“It Was Stinking Intense”: Michael McDowell Details Effect of Playoffs Desperation on Exhilarating Atlanta Finish

The fireworks of urgency have started to appear. The race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway was the perfect example of that. The nail-biting battle between Michael McDowell, Daniel Suarez, and AJ Allmendinger for better track position was proof of the playoff race getting more intense.

Speaking in a post-race press conference, McDowell spilled the beans on the desperation among the drivers lately. As the playoffs inching closer with every race, there’s a slim ray of hope for some. Although winning a race can automatically seal a spot in the playoffs, it won’t be easy.

We’re in the game- McDowell on his intense battle for the podium

The Front Row Motorsports driver finished fourth in Atlanta. But he could have finished in second place if not for AJ and Suarez. Winless drivers like the trio will aim for a win before the playoffs to book a spot in the top-16. Suarez, who emerged as the winner in the encounter, now moves to 15th.

With the cloudy conditions affecting the conditions of the race, McDowell explained his position before the caution flags came out, saying “I think he had so much momentum that he was going to get to my inside or my outside either way.”

Disclosing more about his battle with AJ, he said,

Further, he added that his performance till that point of the race gave him the confidence to keep pushing. With William Byron and Daniel Suarez pushing for the win, he described his emotions saying, “So we were building that momentum back up. I felt like my car still had speed and drove well and I thought we’d have a shot at especially as hard as #24 and #99 we’re racing. So yeah, it was close, you know, what it should have could have but we’re in the fight, we’re in the game, we just got to keep fighting hard.”

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“It was elbows out”: Michael McDowell speaks out on the effect of playoff deadline on drivers

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Suarez and McDowell are tied in points but Suarez has one more top-5 finish than the #34 driver. The Trackhouse Racing driver has 407 points and two top 5s this season and he sits at 15th place. With playoffs closing in, the 39 points at Atlanta helped his cause a lot.

Talking about the precarious situation around their qualification, McDowell said, “I don’t know if you guys have ever raced against AJ and Daniel, but it’s intense no matter what. Then you put three guys that haven’t won a race (this year) and need to get into the playoffs and you know rain is coming, it was stinking intense. It was elbows out, for sure.“

Talking about his regrets from the conclusion of their on-track battle, he says, “Man, I just wish I could have held them off. We all know what we’re all fighting for. We were really close to it.”

Another one of the benefiters of the race is the third-placed driver Allmendinger who trails Michael McDowell by just 13 points for the last playoff spot. Bubba Wallace and Ty Gibbs, the two drivers who occupied the last two spots available for playoffs, fell out due to finishing 25th and 34th respectively. With only seven races remaining till the beginning of the playoffs, the hunger has began to show up on the asphalt as well.

Chase Elliott would probably be the right person to ask, with his increased attention towards this issue and toward winning a race.

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