NASCAR Throwback: A Look Back at Michael McDowell’s Open-Wheel Adventures

Neha Dwivedi | 24/10/2024
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Michael McDowell (00) during practice for the Best Buy 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Michael McDowell is all set to propel his remaining career by switching to Spire Motorsports at 39. But it would be intriguing to many that his journey into NASCAR wasn’t via the typical Go-kart or dirt track racing. Instead, McDowell cut his teeth in open-wheel cars, starting with competitions in Formula Renault and Champ Car before leaping NASCAR in 2006.

His foray into open-wheel racing was marked by several achievements, including victories at prestigious tracks like Infineon Raceway, Las Vegas, and Firebird International Raceway during his rookie season.

These wins pushed him to win the Formula Renault USA Championship that year. His success continued in 2003 when he joined the Star Mazda Series, triumphing in races at Sebring and Road America and securing a second-place finish in the overall points standings.

McDowell started his Champ Car (often referred to as Indy Car) career in 2005, joining Rocketsports for races in Surfer’s Paradise and Mexico City. He recently took to social media to reminisce about that time, recalling how he started 16th on the grid and crossed the finish line 12th at the 2005 Lexmark Indy 300 with Rocketsports Racing.

Sharing his picture from that time, he wrote: “Surfers Paradise, Australia. 19 years ago today. Fun times!”

While the terms Champ Car and Indy Car are often used interchangeably today, they were distinctly different back in the day. Originally, an organization known as CART was established in 1979 and was known as Indy Car Racing until 1996.

In 1996, CART split into two factions — I.R.L. and C.A.R.T. The division led to a legal skirmish over the use of the “IndyCar” name. Eventually, the two factions resolved their differences, merging under the IndyCar banner to end the deadlock.

Historically, the main distinction between Champ Car (CART) and IndyCar was the type of tracks they raced on. Champ Car was known for its preference for road courses and street circuits, whereas IndyCar was synonymous with high-speed oval tracks. However, in recent years, IndyCar has sought to balance its schedule to include both styles of racing.

McDowell’s 2024 NASCAR Cup season so far

With 2024 being his final season with Front Row Motorsports, McDowell has so far racked up two top-five finishes, seven top-10s, and six poles, leading a total of 256 laps with an average finish of 20.7. His best performance of 2024 came at Sonoma Raceway, where he narrowly missed victory to Kyle Larson.

Despite not winning any races this season, McDowell has openly expressed his ambition to outdo Kyle Larson in securing the most poles. “We want to beat Kyle Larson for the most poles this year. It’s a big goal for us.”

“I think he probably has more opportunities to get poles from here on out than I do but he’s going to have to execute perfect and that’s the kind of pressure we wanted to put on him,” he said.

With only three races left in the season, it’s up in the air how McDowell will fare, especially considering his finishes last year of P22, P25, and P9 at Homestead, Martinsville, and Phoenix Raceway respectively.

Post Edited By: Srijan Mandal
Michael McDowell

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

Don’t miss these