Cup Car Testing

I got to spend some much needed time back in the race car this week. The MWR team headed up to Caraway Speedway in NC for some testing. I have never been to Caraway before but it is a really nice short track. The track is just under a .5 mile with some decent banking. The test consisted of brake and front end geometry tests. We made a ton of laps over 750 laps in a 2 day period it was awesome. I love running on short tracks it is great because you are always up on the wheel. I got to work with my new crew and they are a great group. I am really excited about next season, I just wish it was here now. I thought I would just put up a quick blurb about testing so everyone would know I am not sitting at home watching the calendar. This is pretty much it for us testing wise until Jan 1. Have a great week and make sure you check in next week for some Christmas Cheer on mmcdowell.com




Thanks

Michael McDowell

What A Great Year

Wow! What an awesome season. My first year in Stock Cars was just unbelievable. I really can't thank all my guys on the #2 Eddie Sharp Racing team for giving me their absolute best effort. Pat, Rocky, Ryan, Rocket, Wes, and Chuck slaved over that race car all year. It was such a fun time for all of us.

There are so many people that are apart of this program that it is really hard to mention everyone but I will try, Mike Hull from Chip Ganassi racing put me in touch with Lorin Rainer. He is the man responsible for introducing me to Eddie in 2006 and he made sure Eddie and I had all the equipment we needed to win races. Eddie Sharp of course gave me everything he had and when he didn't have it he bought it no questions asked. Not only is Eddie my partner, mentor and friend but he is family now. That holds true with Patrick as well, he and I hit it off right from the beginning. Okay that is a lie he told me to stop pestering him and leave him a lone so he could think but he got over that. In all seriousness Pat and I are like brothers. We think a like, we act a like and we share the same passion for winning. This is what it takes a driver and a Crew Chief that have nothing blocking there vision of winning. We did a lot of crazy things this year together things I won't list but I had the time of my life.

Without all our Great sponsors, Z-Line Design, Mission Residential, Hill Crest Capital Management, Lotame, Beck Dodge, and the Make A Wish Foundation we couldn't have done this. Everyone knows it takes a lot of money to race and to race for a Championship is a huge finical commitment.

Rob Finlay is a man some of you know and some of you don't know. He is solely responsible for my career not only in ARCA but The Rolex Sports Car Series, Grand Am Cup and Champ Car. He believed in me and took a chance in me that nobody would have. Not only did he groom me into a professional race car driver, he also gave me a huge amount of knowledge about life and business. I am forever indebted to him.

To all my friends and Family thank you for all your support. I feel very blessed to have all these great people in my life and I know that God has big plans for me in the future.

Thanks


Michael McDowell

Phoenix Fun

Jami and I had a great time in Phoenix. Got to spend time with all of our family and enjoyed being there for my cousin's wedding. We stayed with Steve and Kris Jami's Step Dad and Mom's house this time. They really took care of us it was like staying in a hotel. Steve and I went out to the shooting range and I shot some high power rifles for the first time. We shot a AK-47, AR-15, HK, and a Glock 40 handgun. That was a lot of fun and I was a decent shot. The weather was a little shaky with rain most of Friday and Saturday but when it wasn't raining it was awesome. We hung out with our friend Brian and he taught us how to play Guitar Hero. I never thought I would get into it but I did after about ten minutes, I was in the Rock star mode. I took a trip out to Bondurant which is always great to catch up with everyone. Steve and I went out for some HOTLAPS in a new Vette. Those Vettes are amazing. We also got to hangout with my childhood friend TJ and his fiance Abby. She is really not his fiance but he better hurry up with that. We went to the Japanese Steakhouse which is always a good time. My cousin's wedding is why we came home and it was a great time. Other than the rain everything went awesome. Valerie is his new wife and is a perfect addition to our family, they are really great together. We love our family but we love being home in NC. It will be nice to just hang out for a little bit.

