Michael McDowell through the years

2007: After transitioning to stock car racing, Michael McDowell made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Texas Motor Speedway. McDowell finished 20th in his first start with Michael Waltrip Racing.

2008: NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett retired after the first five races of the 2008 Cup Series season, with David Reutimann moving over to the No. 44 to replace him. As a result, McDowell took over for Reutimann in the No. 00 for Michael Waltrip Racing. McDowell made his Cup Series debut at Martinsville Speedway, finishing in 26th place.

2008: During his qualifying run at Texas Motor Speedway, McDowell had a terrifying moment entering Turn 1. His No. 00 Toyota snapped around and crashed hard into the outside wall nose first. Then, he went through a series of barrel rolls before landing on all four wheels. Miraculously, McDowell climbed from his heavily damaged vehicle and walked away unscathed.

2011: McDowell won his first career national series pole for the Xfinity Series race at Road America. 

2011: In a one-off drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in the premier series, McDowell replaced Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Toyota at Texas Motor Speedway.

2013: McDowell earned his first career top-10 finish in the Cup Series. He took the No. 98 Phil Parsons Racing Ford to a ninth-place finish in the Daytona 500.

2013: McDowell won the pole for the inaugural Xfinity Series race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He ended up finishing runner-up to AJ Allmendinger.

2016: McDowell made the most of a one-off with Richard Childress Racing, winning his first career Xfinity Series race at Road America.

2016: For the first time in his Cup Series career, McDowell finished inside the top 10 at a non-superspeedway track. He got a 10th-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway for Leavine Family Racing to close out the 2016 season.

2017: The steady improvement continued at the premier level as McDowell earned his first top five in the Cup Series in the Daytona summer race. He also completed the most laps (10,446) of any driver during the 2017 season.

2021: In the biggest victory of his racing career, McDowell won the 63rd running of the Daytona 500. The triumph in the Great American Race gave the Front Row Motorsports driver his first appearance in the Cup Series Playoffs, finishing 16th in the final standings.

2023: McDowell was the class of the Cup Series field at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. He dominated the race en route to kissing the iconic bricks, leading 54 of 82 laps to punch his ticket to the 2023 playoffs.

2024: A series-leading six pole positions -- with a career-best 14.6 average start -- was just one focal point to McDowell's 2024 Cup campaign. The season additionally marked his last with Front Row Motorsports after it was announced in May he would transition to Spire Motorsports as pilot of the No. 71 Chevrolet beginning in 2025. McDowell concluded the 2024 season with two top fives, seven top 10s and a 23rd-place finish in the championship standings. 

2025: McDowell's first year with Spire Motorsports saw him score three top fives, six top 10s, two poles and finish 22nd in the final standings. Though he missed out on a trip to Victory Lane, McDowell showed his road-course prowess with some of his best performances coming at Mexico City and Sonoma.