Darlington Pre-Race Report

McDowell on Darlington"Darlington throwback weekend is always neat. I’m not a history buff on the sport, so it’s really fun when people have the throwback schemes, and I go back and look and read the stories – the who’s, the why’s and the what’s. It’s been very educational for me. And Love's Travel Stops gets into it, too, with their throwback scheme going back to the look of their first travel stop. They opened their first location in 1981 in Amarillo, Texas, and the design of the fuel canopies and the building facade is replicated in this paint scheme.

"Darlington is such a cool racetrack. When you go there, it just feels like you take a step back in time. Even the camping. You don’t see a lot of big rigs there. You see a lot of tents and a lot of tailgating. It’s just a fun atmosphere.

"The racing is tough. Darlington has always been really tough. The first year I ran there in 2008 was right after the repave. And the track has changed so much since that repave. I never raced on the old surface, but people say it’s just like the old surface now. I was able to do a test there a few weeks ago. It’s just a great racetrack. Tires wear out, you’ve got to be disciplined, you’ve got to be smooth. And you’ve got to run right up against the wall, which is tough to do there."

McDowell Darlington stats
6 starts, 1 top-20
Best finish: 19th