Michael McDowell Recovers From Lap Down to Finish Fifth at Chicago Street Course
5 months agoMichael McDowell got trapped a lap down after an early pit stop to switch to wet weather tires, but made an improbable comeback to finish fifth in yesterday's race at the Chicago Street Course. He significantly benefited from the crash that took out Christopher Bell and Martin Truex, Jr. but his bigger advantage was his choice to finish the race on slick tires, which was the best strategy call for the drivers coming from behind. That enabled McDowell to run down the drivers who stayed out of the pits with ease, but he didn't have enough time to catch eventual race winner, Alex Bowman. Although McDowell was overshadowed by his teammate, Todd Gilliland, for most of the event and Gilliland had the much flashier race, McDowell had the superior final stint and utilized his greater racecraft on road courses to maximize his eventual result.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference