Michael McDowell (racing driver)
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| status | active | ||||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series statistics | |||||||||
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| Best placement | 30.- (2016) | ||||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series Statistics | |||||||||
| Best placement | 13th - (2009) | ||||||||
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| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series statistics | |||||||||
| Best placement | 111th - (2009) | ||||||||
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| Data status: April 9, 2017 | |||||||||
Michael McDowell (born December 21, 1984 in Phoenix , Arizona ) is an American racing driver .
Career
Beginnings
McDowell began, like many racing drivers, his career in karting , in which he was active for ten years. During this time he won the championship in the World Karting Association and the International Karting Federation. These two racing series are, even if the names suggest otherwise, series that only race in the USA . Even so, the performances showed that McDowell is a talented driver. In 2003 he got a place in the Star Mazda Series , an American monoposto racing series. In the 2004 season he won seven races and ultimately the title. The Champ Car Team Rocketsports Racing offered him the opportunity to participate in some races of the 2005 Champ Car season due to his good performance . He drove two races, which he finished in respectable places, but was no longer called into the team in the 2006 Champ Car season .
Grand-Am
During the 2004 Star Mazda Series season, McDowell met Rob Finlay, the owner of a Grand-Am team, who was enthusiastic about McDowell's achievements and gave him the opportunity to drive in the KONI Challenge Series , the second-highest series of the Grand-Am . In this he drove a Porsche 996 after signing a contract in the 2005 season . Rob Finlay's achievements convinced him and he and the experienced Memo Gidley gave him a cockpit in the Rolex Sports Car Series , the most important series of the Grand-Am. Gidley and McDowell finished sixth in the drivers' overall standings, and they clinched a victory at the race in Mexico City . In 2006 the driver combination Gidley / McDowell remained. Although they did not win a race, they improved their overall driver standings and finished fourth at the end of the season.
ARCA Racing Series
McDowell's talent was no longer a secret in other racing series either. Eddie Sharp, owner of a team in the ARCA Racing Series , recognized McDowell's abilities and let him drive in for five races of the 2006 season. McDowell's first race on the Milwaukee Mile ended up in 34th place, but the following results (sixth on Salem Speedway , fifth on Talladega Superspeedway, and fourth on Iowa Speedway ) showed that he is adaptable and diverse Ovals can be quick without a long period of getting used to. Therefore, McDowell was allowed to drive for Eddie Sharp's team for the entire 2007 season. In 23 starts he won four times, made it into the top 5 eleven times and made it into the top 10 15 times. This was enough for second place in the overall ranking.
NASCAR
NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip , who with his own team Michael Waltrip Racing still had some problems in terms of competitiveness, convinced McDowell's performance. He signed him as a driver in the hope that McDowell could get good results in a relatively short period of time. After four races in the Nationwide Series and one race in the Craftsman Truck Series without any notable successes, McDowell took over the vacancy at Michael Waltrip Racing after the resignation of Dale Jarrett and thus received a regular place in the Sprint Cup , the highest division of NASCAR. He made his Sprint Cup debut on March 30, 2008 at the Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville , Virginia . In this race he drove in a Toyota with starting number 00. David Reutimann , who had previously been behind the wheel of starting number 00, took over starting number 44 from retired former champion Dale Jarrett. After the 29th race of the season, McDowell left the team due to the unexpectedly poor performance. He finished the 2008 Sprint Cup season in 40th place overall. In 2009, McDowell was active for JTG-Daugherty Racing in the Nationwide Series. In the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season , he returned to the Sprint Cup. McDowell is currently driving the number 55 from Prism Motorsports .
Web links
- Driver statistics on racing-reference.info
| personal data | |
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| SURNAME | McDowell, Michael |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American NASCAR racing driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 21, 1984 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Phoenix , Arizona |