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“(The win) was a long time coming. To win with a pass like that, we left it in no doubt.” -Michael McDowell |
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SPARTA KY (July 14, 2007) - Alas, the monkey is off Michael McDowell’s back. A season full of fast performances, pure dominance, and hard-nosed stock car racing finally has the trophy to go with the effort. McDowell scored his first career ARCA RE/MAX Series win Friday night at Kentucky Speedway in the WLWT Channel 5-150.
McDowell’s qualifying lap of 30.545 was good enough for outside of the front row. He took the lead from Evernham Motorsports’ Erin Crocker on lap 9 and proceeded to lead 52 of the next 53 laps. McDowell, along with the rest of the lead-lap cars, pitted on lap 63 where he was inched out of the lead at the pit exit by Kevin Harvick Inc. development driver Cale Gale.
Following the yellow-flag pit stops, McDowell used the next 20 laps of the race as a plotting period to get by Gale. McDowell powered his way around Gale, taking the lead on lap 86. He never looked back.
As he came across the start-finish line, the entire No. 2 Eddie Sharp Racing crew rejoiced for the team’s first win of the 2007 season. In a race filled with nine NASCAR development drivers and deemed by many in the garage area as one of the single strongest fields in ARCA history, the 22 year-old Arizona native was triumphant.
| Listen to the post-race, audio interview with Michael on the ARCA site here |
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“Awesome” -McD celebrates win #1 |
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“This is awesome,” said a champagne-soaked McDowell. “I’m thrilled we could do this for Z-Line Designs, Mission Residential, Make-A-Wish, Beck, Dodge, everyone at Eddie Sharp Racing that worked their tails off. I couldn’t be happier.
“(The win) was a long time coming. To win with a pass like that, we left it in no doubt.”
The pass, which came after McDowell chased down Gale for twenty laps, was one for the highlight reel. McDowell knew it was an entire race in the making:
“We made a smart call at the end of practice. We adjusted the car so it would be better handling for when it cooled off. It hurt us in the middle part of the race but the adjustment Patrick (Donahue, crew chief) made on the pit stop worked for us. The car came to me on that last long run and it looked as if (Gale) was starting to lose his handle. When I got to him, I just matted it and took off. It was a perfect finish and a perfect night.”
McDowell’s first win comes in his eighteenth career ARCA start. His Z-Line Designs / Make-A-Wish / Beck Dodge led 68 of the race’s 100 laps. The victory also pushes him into second place in the ARCA RE/MAX Series point standings, 120 points behind leader Frank Kimmel.
Up Next: McDowell and Eddie Sharp Racing will return to Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania on Saturday, August 4.
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MOORESVILLE, NC (July 11, 2007) – While an all-Eddie Sharp Racing front row and the promise of a spectacular evening was cut short in his visit to Kentucky Speedway last May, a lot has happened for ARCA RE/MAX Series rookie leader Michael McDowell.
He’s stretched his series-high number of poles won to five. He’s added to the already gaudy number of laps led, 362, also tops in the series. Most importantly, it looks as if the team’s luck has turned around and ubiquitous mishaps like the one that occurred in May’s race in Sparta have been eradicated.
Right now, McDowell and the stealth bomber disguised as the No. 2 Z-Line Designs / Make-A-Wish / Beck Dodge are in championship form. Fresh off of a runner-up finish at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan, McDowell is hoping to continue his ascent to the top of the overall point standings.
A weekend filled with NASCAR development drivers in Nextel Cup-ready equipment doesn’t hinder the 22 year-old’s determination. The night of racing last May ended early, but rest assured, McDowell and ESR are prepared to pick up where they left off:
“We’re in for a battle this weekend. There are a lot of fast race cars and good young talent pulling into that garage area, but this is nothing new for us,” said McDowell. “All year, we’ve been going up against NASCAR-backed teams. We’ve still won poles, led laps, and have been consummate contenders.
“We have a championship hunt that we’re focused on and the entire ESR shop is ready to fight for it. Obviously we don’t have the manpower, the financial backing, or the engineering prowess that some of these development drivers will, but that’s fine. We’re showing up to win and we have the team and the car that’s capable of making that happen.”
The Arizona native is focused on the win but also in the crosshairs is the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series championship. Despite having a winless season, his three top-five finishes and seven top-ten finishes have him sitting in third place in the series standings through 12 races. Now less than 200 points behind leader Frank Kimmel, McDowell is ready to close ’07 with a head of steam.
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"We’re in for a battle this weekend...We have a championship hunt that we’re focused on and we're ready to fight for it." -McDowell |
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“There were a lot of things that went wrong for us in the first half of the year, but we were never out of contention to win races,” added McDowell. “The second half of the season is about a team finding its niche and finishing strong in the home stretch. That’s our job now. We are going to do that job to the best of our ability and hopefully the end result is an ARCA championship.”
McDowell’s march to a title rolls through Kentucky this weekend with the WLWT 5-150. The race is slated for an 8 PM start time, with qualifying set to begin at 4:30 PM on Friday, July 13.
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| WLWT 5-150 |
| Date: |
Friday, July 13, 2007 |
| Track: |
Kentucky Speedway (Sparta, KY) |
| Race Distance: |
100 Laps (150 miles) |
| Team: |
Eddie Sharp Racing |
| Crew Chief: |
Patrick Donahue |
| Practice, qualifying and the race itself all take place on Friday. Pole Qualifying at 4:30pm. Green flag at 8:00pm. |
McFACTS:
> This past May, McDowell captured the ARCA SIM Factory Pole Award at Kentucky Speedway. He captured his fifth pole of the season last weekend in Marne, Michigan and aims for a series-leading sixth pole this Friday.
> McDowell leads the ARCA RE/MAX Series Rookie of the Year standings after his second place finish last weekend.
> That second place finish jumped him two spots in the series overall point standings, where he currently sits in third place, less than 200 points behind leader and 8-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel.
> McDowell’s crew chief, Patrick Donahue, is second in the Cometic Engine Mechanic Award standings. |
