Shift In Sonoma Strategy Lifts McDowell Back To Fourth

Michael McDowell in action at Sonoma Raceway. (John Harrelson/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

SONOMA, Calif. – Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell used a late-race caution to score a top-five finish in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

McDowell’s No. 71 Gainbridge Chevrolet went off strategy late in a bid to stay towards the front of the field, largely because the Phoenix, Ariz. native didn’t have the pace on the slick 1.99-mile road course.

The strategy by crew chief Travis Peterson to stay out on older tires longer during the final stage moved the veteran driver into the lead during green flag pit stops.

But that was short-lived, as eventual race winner Shane van Gisbergen quickly recaptured the lead; the Trackhouse Racing driver made the pass in turn seven with 20 laps to go.

The 40-year-old started to plummet down the running order, behind Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell; Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, and others.

The slip down the running order ended when Rick Ware Racing’s Cody Ware had a right rear wheel detach after making a pit stop with 15 laps remaining in the race.

Under the ensuing caution McDowell pitted along with Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott to finally get fresh rubber onboard his car.

The duo restarted 14th and 15th, but their progress was hindered by two quick cautions for accidents, one that involved Front Row Motorsports’ Noah Gragson and the final caution involving Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

“We needed a little bit more pace out of our No. 71 Gainbridge Chevrolet,” McDowell admitted. “We had Project Zin on the car today, which was really cool. Qualifying really hurt us. I think we had decent pace, but we weren’t fast enough to get around the good cars.

“We got off strategy there, and that didn’t work. Thankfully, we caught a caution and we were able to put new tires on our Chevrolet and fight our way back.”

The potential of an 11-lap run to the finish on fresh tires was ultimately reduced to just four laps. McDowell made the best of those four laps, climbing from outside the top 10 to fourth, following Elliott through the field.

Lacking pace and laps, the two-time Cup Series winner settled for taking the checkered flag in fourth.

“We salvaged a top-five day, but that’s not what we need,” McDowell said. “We all know what we need to do, and we just weren’t quite good enough to do it today. But this is part of the process. You have good weeks and bad weeks. Last weekend (at Chicago), we had a car that could win. Today, we were a little off. We’ll keep building on it.”

The top-five finish moved McDowell up from 23rd to 19th in points. However, he is still 70 points, more than a full race, below the playoff cutline, with the final spot currently being held by 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace.

With six races remaining in the regular season, McDowell would need to gain more than 11 points a race on the cutline to make the field on points.

Just one driver has made the playoffs on points with fewer than 450 points 20 races into the season in the current format, Wallace in 2023, meaning that only a win can truly guarantee the veteran a playoff berth.

Next for McDowell and the rest of the Cup Series field is the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 20. In 24 starts at ‘The Monster Mile,’ his best finish is 17th in 2022, the first race at the track for the Next Gen car.

Broadcast coverage for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover is scheduled for Sunday, July 20 at 2 p.m. ET, live on TNT, the Performance Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.