NASCAR top-tier ride: Making the case for Michael McDowell

By Asher Fair | Sep 4, 2017

BROOKLYN, MI - AUGUST 12: Michael McDowell, driver of the #95 WRL General Contractors Chevrolet, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 12, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

There are several NASCAR Cup Series drivers who deserve better rides. Michael McDowell is one of them. Will he ever get a ride with a top-tier team?

Michael McDowell, 32, has driven for a tons of teams in his NASCAR Cup Series career. However, in his nine previous seasons in the sport, he has never driven a full season, although that appears as though it will change this season, as he hasn’t missed any of the 25 races already contested in 2017.

In 2008, McDowell drove and finished a bunch of races for Michael Waltrip Racing before driving for Prism Motorsports and Tommy Baldwin Racing the following season and failing to finish a single race in eight attempts. In 2010, he also drove for Prism Motorsports in addition to Whitney Motorsports, and he only finished one of the 24 races he contested that season.

In 2011, McDowell finished just two of the 31 races he drove for HP Racing, but he did finish the one race he drove in relief of Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing. The following season, he drove for Phil Parsons Racing and finished just five of the 30 races he contested.

In 2013, McDowell’s failure to finish races continued when he drove for Phil Parsons Racing, Front Row Motorsports and Phoenix Racing. He finished a total of just seven of the 33 races he contested that season. However, he did secure his first career top 10 finish with a 9th place finish at the Daytona 500 driving for Phil Parsons Racing.

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Before 2013, McDowell’s career-high finish in five Cup Series season was only a 20th place effort back in 2008. So while his failure to finish races continued into 2013, he finally secured himself a decent finish with that 9th place result.

In 2014, McDowell finally got himself a ride with the team he still drives for today, and that team is Leavine Family Racing, where he has not had any real issues finishing races on a regular basis. He recently recorded his career-high Cup Series finish at Daytona with a 4th place effort.

McDowell has four other top 10 finishes in his 238 career Cup Series races, three of which coming since he began driving for his current team. However, the only top 10 finish that he has had this season is that 4th place finish at Daytona.

Also, so far this season, no driver has completed more laps and more miles than McDowell has. He currently sits in 26th place in the championship standings with a top finish of 4th place. Both of those statistics are actually better than one driver who drives for a top-tier team, and that is Danica Patrick, who sits in 28th with a top finish of 10th driving for Stewart-Haas Racing.

Now that McDowell has a car that he can actually finish races with, he hasn’t been a bad driver at all, and these numbers illustrate that. He has been through a lot so far in his Cup Series career, and he deserves a chance to drive for a top-tier organization at some point.

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Do you believe Michael McDowell deserves a Cup Series ride with a top-tier organization? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it. Also be sure to follow Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter.