McDowell Looks to Recapture Vegas Speed

​McDowell on Las Vegas"It will definitely be a different kind of weekend in Vegas this time. It will be over 100 degrees. We usually just go in February or March when it's still winter and a nice and cool 75 degrees. But it’s going to be totally different in September. It’s definitely going to change. That track’s so fast and has so much grip. But we’ve seen it widen out a lot, and with that heat it’s going to be a really wide racetrack. I think it could be a great race.

"I’m really looking forward to going back. That was a really strong weekend for us the first time this year. We qualified in the top 20 and raced in the top 15, led 10 or 12 laps, and then we had an engine failure. That was probably our best race to date. So, I’m excited to go back to Vegas. A lot has changed, a lot of development. And now we have Speedco and Rotella on our No. 34 Ford, so we have new partners that we'll want to show off running up front.

“I think it’s good to change our schedule. I know people don’t love it because we get into a habit. But I feel like mixing up events is good, and Vegas always draws a big crowd, and it will be interesting to see what happens when we go there twice.”

McDowell Las Vegas Stats
9 starts
Best finish: 18th 

Meet Michael
Saturday, Sept. 15, 3pm - Love's Travel Stops (12501 Apex Great Basin Way, North Las Vegas)

Sunday, Sept. 16, 9am - Ford Performance Display (Las Vegas Motor Speedway Fan Zone)