There’s a lot of good Michael McDowell plans to take with him into the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series season.
First off, the Front Row Motorsports driver picked up a victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course last August — his second triumph at NASCAR’s premier level.
Secondly, due to the Indianapolis triumph, McDowell locked into the playoffs for a second time in his 16-year Cup Series career. Third, it was his second-best season statistics wise, with one win, two top-five finishes and eight top 10s.
So, naturally, McDowell is riding the wave into 2024.
“I mean, the beginning of the year, everybody’s optimistic and ready to go, but I feel like we have legitimate reason to be optimistic about what we could potentially do this year,” McDowell said.
He agrees the No. 34 team missed an opportunity by being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs the last time around, but McDowell is adamant they collectively learned their lesson about not trying to overdo it.
“You don’t learn those things unless you’re in those situations,” McDowell said.
His 15th-place finish in the standings was a career best.
While the 38-year-old certainly wants more, he explained the taste of success last year was enough to cure some of the exhaustion that comes with the 36-race season and the never-ending grind associated with it.
“Even though I’ve been doing it a long time, it was tougher when the deals weren’t very good and it wasn’t competitive and you’re spending a lot of time away from home, not running well, not performing well and still working really hard at it just to stay in the sport,” McDowell said.
This season will mark McDowell’s seventh full-time campaign with Front Row Motorsports. His contract — announced last August — runs through the end of the coming season.
“The last few years, because we’ve been running well and it’s beginning to get better and better, it’s easier to stay motivated and stay in it because, that’s what I’ve waited for my whole career,” McDowell said. “It’s just taken me a long time to get where it’s good.”
He doesn’t plan to miss out on any more opportunities, which is why he’s been mentally preparing for the Feb. 4 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since Jan. 1.
“You’re like, ‘OK, get back into race mode,’” McDowell said. “Been getting prepared, going to the simulator at Ford Performance, training, doing all of that.”
While the Clash is a non-points event, McDowell is still anxious to start the season on the right foot.
“We feel good coming into this season with some momentum and confidence and a lot of the same people from last year,” McDowell said. “Things are good.”