Q&A with MICHAEL MCDOWELL

Veteran Looks To Build On Standout 2022 Performance

BY DUSTIN ALBINO

For years, Michael McDowell was eagerly awaiting NASCAR’s Next Gen race car. With his road course prowess and the Next Gen car driving similar to a sports car, McDowell believed it would be in his wheelhouse.

McDowell’s inkling proved to be correct in year one of the Next Gen era.

In his fifth full-time season driving the No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports, the Arizona native had his best Cup Series season. While he never got to spray champagne in Victory Lane like he did at the 2021 Daytona 500, McDowell set ablaze his previous records.

He tied his single-season high of two top-five finishes, and his 12 top-10 efforts shattered his previous benchmark of five (2021). His 67 laps led were more than the previous three seasons combined.

But for the third time in as many seasons, McDowell enters the year with a new crew chief. Blake Harris departed the No. 34 team for Hendrick Motorsports, and Travis Peterson joined Front Row during the offseason to fill his position. Previously, Peterson was the engineer on Chris Buescher’s No. 17 car at RFK Racing.

Despite the turnover, the 38-year-old McDowell believes the team can still accomplish great feats this season, and can win on multiple layouts.

COMING OFF A YEAR IN WHICH YOU SCORED 12 TOP-10 FINISHES AND HAD A CAREER HIGH IN LAPS LED, HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP THE 2022 SEASON?

Overall, it was a great year. I don’t want to say that it wasn’t. But without getting a win and without getting into the playoffs, it doesn’t feel like you achieved the goal. That’s always the goal is to win a race, and winning will typically get you into the playoffs. I’m really proud of the effort and the results that we did get and how much speed we brought to the race track. We put together a lot of quality races and a lot of top 10s.

It was our best season to date, minus getting a win and getting into the playoffs.

HOW MUCH DO YOU PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR STATISTICS?

I think statistics are important, because if you’re going to have goals, you have to be able to measure those goals. Stats are a great way of helping that, but stats don’t always tell the full story. It doesn’t tell you completely where you’re at, but it’s a good indication.

One of the goals for us last year going into the season was more top 10s than the year before. We were able to accomplish that. To run top 10, you’re going to have to be in that top 15 a lot. And in order to run inside the top five, you’re going to have to run in the top 10 a lot. And to win races, you’re going to have to run in the top five a lot. I know it sounds elementary, but the more that you run in the top 10, the more opportunities you’re going to have at top-five finishes. Now, I feel like our goal is more top-five results because that’s what is going to be the opportunity to win a race and that’s what it’s going to take.

LEADING UP TO THE 2022 SEASON, YOU THOUGHT IT HAD THE POTENTIAL TO BE A BREAKOUT SEASON BECAUSE OF THE NEXT GEN CAR. WHY WERE YOU SO CONFIDENT?

My confidence came from knowing that everybody was starting with the same bits and pieces, and nobody had had a full year to figure it out. I knew we had quality people at Front Row Motorsports, and I knew if we had equal equipment that we would be better than we were the previous years.

The real test is coming this year, in regards to how much development has happened with this car and whether the big teams have found that next step that some of the small teams haven’t. Last year, starting off fresh, by the time we got to the end of the season, I didn’t feel that we were in a deficit to the big teams. If that stays the same, then I think we can have a great year and challenge for wins.

YOU LOST BLAKE HARRIS TO HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS. HOW VITAL WAS HE IN MAKING THE NO. 34 TEAM A FREQUENT FRONTRUNNER?

I think Blake did an incredible job and was an asset for sure, but it’s not just one person that moves the needle that much. My car chief last year, Ryan Bergenty, he’s a big part of the success and the other 68 people at Front Row that put the cars together are all a part of it. I don’t feel like it’s one person, but Blake, in particular, did a great job and it was a great season. I don’t feel at a loss right now with where we’re at.

TRAVIS PETERSON JOINS FRM AFTER SPENDING THE LAST FIVE YEARS WITH RFK RACING. HOW WELL HAVE YOU GOTTEN TO KNOW HIM DURING THE OFFSEASON?

Well, over the offseason, everybody has 50 different agendas and trying to get things done. The biggest thing is, spending that time and getting to know each other. He’s fired up and ready to go. You can tell he has that burning desire to win and that’s three-quarters of what you need to be successful at it.

HOW MUCH INVOLVEMENT DID YOU HAVE IN SELECTING YOUR CREW CHIEF?

For the last few years, I’ve had a pretty big involvement in that. I’ve had the freedom to get whoever I felt like was going to be the best fit. That’s a group decision, but I feel like a large part of that.

WHAT ARE SOME REALISTIC GOALS ENTERING THE NEW YEAR?

Realistic goals are to get to Victory Lane and build on some of the success from last year, especially on the road courses. A big goal for me is to win one of the road courses. I felt like we were close at 75 percent of them last year, so if we can put it all together and have good pit stops and do everything we need to do, I think we can challenge for wins there.

Just keep the momentum up by running consistently near the front. Hopefully more top-five finishes than we had last year. That’s the big goal: top-five finishes and wins. We’re going to be working hard to see where we end up. It’s going to be a battle and we won’t really know until we get through the west coast swing of what we need to work on.

THIS IS YOUR SIXTH SEASON WITH FRONT ROW. AT THIS POINT IN YOUR CAREER, WHAT MORE WOULD YOU HAVE TO ACCOMPLISH?

I feel like every year you’re pushing to be a little bit better, and I don’t feel like I have to accomplish anything to feel like I’ve done my job here. But I don’t feel like we’re finished yet. I want to be able to consistently challenge for wins, and not just at superspeedways where I felt like last year we did. I don’t think we’re done here and there’s still a lot of room for growth. I don’t feel like we’ve hit our plateau or our cap. There’s still a lot for us to do.

HOW DOES THE RECENT SUCCESS OF TEAMMATES ZANE SMITH AND TODD GILLILAND IMPACT YOU?

Them being successful is important for me to be successful with the morale in the shop. The truck program was huge for that last year. It was great with Zane running well last year. I don’t really worry about that. The best way to say it is, I haven’t had a teammate beat me yet and I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon. So I’m not too worried about my job status.

DO YOU ASPIRE TO EVENTUALLY DRIVE FOR A BIGGER TEAM?

Yes and no. I want to win races and win championships. If we can do that here, then that would be ideal. I feel like we’re building and growing, and I feel like I’m a part of that. I have a lot of freedom in going to find the guys I want to find and doing the things I want to do. I don’t feel limited here. At the same time, if the opportunity arose and I was able to get into a championship caliber program, it would be hard not to look at it. There’s so much that has to happen for all of those things to come together. I just try to stay in the moment and focus on my job and do it well and let everything else take care of itself.