
Michael McDowell through the years
1 of 13

Todd Warshaw | Getty Images
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.
2 of 13

Chris Trotman | Getty Images
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.
3 of 13

John Harrelson | Getty Images
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.
4 of 13

Jonathan Daniel | Getty Images
2011: McDowell won his first career national series pole for the Xfinity Series race at Road America.
5 of 13

Chris Graythen | Getty Images
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.
6 of 13

Chris Graythen | Getty Images
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.
7 of 13

Robert Laberge | Getty Images
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.
8 of 13

Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images
2016: McDowell made the most of a one-off with Richard Childress Racing, winning his first career Xfinity Series race at Road America.
9 of 13

Sean Gardner | Getty Images
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.
10 of 13

Sarah Crabill | Getty Images
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.
11 of 13

Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
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.
12 of 13

Sean Gardner | Getty Images
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.
13 of 13

Meg Oliphant | Getty Images
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 2 top fives, 7 top 10s and a 23rd-place finish in the championship standings.