MICHAEL MCDOWELL – No. 34 Ford Fusion – “To be here another year and to run full-time is not something that I take for granted because it’s something you have to fight for every year, so I’m thankful for the opportunity that Bob Jenkins and Front Row Motorsports has given to me and I’m excited about the potential of the race team. There are a lot of great things happening at Front Row right now, so I feel like my timing is good and timing is super-important in this sport as you know, so everything is lining up really well.”
DO YOU FEEL YOU CAN BRING UP THE LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE WITH FRONT ROW? “Yeah, absolutely. I feel like Front Row has a foundation already. They’ve been in this sport and have won races, and what I hope to bring and hope to continue to do is to do it week in and week out, much like we saw last year when we got into a stride. To be able to run top 20 every weekend and really challenge for those spots every weekend is really tough to do. We know it’s a daunting task for a small team, but I believe everything is there. The partnerships are there. The alliance with Roush. The partnership with Ford Performance and their increased support is gonna make a huge difference, so I really feel like we can elevate it. Like I said, timing is critical and I feel like the timing is really good.”
WILL IT BE NICE TO BE IN A FORD AT DAYTONA WITH THE RESTRICTOR PLATE SUCCESS THEY HAVE HAD? “Yeah, absolutely. This, for sure, is the best piece I’ll sit in or have sat in for the Daytona 500 – not just because it’s got a Roush Yates powerhouse underneath it, but just the fact that the Fords are so strong at the plate races. Roush has worked really hard on making sure that we can be the same as them at the superspeedways, so that we can operate like a four-car team, and then we really feel like we’re gonna have an opportunity to challenge for a win there.”
HOW QUICK DID THIS OPPORTUNITY COME ABOUT? WAS THERE DOUBT? “It wasn’t quick at all and, yes, there was absolute doubt. It was a process for me to really, it was a good process to evaluate what I wanted to do for myself and for my family. I’ve been in this sport 10 years, but, really, last year was the first time I ran full-time, and I haven’t made it. I haven’t arrived even though I’ve been here 10 years, so I’m not in a position where I can evaluate like, ‘Do I want to race? Do I not want to race?’ I had to figure out how I was gonna make a living for my family and I was hoping that would be in racing, but wasn’t sure of it. But it was a fun time to evaluate what I wanted to do and what I was passionate about and this is what I’ m passionate about, so I’m thankful for the opportunity to be able to live that out, but I didn’t have any real conversations with this team until after they let Landon know that he wasn’t coming back. I sort of found out about it the same way everybody else did and that’s when we started having conversations, but we didn’t get anything done until when you saw the announcement. There was a lot of time unknown and uncertainty, but I knew that his was where I wanted to be. I’m not just saying that because this is where my opportunity was. There were a few other opportunities, but I drove for Bob a few years back at Watkins Glen in the 35 car and just built a relationship with him over the years and we’ve stayed close. I sort of always felt like if the timing was ever right that him and I would work well together and we have a lot of common areas of our lives and things that are important to us, so we had a friendship away from a driver-owner relationship at the race track. To see it all come together is really neat.”
DID THAT HELP GETTING THIS OPPORTUNITY? “I think it always helps because the bottom line is when you’re doing this in a sport you want to do it with people you want to do it with. It’s a grueling sport. It’s high stress and high intensity and I believe that relationally it does matter, but performance drives this sport and we all know that, so that was where I was in a better spot than I had ever been in is coming off 2017 that was my best performance yet, and doing that consistently I think allowed me the opportunity to be a real contender for the job at Front Row. The timing of it was perfect.”
