsports Park.

McDowell returned to the series for the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona, driving for Michael Shank Racing and finishing third.

ARCA

In early 2006, Michael's mother Tracy died in January after battling cancer for a year, at the age of 45. ARCA RE/MAX Series owner Eddie Sharp would put McDowell behind the wheel of his #2 Dodge for five races of the 2006 season, starting with the Governor's Cup 200 at the Milwaukee Mile, where he scored a 34th-place finish. McDowell finished in sixth place at Salem, fifth at Talladega, and fourth at Iowa. Michael would return to ESR to run the full schedule for Rookie of the Year honors in 2007. McDowell was involved in controversy at Toledo when his ESR teammate, Ken Butler III spun him late in the race. Butler would take his first win while McDowell would rally for a top ten finish. Michael got his first stock car win at Kentucky Speedway. He followed that up with wins at Pocono, Chicago, and the season finale at Toledo. Although Michael was in contention for the ARCA Re/Max Seroes championship all season, he was unable to pose a serious threat to Frank Kimmel for Kimmel's ninth championship. Michael would score a second-place finish in the points along with Rookie of the Year honors, as well as scoring nine pole positions during the season. As McDowell moved to NASCAR, his ESR ride was taken over by former Formula One driver Scott Speed.

NASCAR

2007–2008

McDowell would make his NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series. Driving the #17 for Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, McDowell would qualify 29th and finish 30th after a late wreck. McDowell moved to the Busch Series as a developmental driver for Nextel Cup Series team Michael Waltrip Racing. Driving the #00 Toyota, Michael drove at Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead, finishing respectively 20th, 14th, and 32nd.

McDowell was chosen to drive the #00 Cup Series car in 2008 after Dale Jarrett's retirement; David Reutimann replaced Jarrett in the #44 UPS car. McDowell started 34th and finished 26th in his Sprint Cup debut, the Goody's Cool Orange 500, after a flat tire near the end of the race. After the race, he was criticized by veteran driver Jeff Burton for having blocked Burton's way to leader Denny Hamlin near the end of the race (McDowell was racing for the Lucky Dog free pass, which Burton did not realize at the time of his comments). In early August 2008, McDowell was pulled from the #00 Toyota Camry Sprint Cup car in favor of veteran NASCAR driver Mike Skinner for three races. Skinner helped evaluate the team's progress, while trying to get the #00 into the top 35 in owner points, though McDowell returned to the ride at Richmond on September 6, 2008. McDowell was again pulled from the #00 Toyota Camry when he failed to qualify for the Camping World RV 400 at Kansas on September 28. McDowell's contract was not renewed by MWR for 2009, when Michael Waltrip decided not to retire and the team did not have sponsorship for another car.

Crash at Texas Motor Speedway

Panorama of McDowell's crash in sequence at Texas Motor Speedway

McDowell's car on the tow truck after the crash

While performing a qualifying attempt for the 2008 Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 4, 2008 McDowell had an accident that was strikingly similar to that of another racer with a road-racing background; Gordon Smiley (who died in a crash during Indianapolis 500 time trials in 1982). McDowell's right front sway bar broke entering Turn 1, which caused the car to hit the SAFER barrier almost head on at approximately 185 miles per hour (298 km/h), according to data obtained and reported by SPEED channel (185 mph to zero mph in one foot, as reported by SPEED's Bob Dillner, before reaccelerating the other direction). The car spun around once while tipping onto its roof, and then barrel-rolled eight times with fire coming out of the engine compartment, shedding debris in all directions, until coming to a stop back onto its tires. A huge dark mark was seen on the SAFER barrier, which showed how hard the car hit the barrier, which had to be repaired (the barrier moved inward when the car hit it), and as a result, qualifying for the race was delayed by an hour. The safety features of the barrier, the HANS device and the Car of Tomorrow racecar protected him. Because of this, he walked away from the crash without injury, and waved to the stunned crowd. Since his old car was destroyed, he had to switch to a backup, and ended up starting at the back of the pack in the race.

2009

McDowell's 2009 #47 Nationwide car

In 2009, McDowell drove a part-time schedule for JTG Daugherty Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. On February 25, 2009 McDowell's first child, Trace Christopher, was born, named after Michael's late mother, Tracy. The baby boy was 7 pounds, 7 ounces and born at 7:00 a.m. McDowell next attempted the April 2009 race at Talladega for Prism Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series, as regular driver Dave Blaney had a family obligation. After JTG Daugherty Racing ran out of sponsorship support after the second race at Daytona International Speedway, it was announced that he would drive the next two races for MacDonald Motorsports. He also competed several races with Tommy Baldwin Racing in the #36 Toyota Camry. McDowell remained in the top 10 for most of the season. McDowell also competed in the Camping World Truck Series in 2009 for ThorSport Motorsports driving the #98 Chevy Silverado.