Thanks

Michael

Family and Food

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Jami and I had a great time with our Grandparents that came in from Cottonwood, AZ. We ate a lot of food and had a great time. We got our house all decked out in Christmas decorations and even made a gingerbread replica of our house. Took a short trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC and froze our butts off. We also hit up the drive thru Zoo in Mooresville which is always a good time. It is always great to have family around and it is always fun to show family the MWR Shop. It really gives them insight on how much goes into racing and how lucky I am to be a part of this great sport. We are off to Phoenix now for my cousin Jason's wedding and to see the rest of my family that we missed at Thanksgiving.

Keep Bloggin

Michael McDowell

Tough Break

We had a really great run going at Homestead before we broke the transmission. We weren't the fastest out there but we stayed out of trouble and stayed on the lead lap. With some great strategy we were setup for a top 10 finish. All in all I had an awesome experience running in the Busch Series and it was great to cap off our awesome ARCA season with solid runs in the Busch car. I am really excited about my future with Michael Waltrip Racing and all the great things they have in store for me in 2008. Next up is some off season testing and the Holidays. Have a great Thanksgiving and thanks for all the support this season. I will try to update as often as possible.


Michael McDowell

Miami

Well, this is the last race of the season for McD. He felt like he did pretty good in practice yesterday at Homestead (was aired on Speed Channel). Qualifying is @12:30 eastern and will be aired on Speed followed by the race @4:30 eastern on ESPN2. We'll all be watching you Michael!! Good luck !!

First Top 15

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the support. It was great seeing my friends and family in Phoenix. Even though I did not have much time to visit it was really awesome the support I recieved. We also had a great run in the #00 Aarons, Best Western, Toyota Camry. We started the day off a little slow but we were strong in the end and finished up 14th. Hopefully we can take this momentum to Homestead and get a Top-5. Everyone at MWR has worked their butts off to pull off these last 4 races and I am extremely grateful for that. I also signed my deal last week for next season so I am all set for 2008. I will be racing the #00 in the Sprint Cup Series and I hope that we can make an official announcment with all the details soon. For right now we need to get approved by Nascar then we will be all set. With our last 2 runs I believe getting approved should be no problem.


Thanks

Michael McDowell

Preparing for PIR

Hey, McD Fans!
I hope everyone has their tickets for the Busch race on Saturday, November 10, 2007. Michael is looking forward to seeing all of his family, friends and fans. He and Jami will be flying in on Thursday, November8 and will be at PIR most of the weekend. If you can't make it be sure to watch Saturday on ESPN2. We're all supporting you, Michael.

MWR #00 Napa Auto Parts Busch Debut

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I have been extremely busy putting everything together with MWR. I will be running the rest of the Busch races for MWR in the #00 in preparation for 2008. My next race is coming up this weekend at Texas Motorspeedway. I am really excited about making my Busch debut, I would have liked to have done it in Phoenix but I will take all the races I can get. I will however be racing PIR the following week. I hope we can make our 2008 official announcement in Phoenix. I will finish out the season in Homestead, Miami. There will be a ton of COT testing in the off season for me as well. I am here in Atlanta with the team testing the COT unfortunately NASCAR hasn't approved me to participate in these types of test. Thanks for all the support.

Michael McDowell

Let's all watch the #00 this weekend. Qualifying will be telecast on Friday, Nov. 2 @ 3:30 pm(az.time) on Speed Channel. The race will be aired live on Saturday, Nov. 3 on ESPN2 @ 12:30 pm(az. time) . Thanks to all the fans for your support!

Kris Horne

Trucks in Virginia

Hey you guys, I've been talking to Michael an he's soooo excited to be racing for Michael Waltrip Racing. He's on his way to Virginia with Sparco now. His wife Jami is here in Phoenix for her brother's wedding. They both feel bittersweet about the race. They love traveling together to all the races however they can't be together for the Craftsman Truck Series race but her heart is with him and his with her. Michael feels good about being able to qualify and get in this race. Watch for him this Saturday, October 19 @ 3:00 eastern on the Speed Channel. We're all with you Michael. We would love to hear feedback from all you fans!!!

