“I Lost My Lead Engineer to Penske” – Michael McDowell Reveals How Billionaire Roger Penske Brought Him the Win

Every sport comes across a captivating underdog story- the David vs. Goliath, the underdog vs. the poster boy kind of storyline and NASCAR just has its Cinderella story last day at Indy. Sitting outside the playoff cutline were two drivers, one raised tailor-made by a legendary champion and the other etching his name through sheer effort and grind alone.

Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell put on a clinical display last night racking up his 2nd career win at the grandest of all stages, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Despite the odds stacking up against him, the #34 Ford driver outclassed NASCAR’s golden boy, Chase Elliott, successfully fending off his attack to earn a dominating finish as he cemented his playoff berth in stellar fashion.

Speaking to the media following his impressive win, the driver got candid about his journey in Front Row Motorsports and got real about the spark Roger Penske left in the team that eventually turned into a roaring blaze as McDowell claimed another significant win at the crown jewel track.

Michael McDowell & FRM has the final laugh despite Roger Penske creating a void in the team

With this stellar win at Indy, McDowell now has two Cup Series wins at two of the most iconic venues of the sport – the Daytona 500 and Indy. While the thrilling victory not only boosts the team’s morality to bring out more, the #34 driver who was searching in the dark for a win speared his way into the playoff 16, edging out Chase Elliott who looked like he was going to close the gap.

However, the superior Ford and its talented driver prevailed after a tough one-on-one with the 2020 Cup Series champ in the closing laps. Reflecting on his first win this season, McDowell emphasized the importance of having a strong team as that played elemental to his win, subtly mentioning how Team Penske owner and millionaire Roger Penske reignited the flame to better themselves as a team.

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“You have to be able to do more than one thing. There’s a lot of crew chiefs in the Cup Series that are really good car guys, and there’s a lot of crew chiefs in the series that are really good engineers. We have to have both. We can’t have just one because we don’t have enough people,” said the driver.  

With his former crew chief, Blake Harris- the man that got McDowell his best career stat last year – plucked away to HMS camp along with his chief engineer stolen by Roger Penske, it was a proving ground for FRM and McDowell as he and his team got the final laugh, outpacing both the Penske Fords and HMS Chevy.

He said, “When I lost my lead engineer to Penske, I knew we had to have an engineer-minded crew chief because we just didn’t have two people to fill the spot. When I met with him after coming off of Blake, who was a car guy, very little engineering experience, I’m like, oh, this is the opposite of what I just had and had success, but this is what I need.” 

“You have to be a fighter” – McDowell reveals the never-day-die attitude at FRM

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When you are forged in the fire, you certainly won’t sweat under the sun. That seems to be the winning mantra at FRM as the Indy conqueror opens up in his post-race presser. The Ford once again reigned victorious as Front Row Motorsport’s #34 Mustang crossed the finish with flying colors outclassing the #9 HMS Chevy, bringing the all-American manufacturer their 3rd back-to-back win and putting a strong statement out there to all the doubters and nay-sayers.

Moreover, the win was itself a tight slap to all the easy-goers and privileged drivers in the schedule. Speaking to the media, the driver reiterated the importance of having a burning desire, the obsession to succeed in life, saying, “If you don’t have fire, you’ll never make it at Front Row Motorsports. You just won’t. You have to be a fighter, because it’s hard. You’ve got to do a lot more stuff than most of the people around you have to do, and you’ve got to put in more hours and you’ve got to be willing to do more with less.”

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Furthermore, the 38-year-old credited his crew chief, Travis Peterson, for the win. Reflecting on how Peterson’s unwavering spirit and the driver’s never-say-die attitude got the team out of the rut, even trumping the organization’s golden boy and the most winning team in the process.