Michael McDowell is a pole miser as of late, incomes his sixth pole of the 2024 season at Talladega Superspeedway — a class the place he leads all drivers up to now this yr. It is a great feat for a driver who failed earn a single pole within the first 15 years of his Cup profession.
There isn’t any cause to suppose the success will cease as soon as the inexperienced flag flies for the 500-mile occasion. McDowell is a extremely succesful superspeedway racer and the winner of the 2021 Daytona 500. Earlier this yr, he was mere seconds from successful at Talladega earlier than an aggressive block ended with him spinning into the surface wall.
Michael McDowell, Entrance Row Motorsports, Love’s Journey Stops Ford Mustang wrecks and Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Jordan Model Toyota Camry
Picture by: Nigel Kinrade / NKP / Motorsport Photographs
“After the spring race, I performed it in my head quite a bit,” admitted McDowell. “Simply since you’re at all times attempting to study and examine and determine, ‘OK, what went proper and what went fallacious? How would you course of it completely different? How would you make the strikes completely different?’ It’s extra analytical than simply, ‘Oh, don’t make the final block.’ It’s how do you do all of the issues you might want to do and nonetheless win the race. And you then form of simply lock in and get targeted and you progress on.
“You progress on fairly rapidly in our sport. You need to study to do this as a result of if not, subsequent week is right here and you may get in your head and anytime that occurs you may lose momentum, good or dangerous, so that you attempt to transfer on rapidly,” he stated.
“I do not need to see” replays of Talladega loss
As NASCAR’s return to Talladega approached, replays of the dramatic end that ended with McDowell within the wall, Corey LaJoie on his lid and Tyler Reddick in Victory Lane are popping up throughout social media. The Entrance Row Motorsports driver has purposely prevented these clips as he does not need to dwell on it.
“As this race got here up and is arising, you see all of it on social media – the final lap,” defined McDowell. “Each time I simply received’t even let it get to the wreck. I cease it. I simply scroll up or scroll left or proper. I don’t know what you name it, but it surely’s as a result of I don’t need to see it. The explanation I don’t need to see it’s it’s laborious. That was my shot to make the playoffs. That was our shot to get a win and it slipped out of our fingers, however the cause I don’t need to watch it and the rationale why I don’t replicate on it’s as a result of I’m staying on this second.
Pole sitter Michael McDowell, Entrance Row Motorsports, Love’s Journey Stops Ford Mustang
Picture by: Rusty Jarrett / NKP / Motorsport Photographs
“Tomorrow is a brand new day, a brand new alternative and we’ll have a shot of successful the race. I’m gonna take into consideration the issues I have to do to win the race tomorrow and take a look at to not fixate an excessive amount of on what occurred final time. You study from it and also you undoubtedly, like I stated proper after, I studied it laborious for hours and found out a sport plan of what I’d do completely different, and so we type of have that locked in and attempt to transfer on,” he stated.
Playoff spoiler as an outgoing FRM driver
McDowell misplaced his shot to make the playoffs, however now he has the chance to do one thing else — disrupt the playoffs. Chris Buescher did it together with his victory at Watkins Glen and Ross Chastain simply denied William Byron computerized development together with his Kansas win.
It could be additional particular for the motive force of the No. 34 as his time with FRM nears its finish as he plans to maneuver over to Spire Motorsports for 2025.
“It could imply the world,” stated McDowell when requested about successful another time with this crew. “I feel you guys have seen it in a few of desperation this season of strikes that I usually wouldn’t make simply attempting to get that win as a result of it’s my final season at Entrance Row Motorsports. I owe a lot to Bob Jenkins for taking my profession from barely hanging on for expensive life to successful races and successful poles and contending. The whole lot within me and this 34 crew, we need to get a win earlier than the top of the yr and we have now nice alternatives to do this. At present was the primary win that we would have liked to get the pole and tomorrow we’ll go on the market and attempt to get that checkered flag.”
Solely 5 drivers within the area have extra Cup begins than McDowell at Talladega, and he ought to be excessive on anybody’s record when extra non-playoff drivers that may swoop in and steal the checkered flag on Sunday.
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