Front Row Motorsports might not be fighting for any championship but their story this season sure has been interesting. Veteran race car driver Michael McDowell has earned five pole positions so far this season. A few years back, this kind of consistency was not expected out of this team at all. But it’s not just in qualifying that McDowell has performed well this season. His overall race pace has been impressive as well. The 39-year-old has also set a team record this season of laps led that is quite exceptional.
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Before the 2024 season, a Front Row Motorsports car had never led more than 97 laps. This season, McDowell has already led 200 laps and there is still a good part of the season left. Of course, qualifying well plays a big role in that. Starting from pole position is always an advantage for a driver and the veteran has done that several times. The most recent one was at the Atlanta Motor Speedway where he started from pole but was only able to muster a P22 finish.
“I promise you we’re not spending the most and we don’t have the most people, but we have a great group of men and women who fight really hard and this Next Gen car has given us the platform to do what we’re doing,” he said earlier.
This is McDowell’s final year as a Cup Series driver with FRM. He will be leaving for Spire Motorsports next season, a team that is rapidly expanding. It will be interesting to see how the veteran fares on a new team at this stage in his career. Given how Spire has been improving, he could even be on Victory Lane very soon.
When can McDowell win his next pole position?
The #34 driver is currently tied with Kyle Larson for the most pole positions this season. He has qualified consistently near the front in the speedway races. With Talladega coming up later in the playoffs, fans can expect another McDowell masterclass in qualifying. This time, however, he would like to hold the lead for a longer period and hopefully challenge for the win. A surprise win like that is possible at the iconic race track.
In the previous Talladega race, McDowell was the one on pole position. It’s not easy to win poles in both races at the same track but the FRM star did it at Atlanta. There is no reason why he cannot do it again. It is incredible to see the veteran still so competitive at this stage of his career for a team that’s not the best right now. If signed to a competitive team, the 39-year-old still has what it takes to win races and may even challenge for a championship.
