BRISTOL, Tenn. – It wasn’t a spin and win, but it’s still the top of the highlight reel.
Michael McDowell had finished 11th at the end of the Sunday night (April 9) Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race when the NASCAR Cup Series event when all was said and done. It’s another solid result for the Arizona native and for the underfunded Front Row Motorsports.
But in this case, their journey was way better than the destination.
In fact, with two mid-race 360s, it was really freaking cool.
McDowell and the No. 34 Ford team was running in the middle of the field during the 250-lap distance when he started getting sideways near the top lane’s slick surface. Too sideways in fact, even for a dirt track.
It sent the 2021 Daytona 500 Champion into a full 360-degree cyclone and spit up a cloud of dust into the field, sending some cars fleeing in various directions across the half-mile’s dirty surface.
But when the dust settled, everyone, including the FOX broadcast, found McDowell rightened out and going the correct direction again.
During his rotation, the Cup Series veteran racer quickly downshifted his car in response to the spin and hoped for the best.
The best is what he got. He had lost only four positions.
“Once I got around, I just downshifted, and I gassed it up and it spun back around,” McDowell told Frontstretch. “I only lost a couple of spots.
“I think the biggest thing was not locking it down. I just felt like nailing the gas, and it kind of got me straight again… It just worked out.”
The best part? He did it a second time.
Although, he’s not certain on how he did it.
“[As for] the next one, I’m not really sure,” McDowell continued. “I know I got hit. I had some contact, but same thing. I kind of figured out the first time what to do. So, as I was backwards, I downshift and gassed it up and kept going again.
“I mean, honestly, I think it was just lucky. The right spot at the right time because if you saw those cars, it could have gone either way real easy.”
As spectacular as it was to watch, however, the two donuts still cost the No. 34 some coveted track position; something that was valuable on that Easter Sunday. So, after getting his head literally straight, McDowell and his FRM crew knew it would likely take a gamble to get themselves near the front of the field again.
So, at the end of stage two, they stayed out.
“[We] obviously…
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