Michael McDowell claims he is not letting the disappointing start to the Playoffs get to his head

Michael McDowell is the only driver from FRM to qualify for the Playoffs.

Michael McDowell claims he is not letting the disappointing start to the Playoffs get to his head

Michael McDowell (Via IMAGO)

The Playoffs opening race at Darlington had every driver in the round of 16 on their most aggressive modes. With everyone scrambling to get on the top, someone was bound to fall. In this case, Michael McDowell got the short straw as his unfortunate collision with Denny Hamlin as a domino effect of Kyle Busch’s aggressive driving forced him to retire early in the race. However, McDowell is not letting this stroke of bad luck affect his morale as he aims to make his way to the Championship Four.  

While McDowell claimed that he and his team are not panicking, he admitted that he has to have top-ten or top-five finishes in the next two weeks. McDowell said that they have their work cut out for them, but the task is not unachievable. He also noted that his No:34 Ford Mustang has had commendable speed all year round; the team needs to work on some finer details to get results.

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“We’ve had speed all year; it’s just putting it all together and we’ll probably need a little bit of misfortune from other competitors. …I’m definitely bummed how it started for us, but it’s definitely not over. We’ve still got a lot to get done, and I think we can still accomplish it,” said McDowell, as reported by the Racer.

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Michael McDowell opens up about his thoughts ahead of the second Playoffs race in Kansas

Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell (Credits: NASCAR.com)

Michael McDowell is in a troubling situation regarding his advancement to the round of 12 in the postseason of the NASCAR Cup Series. After his five-point DNF at Darlington, he is currently last in the Playoffs standings, which makes the race at Kansas crucial for him. Ahead of the race, McDowell has opened up about how he feels going into the race without an upper hand.

McDowell admitted that he was not fully confident going into the race. However, the internal developments at Front Row Motorsports make McDowell a little optimistic. He drew on his last race in Kansas, saying that those positive results also made him a little bit confident about the race on Sunday.

“It’s a little bit of a mixed bag. We feel confident going to Kansas just based off the development that we’ve had internally at Front Row… We’re hopeful with all the things we’ve done over the last few months to improve our program,” said McDowell.

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