2010–2011

In 2010, McDowell started the season for Prism Motorsports. He drove the #55 car, then moved to the #46 team of Whitney Motorsports. In 2011, McDowell drove the #66 Toyota for HP Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. JGR also added the Bucyrus 200 at Road America to McDowell's schedule, leaving open the possibility of more races added. McDowell also drove one race for Joe Gibbs in the Sprint Cup Series at Texas after NASCAR parked Kyle Busch following his actions at a Truck Series event.

2012–2013

McDowell's 2013 Sprint Cup car

In 2012, McDowell ran the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Nationwide Series car in select races, and competed in the Sprint Cup Series for Phil Parsons Racing (formerly HP Racing) full-time; the team secured full sponsorship for the first five races of the season. It formed a partnership with Whitney Motorsports and Mike Curb to field McDowell's car, which carried the No. 98.

In the 2013 Daytona 500, McDowell recorded a then-career high 9th-place finish. Later in the season in the Nationwide Series, McDowell won the pole for the inaugural Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 at Mid-Ohio. McDowell finished 2nd behind A. J. Allmendinger.

2014

In October 2013, it was announced that McDowell would be moving to Leavine Family Racing's No. 95 Ford for the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. McDowell failed to qualify for the Daytona 500. McDowell had a Sprint Cup career-best seventh-place finish in the Coke Zero 400.

In the Cheez-It 355 at The GLen, on lap 64, Greg Biffle came up on Ryan Newman's front bumper, turning him into the outside retaining wall. His car ricocheted off the wall into McDowell's path, and with the force of the impact, the rear end housing was snapped, causing him to get airborne. His housing was then forced into the wall. The race was red-flagged, though both drivers were unharmed.

2015

McDowell returned to the LFR No. 95 car for a 20-race schedule.

Images

• 

  McDowell in 2008

• 

  2010 Nationwide car

• 

  Racing at Road America in 2011

• 

  McDowell at Road America in 2012

Motorsports career results

American Open-Wheel series

(key)

Champ Car

Champ Car results
Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Rank	Points
2005	Rocketsports Racing	LBH	MTY	MIL	POR	CLE	TOR	EDM	SJO	DEN	MTL	LVS	SRF 12	MXC 11	21st	19