Big Plans! Martinsville Watch Out

After a awesome Toledo weekend I now get to start getting prepared for 2008. I will do so by driving for Michael Waltrip Racing for the remainder of the 2007 season in both the Craftsman Trucks Series and the Busch Series. My first race is this weekend at Martinsville in the Napa Auto Parts #17 Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Craftsman Truck. I will also run the truck at Texas. Then I will be making my Busch debut in Phoenix at PIR. I will be able to make a formal announcement on our 08 plans but not just yet. However I did get an opportunity to drive a MWR Car of Tomorrow yesterday it went great.

More News to Come

9th Pole at Toledo

Car was awesome today. It is great to get the pole in our last event. Now we will go get that 4th race win.

Toledo

Just wanted to throw a quick note up before Toledo. I am really excited about this weekend. Our Short Track program has been awesome this season but with some bad luck we have not taken a win home yet. We are bringing my favorite car #407 this car has sat on the pole 5 times and has led over 300 laps. I would love to end this year with a bang. I can't Thank my team enough Eddie, Patrick, Rocky, Chuck, Wes, Ryan, Rocket, Todd and all the people that stay back at the shop, Terri, Joe, Tinman. This has been the best year of racing for me so far in my career and I can't thank these people enough for their tremendous effort.

#2 Championship hopes Smashed

Well I am sure most of you saw the race yesterday. It is a real shame that it ended that way but that is why it is called racing. We had a decent car we had a few mishaps on pit road but other then that the #2 Lotame, Z-Line Design, Dodge was really good. We moved around a bunch trying to find a line that worked with our car but we ended up moving back and forth in the field a lot. We couldn't quite get the the outside line to move enough and too many guys aborted on us. At the end I got hit from behind by the #31 he was trying to bump draft but wasn't lined up bumper to bumper which pushed the rear bumper into the left rear tire causing a blow out. When the tire went I knew it was going to be big and also knew there was going to be some others coming with me it is just the nature of Talladega. Luckily no one got hurt just some tore up race cars. Off to Toledo where we know we will be challenging for the win and not worring about the points. I can't wait for Frank and I to battle it out.

Dega Qualifying P.11

The #2 Lotame boys did an awesome job yesterday. The new Lotame paint scheme looks fantastic. Practice did not start out so well. We didn't quite have the speed we needed. Patrick and the boys kept their heads down and found us some speed before qualifying. We did a little drafting yesterday and our car was pretty good. I know we will get it to where it needs to be in happy hour for the race. There are a lot of great teams and drivers here. It is going to be an excititng race.

McD Pre Game

My Dad "Bill" and a family friend George came to Charlotte this week. We got a chance to tour the shops and I was able to get us in for some really in depth tours of the MWR and Ganassi Racing facilities. It was nice to be able to show them around town and take them through some really awesome Nextle Cup shops. We also spent some time at ESR and were able to slide George in my race car. We only had a few days but we got a lot done including some wake boarding. I thought I would hit the water a little before Talladega. I am really looking forward to this weekend the #2 boys have put some enormous effort and time into these last two races. I hope we can get our 4th win of the year and close up that points gap



Michael McDowell

Talladega Testing

Well Talladega testing did not go so hot. The good news is that we know what we need to work on this week and we will get it right for the race. It is so tough to really ever tell where you are speed wise because everyone always has different agendas at a terst. We do know we need to get better so we will make it better. Qualifying in Talladega will probably not be the highlight of our season but we know we have a car that is really great in the draft. This is the same car we brought home to a 5th place finish last year.

Wish me luck


Thanks


Michael McDowell

A Little Rest

This weekend was great. Jami and I have not had a weekend off in 8 weeks so it was really nice to hang out with our friends. We didn't really do anything too exciting just watched a bunch of races, had some friends over and went to the lake. Tomorrow is back to the office with a test scheduled for Talladega on Tuesday. Me and the boys from ESR are driving down from Charlotte and that should be a lot of fun. I will post some testing result when I get back. There will be a lot of great drivers down at the test such as; Franchitti, Villeneuve, Kimmel, Speed, Ragan, Braun, Cassill, and Clauson. Stay tuned


Michael McDowell

2008 Plans Coming Soon!

Hello everyone! Thanks for all the support this season and joining our newly created blog. It has been an awesome year and I can't wait to tell everyone what we have going on for 2008. I will be able to make an announcement hopefully by the end of October at the latest. We will definitely be entering into NASCAR in what Series it remains to be seen. But my gut feeling is you will get to see the McD in HD 'High Def TV' it is going to be awesome. I will make sure everyone knows as soon as I do.