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU HAD A TEAMMATE THE ENTIRE SEASON? “I haven’t had a teammate in a long, long time. I can’t remember the last time I was running a regular schedule, not even full-time, and had a teammate. Probably 2008 when I drove for Michael Waltrip Racing and Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann were my teammates that year. We didn’t have anything to look at. It’s gonna be a huge advantage for me. I’ve kind of been on an island by myself for these last four or five years that we’ve had data. You can look at it, but who are you comparing to? So to be able to have somebody with the experience that David (Ragan) has and the caliber of a driver that he is, and the fact that he’s worked with a lot of great teams recently – when he filled in for Kyle and filled in for Brian Vickers – he was with organizations that were at the top of their game at the time, so he knows what that takes and what that looks like, so I think that’s a lot of value that he brings and I’m looking forward to working with him.”
YOU AND K-LOVE HAVE HAD A RELATIONSHIP THROUGH THE YEARS. “I’m very thankful for how much they believe in me and continue to support my career and what I’m doing on the race track. To me, it’s just neat to have them come from one team to another with me and to stay with me and to continue to build it. A lot of that comes from not competitive success that we have. That’s not what the K-LOVE partnership is driven off of, it’s driving fans to K-LOVE and hearing Christian radio for the first time and having a relationship with Jesus is what it’s all about for them. We’ve seen a lot of crazy stories and time and time again people that had no idea what K-LOVE was and tuned in it changed their life and restored their marriage and their families. It’s crazy to think that a car going around a race track could have that kind of impact and it’s just really God working through the tools that K-LOVE has and the platform that He’s given me and I’m very thankful that that continues.”
WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS THIS YEAR? “The increased alliance with Roush and then Ford Performance investing in the program and the team and really helping the partnership there is an expectation for us to really step up this year, and I think that everything is in place to do that. It’s a lot of work and a lot of unknowns. We haven’t got to the race track yet. We don’t know what we need to work on, but I felt like David finished the year last year very strong with solid runs and was building some good momentum and carrying that into the off-season and I feel like we’ve done a good job of preparing for this year, so that’s not to avoid your question. I want to run top 20 every weekend, but the reason I’m here and the reason I keep working at this is I want to win a race and that’s what we’re all trying to do. We’re all trying to win a race.”
WHAT RACE IS YOUR BEST CHANCE TO DO THAT? “The first one right out of the gate.”
WHAT’S BEEN HARDER – GETTING YOUR FOOT IN THE DOOR OR KEEPING IT THERE IN THIS SPORT? “I think it’s been way harder to stay in this sport. I got in at a unique time where teams were still hiring development drivers and manufacturers were still investing in development drivers, so I sort of caught that last year of that commitment that they had to the sport. So I was very fortunate to get into a Cup ride when I did. To stay in one has definitely been the challenge, for sure.”
WHY DO YOU ENJOY WHAT YOU DO? “I enjoy what I do because there’s a mission and a passion behind what I do. It’s not just driving around in circles. I feel like God has given me this platform and this opportunity and it’s continued to partner people around me that are like-minded, so that’s what drives it. What drives it is knowing that it’s bigger than NASCAR, it’s bigger than the Daytona 500. There’s more to life than going around in circles.”
TREVOR BAYNE – No. 6 Ford Fusion – “I’m looking forward to this season with our Fords. I thought Kevin Harvick and his team did a great job making it to the final round last year with a Ford. It can be done and hopefully we can do that.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL PHYSICALLY? “It has had zero implication on my racing. I don’t really think about it unless an interview and somebody asks about it. My fitness is great. I feel good in the car. I never have really any issues at all, so it’s not ever anything on my mind.”
ARE THEY CHANGING YOUR DIAGNOSIS NOW? “They’re really not sure. They never really were. It was just always back and forth – Lyme’s and that – so it’s not something I really ever really even think about any more and doesn’t have any impact on me, so I’m thankful for that.”
WHICH GENERATION OF DRIVERS DO YOU IDENTIFY? “I don’t know (laughing). That’s a good question. I feel like I’m young, but then I feel old when I look around sometimes. I’ve always kind of been the young guy. I guess if you ask Jeff Gordon he might still think of himself as a young guy because that’s what he was when he came in. It’s kind of weird. I feel like I’m in the middle – myself and I think about Ricky kind of came in about the same time as I did, he came in a little bit before – and I came in right around the Austin Dillon time, but, really, I kind of guess it would be Joey Logano, Austin Dillion and myself are kind of around the same age and then you have Ricky a little bit older and then Larson and those guys are younger. So our group is really small. You’ve got a big group of young guys now and you’ve got a big group of older veteran guys, so, to me, those two guys are the closest in age and kind of relate to their deal.”
WHAT ARE THE FIVE RACES YOU’D RATHER RACE OR ATTEND BEFORE YOU CALL IT QUITS? “To race, really to win, I’ve got to race at every race track I’ve wanted to race in NASCAR. As far as races on a bucket list to win, the Brickyard last year was the one that got away. We obviously had a strong shot at that with 10 to go and the caution came out, and then to get wrecked on the last restart broke my heart, so the Brickyard. Bristol is my home track, so I would love to win there. Homestead is my favorite race track to drive on and now that it’s the season finale, that’s a big one, and then you think about the Coke 600. I would say those, plus another Daytona 500 would be the top five.”
ANYTHING OUTSIDE OF NASCAR? “No, I’ll just go with NASCAR.”
IS THIS A MUST-WIN SEASON FOR YOU AND WHAT WOULD IT MEAN FOR YOU TO WIN? “Last year, we went into the season with a lot of changes and we had a lot of goals on the board to try to make the Playoffs. I think where we fell short were Playoff points. It wasn’t necessarily that we had to win, but if we were able to accumulate more Playoff points you can make it. So we kind of look and say, ‘You’ve got to get at least five Playoff points per race if you’re gonna be a Chase contender without a win.’ That was a lot more than kind of what we anticipated, so that’s where we fell short. The way you get those is by running in the top 10 and by being faster and more competitive. We know that’s kind of a thing where you get them if you’re running good and you don’t if you’re not, so you’ve got to run good to get them. We’re gonna work hard at that. Obviously, a win would be great early in the season. If we could go to Daytona like Kurt Busch did last year and his next 25 races he got a lot more sleep knowing that he was in the Playoffs. If you can win early, it makes your season a lot less stressful and you can work on things.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE WAY THE SPORT IS BEING MARKETING TOWARD MAYBE THE YOUNGER DRIVERS? “I’m the middle child. The young one is the baby and the old one gets all the attention, so I’m not really sure anymore. I was a young guy at one point getting that attention, so I think it’s fun when you’re a young guy coming in, and I don’t necessarily want all that attention. I just want to do my job well and win races and be fast and get attention for that, not because there’s media hype or because of my age. I want to be the guy that’s competitive and obviously we haven’t done that like I want to in the last couple seasons, so I’m working as hard as I can. If I could be known as the guy that worked harder than anybody, kind of like a Peyton Manning, those guys that work hard, they’re team players, that’s the kind of person I want to be in this sport. So if there’s any kind of competitive advantage I can find, whether it’s in fitness or race preparation or post-race notes, whatever it can be as a driver, even if it’s working better with my team and communicating better, I want to do those things and be smarter, work harder. That’s what I want to do as a driver and be known for that and not just an age thing.”
HOW WILL THINGS CHANGE NOW THAT EVERYONE IS AWARE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAYOFF POINTS? “Just what we said, the Playoff points and the stage points are both crucial. You’ve got to get those stage points if you’re gonna make it without a win and Playoff points, man, they just carry through like Martin. We all know it’s important and it’s tough to get them. It was not from a lack of trying, so we’re all gonna be pushing for every point that you can get.”
DO YOU FEEL LIKE THIS TEAM IS ON AN UPWARD SWING? “I do. Last year, we came in here kind of with a lot of big changes on our team with structural changes, with personnel changes. This year, it’s more about refinement. We have those big parts in places and now it’s how do you fill in the gaps, how do you put that mortar in there to seal all of those bricks together and make it cohesive and make it last for the whole season. We fired off really good. We were running top 12 or so every weekend. If we could have carried that through the whole season, we would have considered that a success. We did dip a little bit in the summer, but we were able to come back at the end and have some strong races like Martinsville, so we just are still working at putting together a whole season, but I feel like we’re gonna be able to do that this season with the goals we have in place and the structure we have in place and just really refining those things.”
CAN YOU GO BACK AND TALK ABOUT THAT BRICKYARD RACE AND HOW CLOSE YOU CAME TO WINNING? “We got the lead there at the end off of fuel strategy and that’s something I feel like Matt and I do really well as a group and as a whole organization. I feel like we’ve worked hard at that and it’s something we’ve been in position every fuel mileage race to take advantage of it. Man, they haven’t played out. There were two races last year. Actually, the second Michigan we had a shot to win. Noboby even knew we could make it on fuel. No broadcasters, nobody knew because we had been saving for so long. Had it stayed green we had a shot. Indy, obviously, we had a strong shot to win that one. That was probably some of the most heartbreak I’ve experienced in my career, but all you can do is your best and sometimes things happen and not in your control, but I would have loved to have sealed that one off.”
WHAT WOULD ANOTHER WIN MEAN FOR YOU NOW? “If we could win a race early on in the season and just seal your fate for the Playoffs takes a lot of that pressure off the guys that you have in the mid-summer. I think it helps your potential in the Playoffs versus that grind, grind, grind, gotta get every point to make it. You can do things. You can try fuel strategy. You can try pit strategy. You can work on the cars and work on different development for later in the season. That’s what the best teams do, they win early and develop things and they come out strong in the Playoffs and that’s what we’ve got to do.”
WHAT KIND OF TRANSITION WAS IT TO LOSE A GUY LIKE BIFFLE WITH HIS EXPERIENCE? “We actually felt really cohesive last year. I thought Ricky and I worked well together. I thought it was actually probably better with two teams. The whole shop worked so well together last year, so I actually, obviously Biffle and those guys brought a lot to the table and Matt and Carl and having them early in my career, but now Ricky and I have got to step up like we did last year and keep trying to be those guys that are the leaders of our organization like Greg used to be.”
HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF ROUSH BROUGHT IN A YOUNG DRIVER AND YOU BECAME THE MENTOR? “That’s kind of what Ricky and I try to do with the young drivers we have there. They’re obviously running four young drivers with Ryan Reed and Ty Majeski already in the Roush program and then the other two coming over to fill out the 60 car. That’s kind of our role now already to start pouring into those guys.”
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO IMPROVE ON IN 2018? “The thing to remember is that points are a byproduct. You don’t get points because you’re thinking about points, you get points because you’re running fast and you’re finishing well – Playoff points in particular. Everybody is trying to win a stage. Everybody is trying to win the race. Everybody is trying to get in the top 10. The one thing that I see for us, that we’re working on to try to improve that other than just having fast race cars, is qualifying. That was kind of the hole in our structure, especially on the 6 car last year. We fired off qualifying last year really good the first half of the season and we kind of faded the last half and it was harder to get to the front early on in stages when people were maybe doing pit strategy and you could capitalize and get a top 10. So we’ve got to improve our short run speed, our qualifying to be able to get up to the front and get that track position early in the race and capitalize on stage points, but Playoff points were huge last year when you watched that play out. Everybody knew it, but I don’t think we knew to the extent that it would be. When you have a dominant car like Truex, where he racked up on so many, it really showed its head.”
YOU RUN WELL AT BRISTOL. WHY? “Bristol has been great for Roush the last few years. Last year, I think we finished top 10 in both races and that was strong for us. It’s probably one of our strongest tracks. It’s home for me. It’s fun. You get to run right up next to the wall. There’s something about vertical load in our cars just makes them run well. For whatever reason, the flatter the track the worse we struggle. The more banked and more vertical load we have the better we run, so we’ve been trying to figure that out for years and still trying to figure it out, but Bristol has been great to us.”