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	NSCC	Pts
2008	Michael Waltrip Racing	00	Toyota	DAY	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR 26	TEX 33	PHO 34	TAL 26	RCH 40	DAR 28	CLT 32	DOV 30	POC 27	MCH 37	SON 21	NHA 42	DAY 25	CHI 43	IND 34	POC 24	GLN 25	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH 20	NHA 27	DOV 29	KAN DNQ	TAL	CLT	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM	40th	1466
2009	Prism Motorsports	66	Toyota	DAY	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	MAR	TEX	PHO	TAL DNQ	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	SON	NHA	DAY	CHI	IND	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI	ATL												52nd	326
	Tommy Baldwin Racing	36	Toyota																										RCH 41	NHA 41	DOV 38	KAN DNQ	CAL 40	CLT DNQ	MAR 41	TAL	TEX 41	PHO 41	HOM 43
2010	Prism Motorsports	55	Toyota	DAY 33	CAL 42	LVS 42	ATL 42	BRI	MAR 43			TAL	RCH DNQ	DAR 40	DOV 42	CLT 42	POC 39	MCH	SON	NHA 41	DAY DNQ	CHI DNQ	IND 42	POC 43	GLN 42	MCH 42	BRI 43													45th	870
		66								PHO 43	TEX 41
	Whitney Motorsports	46	Chevy																									ATL 39				KAN 40	CAL 39	CLT 39	MAR DNQ	TAL 35	TEX DNQ	PHO DNQ	HOM DNQ
			Dodge																										RCH DNQ	NHA 43	DOV 39
2011	HP Racing	66	Toyota	DAY DNQ	PHO 41	LVS 41	BRI 43	CAL 43	MAR 32	TEX 40	TAL DNQ	RCH 40	DAR 43	DOV 43	CLT 39	KAN 41	POC 41	MCH 43	SON 30	DAY 42	KEN 41	NHA 40	IND 37	POC	GLN 41	MCH	BRI 39	ATL 41	RCH 39	CHI 43	NHA 37	DOV 40	KAN 39	CLT 39	TAL 40	MAR 39		PHO 40	HOM 43	36th	139
	Joe Gibbs Racing	18	Toyota																																		TEX 33
2012	Phil Parsons Racing	98	Ford	DAY 30	PHO 43	LVS 38	BRI 31	CAL 38	MAR 40	TEX 41	KAN 40	RCH 39	TAL 43	DAR DNQ	CLT 36	DOV 42	POC 39	MCH 38	SON	KEN 38	DAY 43	NHA 40	IND DNQ	POC	GLN	MCH	BRI 23	ATL DNQ	RCH 41	CHI 43	NHA 37	DOV 38	TAL 31	CLT 31	KAN 43	MAR 39	TEX 38	PHO 38	HOM 41	37th	187
2013				DAY 9	PHO	LVS 43	BRI 42	CAL 42	MAR 43	TEX 43	KAN 42	RCH 41	TAL 21	DAR 42	CLT 42	DOV 42	POC 40	MCH 42	SON	KEN 38	DAY 42	NHA 42	IND 32	POC 40			BRI 41	ATL 42	RCH 43	CHI 43		DOV 43	KAN 38	CLT 40	TAL 15	MAR 26	TEX 43	PHO 32	HOM 43	37th	210
	Front Row Motorsports	35	Ford																						GLN 38	MCH
	Phoenix Racing	51	Chevy																												NHA 30
2014	Leavine Family Racing	95	Ford	DAY DNQ	PHO 33	LVS 43	BRI 37	CAL	MAR 37	TEX 30	DAR	RCH DNQ	TAL 36	KAN	CLT 30	DOV	POC	MCH	SON 24	KEN	DAY 7	NHA	IND 26	POC	GLN 42	MCH	BRI 18	ATL DNQ	RCH	CHI 32	NHA	DOV	KAN 35	CLT 29	TAL 41	MAR	TEX 30	PHO 31	HOM 21	37th	255
2015				DAY 31	ATL 27	LVS 30	PHO	CAL	MAR	TEX 31	BRI 22	RCH	TAL DNQ	KAN 36	CLT 30	DOV	POC	MCH	SON 34	DAY DNQ	KEN DNQ	NHA	IND 31	POC	GLN 20	MCH	BRI 31	DAR	RCH 42	CHI DNQ	NHA	DOV	CLT 31	KAN	TAL 28	MAR	TEX 34	PHO	HOM 33	39th	213

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
2010	Prism Motorsports	Toyota	29	33
2011	HP Racing		DNQ
2012	Phil Parsons Racing	Ford	11	30
2013			38	9
2014	Leavine Family Racing	Ford	DNQ
2015			23	31

Camping World Truck Series

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

ARCA Re/Max Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Re/Max Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	ARSC	Pts
2006	Eddie Sharp Racing	2	Dodge	DAY	NSH	SLM	WIN	KEN	TOL	POC	MCH	KAN	KEN	BLN	POC	GTW	NSH	MCH	ISF	MIL 34	TOL	DSF	CHI 38	SLM 6	TAL 5	IOW 4	40th	965
2007				DAY 10	USA 18	NSH 33	SLM 3	KAN 11	WIN 22*	KEN 39	TOL 7*	IOW 2	POC 6		BLN 2*	KEN 1	POC 1	NSH 19	ISF 2	MIL 4	GTW 3	DSF 36	CHI 1	SLM 3	TAL 33	TOL 1	2nd	5455
			Toyota											MCH 8

24 Hours of Daytona

(key)

24 Hours of Daytona results
Year	Class	No	Team	Car	Co-drivers	Laps	Position	Class Pos.
2005	DP	19	Ten Motorsports	BMW Riley DP	Memo Gidley Michael Valiante Jonathan Bomarito	465	42	19
2006	DP	19	Playboy/Uniden Racing	Ford Crawford DP	Memo Gidley Alex Barron	716	6	6
2007	DP	19	Finlay Motorsports	Ford Crawford DP	Rob Finlay Michael Valiante Bobby Labonte	627	10 DNF	10 DNF
2008	DP	09	Spirit of Daytona Racing	Porsche Fabcar DP	Guy Cosmo Marc-Antoine Camirand	652	15	10
2011	DP	6	Michael Shank Racing	Ford Dallara DP	A. J. Allmendinger Justin Wilson	719	7	7
2012	DP	6	Michael Shank Racing	Ford Dallara DP	Jorge Goncalvez Felipe Nasr Gustavo Yacamán	761	3	3

External links

• Official website
• Michael McDowell driver statistics at Racing-Reference

Sporting positions
Preceded by Luis Schiavo	Star Mazda Championship Champion 2004	Succeeded by Raphael Matos