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2008 NASCAR Tickets & NASCAR Schedule
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McDowell ready to step into Cup racing Posted:0535hrs by Reid Spencer, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service Michael McDowell has a lot of catching up to do -- with the man he replaces at Michael Waltrip Racing.
On March 30, McDowell will compete in Cup race No. 1 at one of NASCAR's trickiest tracks: Martinsville. Reams have been written about Jarrett's retirement. About McDowell's baptism by fire in the Cup Series, not so much. It's a daunting undertaking for the 23-year-old from Glendale, Ariz. In terms of experience in NASCAR's top three divisions, McDowell has raced five times, once in the Craftsman Truck Series and four times in the Nationwide Series. His best finish was 14th in last November's Nationwide race at Phoenix. Now that Jarrett has competed in his last points event, David Reutimann will inherit the No. 44 car and Jarrett's UPS sponsorship. McDowell, who has considerably more experience in sports cars and open-wheel vehicles than in stock cars, will take Reutimann's place in the No. 00 Camry, which currently lacks sponsorship. The good news is that all three Waltrip cars, including the No. 55 driven by the team owner, are in the top 35 in owner points and thereby are guaranteed starting spots at Martinsville. For McDowell, who has been spending Sundays on the spotter's stand observing his teammates, the opportunity to race can't come quickly enough. "It's definitely been harder than I expected watching the races," said McDowell, who recently served as an instructor at the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Phoenix. "I kind of knew going into it that I wasn't going to do the first five, but the last few weeks I've been itching pretty bad to get in and get going. I've just been trying to hang out with the team and spend as much time as I can, learning the car and learning the weekend procedure. "A big help for sure has been watching the races from the spotter's stand where you can see everything and scan a radio where you can listen to every team and every driver. (I've) just been trying to learn how everybody approaches it and what the teammates and the guys that are running well do." Though the 2007 season was McDowell's first in stock cars, his second-place finish in the ARCA ReMax Series was an eye-opener, and it gave Waltrip enough confidence in the young driver's talent to promote him to the Cup Series. McDowell isn't taking the vote of confidence lightly. "By no means have I underestimated the challenges ahead of me," McDowell said. "This is the best series in the world with the best drivers. I didn't come to Michael Waltrip saying that I was ready to drive a Cup car -- that's not how it came together. That was the seat that was available, and we want to build toward the future. I think we know going into it that it's going to take time for me to get up to speed. We have a new crew chief on board with Bill Pappas, who comes from open-wheel racing and he and I are just learning each other. --(Cont'd From Front Page)--
"We know that it's a process that's going to take time. On the same side, we all know that you're not going
to be able to run in the back for too long before they get rid of you. I know when I get out there I need
to get going as quick as possible, but the number one goal is to stay in the top 35 and keep the car in the
top 35."
As he approaches the Goody's Cool Orange 500 next Sunday, McDowell is turning to computer simulations to
compensate for his lack of experience.
"I've definitely been doing a lot of simulation -- it's a tool that I think really helps," he said. "It's
something I did a lot last year, because it was my first year in stock cars -- first year doing ARCA, as
well -- and I didn't know any of the tracks. It really helped just to get familiar with the tracks, the
speed and how the race procedure would go. I think the simulation is a good tool, but it is in no way
equivalent to actually getting out there and doing it."
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