Back where it began: Michael McDowell eyes Chase boost at Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. -- Achieving success at Sonoma Raceway has always carried extra weight for Michael McDowell. Few NASCAR Cup Series drivers have been as comfortable on the twisting Napa Valley road course, and since the debut of the Next Gen car in 2022, no one has been more consistent. While McDowell is billed from Glendale, Arizona, nearly 800 miles southeast of Sonoma, McDowell spent a handful of his formative years as a race car driver in Northern California. In his early teens, he and his older brother, Billy, relocated to Northern California to chase their racing dreams. After a successful stint in go-karts, McDowell remembers the transition to full-sized formula cars. Not much longer, he dabbled with sports cars. The team he competed for -- World Speed Motorsports -- was based outside of Turns 10 and 11 at the 1.99-mile road course. RELATED: Cup Series lineup | 2026 In-Season Challenge guide "I spent a lot of track days here, a lot of time in the summer working with the team on the cars," McDowell told NASCAR.com, remembering the glory days at Sonoma. "A lot of those early days were like Cup, [O'Reilly] and Truck early days. When you were a driver, you were also at the shop. You worked on the cars; you knew the cars well and were around the program working on the cars. It wasn't like where you just show up and drive." McDowell reflects on that time as an important part of his career. He recalled going to the track early in the week to set up different awnings that spread over the haulers, as there were no garage stalls for him to work from. He also helped local competitors by serving as a driver coach before returning to Arizona and coaching at the Bondurant Racing School. All that effort was spent hoping to have a career in IndyCar before a NASCAR opportunity fell into his lap, making the transition in the mid-2000s. "I just didn't grow up in this environment," McDowell said. "It's like playing baseball and then deciding you were going to play football; it's not really something you would do. It feels like they are that different. "Honestly, it was like starting over. It was a whole different culture, different atmosphere, shop, race track -- it was a very different style of racing. It was quite the transition." [caption id="attachment_516907" align="aligncenter" width="1300"]James Gilbert | Getty Images[/caption] Fast forward two decades, and McDowell is among the contenders to frequently challenge at the front of the field at Sonoma. In the last four races here, he's tallied a 4.0 average finish to lead the league. He trails only seven-time road course victor Chase Elliott, who enters Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3:30 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with five straight top 10s. To have success in what was once his own backyard hits home for McDowell, who considers Sonoma to be among his best and favorite venues on the circuit. "This Next Gen car has been good for us, but it feels like I've covered every spot in the top five but a win and been so close," McDowell said. "A couple of those were good enough to win. The first year in the Next Gen car here, I led coming to the last pit stop, and we had a right-front wheel nut fall off, and I came out fourth or fifth in that cycle. I think that was one that we potentially had the speed to contend and win. "The others, we were close but weren't there. It's been a good track. But like everything, it evolves, and you have to evolve with it. Everybody is getting so much better at road-course racing now." The No. 71 Spire Motorsports team has a dilemma on its hands come the green flag, though. McDowell slotted in fourth with a strong qualifying effort on Saturday, a full row ahead of pre-race favorite Shane van Gisbergen in sixth. But there are points to be gained, and if the No. 71 Chevrolet has race-winning speed, the Travis Peterson-led bunch might need to sacrifice stage points for a better finish. Not ideal for a team 21st in the regular-season championship standings, 34 points below Ryan Preece for the bubble spot. "It all comes down to executing what we think is the best plan, and we won't know that until the race starts," McDowell said. "If we have the pace and are able to run up front and be leading or close to SVG and feel like we're making pace with him, then we have to go for the win. If we're not, then you have to think about points." MORE: Last-minute Fantasy Fastlane advice | Cup Series standings After the Coca-Cola 600 last month, a crown jewel in which McDowell's Spire teammate Daniel Suárez won, he fell to a season-worst 55 points below the cutline. In the four races since, he's chipped away at the deficit and is within range to make a late rally. The final nine-race stretch of the regular season is going to be a challenge for McDowell to squeak into the postseason. But ultimately, he believes the speed is there to perform at a high level as the other two Spire drivers -- Suárez and Carson Hocevar -- currently hold top-10 spots. "The bottom line is you have 26 races to make it in," McDowell said. "We've already thrown away seven of them. At the end of the day, it's nobody's fault but our own. For us, we have to make these next two months really count, and I think we can do that."