BROOKLYN, MI (June 18, 2007) – If an 8th place finish is considered a bad day, then your team must be pretty good. Michael McDowell felt that way after the Michigan ARCA 200:
“We’ve been better,” said McDowell. “We struggled in practice and in qualifying, so the win was out of our reach. It was still a good points day for us, which we need if we want to win this championship.”
A tight condition doomed the No. 2 Z-Line Designs / Make-A-Wish / Beck Toyota in practice and qualifying. McDowell’s lap of 40.191 was a tenth of a second slower than his best lap in practice and put him 22nd on the starting grid.
Once the green flag dropped on Friday afternoon, it was a typical Michael McDowell race. Despite an ill-handling car, he managed to slice his way through the field and, with the help of fuel-gambling pit strategy from crew chief Patrick Donahue, was running in top-five with less than 20 laps to go. The tight condition stayed with him in the closing laps, but he managed to surrender only a handful of spots before finishing 8th in his first race behind the wheel of a Toyota Camry.
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“We’ve been better,” said McDowell. “We struggled in practice and in qualifying, so the win was out of our reach. It was still a good points day for us, which we need if we want to win this championship.” |
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With his sixth top-ten finish of the season (and fourth in a row), McDowell remains 5th in the ARCA RE/MAX Series point standings. McDowell is positive that the team’s quest for the crown can continue:
“This next stretch of tracks is going to be good for us. We go back to Kentucky, Pocono, and Nashville, tracks that we’ve ran well at, and we’re looking to put some (races) in the win column and keep chipping away at the point lead.”
Up Next: After a two week hiatus, Michael McDowell and Eddie Sharp Racing will return to the track at Berlin Raceway in Michigan on Saturday, July 7.
For more information on Michael McDowell, visit www.mmcdowell.com |
2 CAR PREVIEW REPORT
MCDOWELL TAKES STREAK OF TOP-TEN FINISHES TO MICHIGAN
ESR debuts 1-2 punch for Toyota Camry
MOORESVILLE, NC (June 13, 2007) – If Michael McDowell hasn’t been in enough headlines during the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series, he’s about to be in the middle of an ironic one this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. In the backyard of American automotive manufacturers, he and teammate Ken Butler III will race sleek new Toyota Camrys.
McDowell’s No. 2 Z-Line Designs / Make-A-Wish / Beck Toyota hits the Michigan asphalt on the heels of three-straight top-ten finishes, including a 6th place finish in his first career go-round at Pocono Raceway. The Pocono performance allowed him to leapfrog fellow ARCA competitor Phillip McGilton to become the leader in ARCA’s Rookie of the Year standings. McDowell hopes that the momentum continues at Michigan, which like Pocono, he has never visited:
“Every year, this is a good race with a stacked field,” noted McDowell. “I’ve never raced at Michigan and I’ve never raced in a Camry but ESR has had success there and Patrick (Donahue, crew chief) has some notes from when he’s been there. I don’t doubt we’ll have some feeling out to do (with the car) but based on every race this year, we’ll have everything figured out in time for the race.”
McDowell’s basis of contention is valid: even in his first race at Pocono, he led 13 laps, adding to his series-high 271 laps led for the 2007 season. Even with a new car, he is confident that the team can perform at their regular high level:
“We still have the same crew and the same intensity—just a new car. I can’t wait to be behind the wheel of a Camry. I’m sure it will be fast. Hopefully, we can have some quick pit stops and be able to maintain track position. We’re fully capable of bringing Toyota their first stock car win.”
McFACTS:
> McDowell now leads the ARCA RE/MAX Series Rookie of the Year standings.
> On a three-race streak of top-ten finishes, McDowell is looking to score his fourth straight top-ten finish and sixth of the season.
> McDowell continues to lead all ARCA competitors in laps led (271).
> He remains 5th in points after last weekend’s 6th place finish at Pocono Raceway.
> While he drove a Porsche in the Grand-Am Cup Series, this is McDowell’s first time racing in a foreign manufacturer in stock car racing.
| 22 CAR PREVIEW REPORT
EDDIE SHARP RACING LOOKS TO CONTINUE STRING OF SUCCESSES
Ken Butler III returns to the No. 22 at Michigan
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"Michael and the 2 crew have been the story of the season so far in ARCA. ...Ken and the 22 team finally clicked with the victory in Toledo... ...we expect more."
- ESR Team Owner Eddie Sharp |
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MOORESVILLE, NC (June 13, 2007) – Powered by Toyota, Eddie Sharp Racing’s No. 22 team looks to continue its current wave of success at Michigan International Speedway.
Ken Butler III returns to the No. 22 Domino’s Pizza Toyota this weekend after an 8th place run by Josh Wise at Pocono Raceway. Butler has split his racing duties in 2007 between ESR and Michael Waltrip Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
While it is Butler’s first visit to the two-mile oval, Eddie Sharp Racing has had success. Last August, with driver T.J. Bell, ESR led on the final lap only to be caught up in an accident with veteran Frank Kimmel. The second ESR entry of Ryan Mathews finished 2nd.
This year, Butler and teammate Michael McDowell will each pilot Toyota Camrys in hopes of a 1-2 finish. Owner Eddie Sharp is optimistic about the team’s chances of success:
“Both teams have been running well recently,” said Sharp. “Michael and the 2 crew have been the story of the season so far in ARCA. They’re close to getting their first win. Ken and the 22 team finally clicked with the victory in Toledo and Josh’s Pocono race was uplifting. The organization as a whole is where it should be. We were so close in winning Michigan last year. This year, we expect more.”
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| ARCA 200 |
| Date: |
Friday, June 15, 2007 |
| Track: |
Michigan International Speedway (Brooklyn, MI) |
| Race Distance: |
100 Laps (200 miles) |
| Team: |
Eddie Sharp Racing |
| Crew Chief: |
Patrick Donahue |
| The ARCA 200 will air live on SPEED at 5 pm on Friday, June 15. |
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