“He Was an Intern”: NASCAR Insider Reveals Michael McDowell’s Secret Weapon

It was a dominant performance for sure on part of Michael McDowell’s part on Sunday. The Front Row Motorsports driver left no stone unturned to secure his position as the leader for Verizon 200. Apart from a minor hiccup on the pit road, the driver hardly broke a sweat to achieve his first victory of the season and secure a seat in the playoffs.

Although the driver surely deserves appreciation for not leaving room for a mistake, the #34 Ford team assuredly deserves applause for themselves for executing the strategies without faltering in any step. Moreover, the road to success at Indianapolis Motor Speedway would have hardly been a reality if not for the secret weapon of Michael McDowell. A weapon that the NASCAR insiders and veteran spotters acknowledge.

NASCAR insiders decode the reason behind the surprising success of Michael McDowell

When the race on Sunday finally came to a conclusion, hardly did it occur to anyone that it would be Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell, who would be the one parking his car in the victory lane. The driver was indomitable on the road track and seemed to be out of reach for drivers with the calibers of Chase Elliott. Nevertheless, with a win and a playoff position, the driver has been able to shut all his critics once and for all.

While the adulations come pouring in for the driver and his impeccable skills during the race navigating his way through all the corners, the other person who deserves similar credits and was perhaps the master puppeteer who pulled all the strings was McDowell’s crew, Travis Peterson. 

Peterson was instated as the crew chief of the No. 34 at the beginning of the 2023 season after Blake Harris left FRM to join as the crew chief of Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports. The resignation of Harris left a big void in the team and McDowell was on the hunt for an experienced candidate to fill in the spot.

However, it was Peterson who had urged for an opportunity and for a gamble from the driver. He had expressed, “Why, do guys keep hiring experienced crew chiefs instead of taking a risk on a guy who knows what his potential could be?” Well, the opportunity was offered and the gamble paid off on Sunday.

After displaying an invincible performance, NASCAR veteran spotter, Brett Griffin on the latest episode of Door Bumper Clear expressed, “The crew chief executed the strategy, and Michael executed it in the cock-pit and obviously, those guys were executing on the pit road.” 

Co-host Casey Boat asserted, “And a shoutout to the crew chief Peterson, because I remember he was an intern, he moved to North Carolina so his dad could be in motorsports and this was his first crew chief job.”

While Freddie Kraft jestingly added, “Shoutout to Travis for coming to my birthday party last night.”

Watch this Story: Chase Elliott Calls Out Hendrick Motorsports Revealing What Lost Him The Race

Jeff Burton shower praises for FRM and its driver Michael McDowell

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The win by Front Row Motorsports on Sunday had surely taken the NASCAR world by surprise and it also forced the world to reconsider and re-evaluate the notion of success and churning out a victory. Even NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton was forced to acknowledge the fact as he showered praises for FRM.

In an interview with Nate Ryan, Burton asserted, “Martin Truex is better today than he was 10 years ago. Michael McDowell is winning races when, as you know, a lot of people didn’t think he could because the equipment he was in wasn’t great. You start looking at how people’s careers go up and down and we take these snapshot views of well this guy is good or this guy is great or this guy is average and it’s these little snapshots.”

“We don’t really get to judge until the career is over and that’s where you know that’s where I give Front Row a lot of credit. They looked at Michael McDowell and they said I like that guy. Like that guy can get it done and they’ve stuck with him while they built this program and they could see.”

With that being said, it is to be seen how McDowell fares in the remaining races of the season, and whether he has a shot at winning a championship in the current season.

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