Though the initial stages of Sunday’s race in Talladega were a bit of a disappointment with drivers saving fuel, the final stage packed enough gun powder to make up for an interesting ordeal. The biggest of the fireworks came in the final lap towards the end of the checkered flag when Michael McDowell spinned himself trying to block Brad Keselowski.
Advertisement
The move resulted in a multi-car wreck which Tyler Reddick and Keselowski avoided to finish 1st and 2nd, respectively. Though McDowell’s move is now largely seen as a dangerous one, the Front Row Motorsports driver can’t be put at fault for trying to win the race according to racing icon Jeff Burton. Expressing his views on NBC, he said that he would’ve given McDowell a hug if he’d been the Front Row team owner.
McDowell’s resilience in wanting to find the victory lane is what has Burton impressed despite the sketchy maneuver. He said, “Mike McDowell, knowing to win this race, he’s going to have to aggressively block. Did he take it too far? Yeah, he took it too far. He admitted after the race that it was his responsibility. But at the same time if he doesn’t block like that he’s not going to win and he knows that.”
Burton was able to empathize with McDowell’s mindset having been in similar positions during his career in NASCAR. “If Michael McDowell drove for me, when he got out of the infield care center I’d give him a hug and I’d say thank you for doing everything to do to win a race for me and my race team,” he concluded. McDowell has two top-10 finishes in the first 10 races of the season and is yet to fix himself a spot in the playoffs.
Keselowski’s winless streak continues to grow courtesy of McDowell’s late-race block
The RFK Racing co-owner was looking poised to take the win as the grid approached the checkered flag in the final lap. Had it not been for McDowell’s interference, he could’ve very well ended up the winner. But he now stands atop a 108-race winless streak instead. He voiced his bitterness talking to the press after the race.
He said of McDowell’s block, “I backed up, Noah gave me a great push and I went to make a move on Michael, and he covered it, and I went back the other way and got another push from Noah and there was nowhere to go when Michael came back down.” Despite the incident, Keselowski holds no ill will towards McDowell whom he called a “good guy”. This is Keselowski’s 2nd runner-up finish in as many weekends.
