McDowell Says ISM Raceway Changes Could Impact Finish

​McDowell on Phoenix"Nothing about Phoenix is a short track anymore. I’m just excited to go see what they’ve done there with all the renovations and all the effort that’s gone into revitalizing Phoenix. It’s such a great track, and it’s my hometown race. The fans there are incredible. We always have a huge turnout. We've got Luber-finer back with Love's for a second race, so we want to get them some attention at my home track.

"I’ve tried to wrap my head around the idea of not knowing where the start-finish line is. There’s so much muscle memory and rhythm and habits. The track’s probably still going to feel the same. I’ll probably still call it Turn 1. But the start-finish line being on the other side is going to change up restarts and finishes and overtime lines. But overall, you’re going to approach everything the same.

“It could make for a crazy finish coming out of that corner. And that’s why they did it, to create a little bit of drama. We’ve seen a lot of green-white-checkereds there in the past. You think about Ryan Newman and some other guys that have stolen some wins there by staying out. It’s a place where you can do that. You’ve just got to time everything just right."

McDowell Phoenix Stats
15 starts
Best finish: 22nd