Top Dog: Michael McDowell
If you’ve been paying attention to social media recently, you’ve likely come across the newest fad that turns back the clock a decade to 2016.
At the beginning of the year, NASCAR teams jumped in on the fun by posting pictures of what its drivers or team roster looked like that season.
A lot has transpired in the garage since 2016. Say that one fan hasn’t watched the sport in a decade and tuned back in to the present day. Many aspects of the landscape would appear unrecognizable in the form of the roster alone.
The “youth movement” drivers that were beginning to rise to the surface in 2016 are now entrenched as the gatekeepers of the sport, meaning, naturally, the faces of the sport then have mostly phased out.
Drivers such as Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch have suddenly entered the twilight of their careers.
Included in that group is the 41-year-old Michael McDowell, a journeyman who, in the blink of an eye, went from the survivor of a horrific crash at Texas Motor Speedway in 2018 to one of the most consistent drivers on track.
Perhaps the most apparent attribute that has emerged from McDowell over the years is his road racing ability. In Sunday’s DuraMax Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (March 1) for the NASCAR Cup Series, McDowell continued to remind the series of his skill on NASCAR’s lefts and rights with a top-five result.
The Big 6: Questions Answered After Tyler Reddick Makes NASCAR History at COTA
The Climb to the Top
Speed was evident in McDowell’s No. 71 off the truck when McDowell paced the field in practice before landing in sixth during qualifying.
From the drop of the green flag, McDowell held steady inside the top 10 while plenty of jostling occurred through the serpentine order of cars. As tire wear became a realistic concern through the first stage, it opened the door for strategy, prevalent for road course racing.
In their fourth year together, it didn’t take rocket science to guess what McDowell and crew chief Travis Peterson would do, as McDowell stayed out at the end of the stage to bank eight stage points.
After losing his track position to begin stage two, McDowell surged forward lap after lap, getting back to the doorstep of the top 10 before the Phoenix, Ariz., native swapped strategies and pitted before the end of the stage.
Restarting from sixth in the final stage, McDowell sustained a strong pace throughout the final run, staying fixed just outside the top five.
As strategies began to unravel with under 30 laps remaining, Peterson and McDowell pulled another rabbit out of the hat in the strategy game. While the leaders pitted, McDowell stayed on the race track in hopes of pitting and having a tire advantage on those around him to settle for a top 10.
However, those plans were foiled — moderately. A loose wheel took a vacation from Ross Chastain’s machine with 21 laps remaining and McDowell still sitting in the lead.
The negative was the fact that McDowell had to pit while several others opted to stay out, costing him the track position the team had figured on gaining. However, it did put him at the front of those on newer tires, and the veteran road ace put on a clinic to get back to the front.
With other drivers floundering on older tires, McDowell picked them off one by one to carve through the field, getting to fifth when the checkered flag flew.
“Overall, the No. 71 Katz Coffee Chevrolet was good,” McDowell said. “We didn’t need that last caution. We were running long there. I don’t know how the math would have worked out, but I think we would have had a good shot of having better tires over everyone else at the end, so that caution really hurt us. I think we restarted 12th or 13th, so to get back up into the top five is a solid day for this team. But we’re not looking for solid days, we’re looking for wins. It’s definitely a step in the right direction.”
While the charge came up short of a win, it did net McDowell a top five, his first at the Austin, Texas-based track. It is also McDowell’s fourth top five in the past six road course races, proving he’s a reliable choice to lean on when the circuit hits the track type.
Looking Ahead
You can take one look at McDowell’s demeanor entering tracks like COTA, and while the veteran is passionate about his craft each week, road courses hold extra incentive for the two-time Cup winner, which includes a win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course five.
Coming up short may not have done the trick for the No. 71 team, but the start to 2026 already holds more upside than it did in McDowell’s inaugural campaign with Spire Motorsports a year ago.
Last season, it took McDowell 16 races before he landed his first top five. Banking that statistic in the third race of the campaign contributes mightily to getting the ball rolling, and it currently has McDowell sitting inside the top 10 in points heading to his home track of Phoenix Raceway.
Top Dogs of the Lower Series
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: For any Star Wars fans, a new episode is developing among the underdogs titled “The Revenge of Brennan Poole.”
After returning to full-time competition in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with Alpha Prime Racing in 2024, Poole has consistently punched above his weight, culminating in his top 10s a year ago.
Enter 2026, and Poole is picking up righthe left off, evidenced by a top 10 at COTA.
The result was a quiet and rather unexpected one, as Poole struggled to crack the top 20 at points of the race.
On the final restart of the race, Poole’s No. 44 launched from 19th as the 34-year-old sought to hang on to a top 20. Yet, with assists from late-race chaos and fresher tires, Poole quickly sliced and diced his way to 10th, holding on to secure his first top 10 and launch the “Poole party” for APR.
Though the series has yet to visit what is considered a traditional track through three races, Poole’s solid start to the season has him sitting 12th in points above powerhouse organization Joe Gibbs Racing’s Taylor Gray and William Sawalich.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Labeling him as an underdog might be questionable, but considering Landen Lewis made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at St. Petersburg with a new-look Niece Motorsports, his performance has to be highlighted here.
The reigning CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car champion quickly impressed by qualifying eighth, but the surprises were just getting started.
In the series’ first street race, Lewis looked like a veteran at times, driving to third by the end of stage one.
As fans watched intently to see if the rookie would stumble, he remained solid as a rock, repeating his opening act with another third-place run in stage two.
Lewis wrinkled his fenders slightly in the final stage, but the prodigy of four-time Truck champion Ron Hornaday Jr. (who also helped spot for Lewis) passed every test he faced throughout the event, landing a top 10 in his debut.
The future is bright for the young talent, who will continue a part-time schedule for Niece this season.
Small Team Scheme of the Week
A fan-favorite sponsor from last year, Chili’s returned to Spire and Carson Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet, sporting a bold new look for the season. From purchasing a truck with a Dale Earnhardt Sr.-inspired livery on it to not being afraid to ruffle feathers on the track, there have been some (dare we say) comparisons to The Intimidator himself for Carson Hocevar. Switching from a white to black base this year, the new Chili’s look only increased those “comparisons,” as the scheme was appropriately dubbed “The Intimidente,” stemming from Chili’s campaign of “Ride the ‘Dente.”