Keep Bloggin


Michael McDowell

3rd Place in Salem, September 15, 2007

I told you I was going to the race and what an awesome race! Although the car wasn't in perfect condition (like McD likes it), he drove like he always does and got a podium win coming in 3rd. Can't wait to see what McD does in Talladega on October 5. I'll be watching on Speed channel @5:oo p.m. Eastern. Stay tuned to hear from Michael in the near future on this site.
draft

Chicagoland Win!!

Who saw that awesome race yesterday? McD does it again. 3rd win in the Arca/Remax Series. This puts him -145 in points. It will be difficult to win the series but after talking to Michael, his goal is to win the next 2 out of 3. That's a pretty positive goal and I think he'll do it. Salem comes up quick next weekend (9/15) and I'll be there!!

DuQuoin Recap

Big Wreck Hurts The Points


The No. 2 Z-Line Designs / Make-A-Wish / Beck Dodge drew a late qualifying spot and clicked off a lap of 35.481 on a slick dirt track, good enough the sixteenth starting position. Adjustments were made to McDowell’s Dodge, hoping to prepare for a late-race charge but on lap 57, a blown left rear tire sent McDowell driver’s side-first into the outside wall. The hard hit ended McDowell’s day, resulting in a 36th place finish.


“This was more challenging than Springfield. The car finally came to me but the tire went down and that was that,” said a shook-up McDowell. Despite the vicious hit, McDowell only came away with some soreness from the incident.“It was quite a pop (with the wall), but I’m fine. When we hit the wall, we took a hit in the standings too. It was a strange day for us here. The good news is that we have tracks coming up like Salem and Toledo which we’ve proven we’re fast at. Chicago this coming weekend will be a strong race for us.”

McDOWELL GRABS THIRD AT GATEWAY

Seventh podium finish of season closes points gap in the championship. Only 40 points out of 1st McD looks to close the gap further in Du Quoin.

McD Comes in 4th @ Milwaukee!

Wow, what a race. McD really knows how entertain us. Still only -95 points behind 1st in series.

Springfield Race

Wow! Congratulations Michael! Started in 2nd and kept it going to the end! Awesome!
Can't wait til Milwaukee, Sunday the 26th live @ 1 p.m. eastern. xoxox We'll all be watching.

McD Fans!!!!

Hey, All McD Fans!

My name is Kris Horne and I am the President of Michael McDowell's official Fan Club!! I am so excited to chat with and meet all of his fans! I am also Michael's mother-in-law so I've got all the scoop on his personal life. I will be sharing pictures of his family along with any activities he's doing. Michael is always up to something so we'll have lots to share and chat with you all about! Also, you can share your stories about the Arca/Remax races you attend and your meetings with Michael.

Sign in now and automatically get your free newsletter sent to you! Don't forget your McD Merchandise is now for sale at http://www.mmcdowell.com/store.html

This is an official Michael McDowell Fan Club Website. You will hear from Michael frequently and also be able to talk to other fans. You will be informed of where Michael will be and when he will be in your town.

I'm looking forward to meeting some of you and sharing comments on the Arca/Remax No. 2 ZLine, Eddie Sharp, Make a Wish car that Michael McDowell is racing this season.

"Michael McDowell Fans.......Start your computers!!!!!"

Welcome!

Welcome to the new Michael McDowell Fan Blog! This is the place for personal news on appearances and the latest updates on racer Michael McDowell.

But that's not all! This your place to comment on the races and send messages to Michael and the rest of the growing community of McD fans. Michael will be checking in often and adding his perspective and responses.

To add your two cents to any post, just click on the title of the post (in this case that would be "Welcome!") and then hit "Post a Comment" at the bottom of the comments.

Let's go racing!