Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 1.5 Mile Oval
Race: 8 of 38
Event: Alsco Uniforms 500 (312 miles, 208 laps)
Michael McDowell
No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang
Started: 3rd
Finished: 25th
Stage One: 13th
Stage Two: 25th
Stage Three: 25th
Michael McDowell and his No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang took Thursday’s rain delayed “Alsco Uniforms 500″ from the 3rd position. The CarParts.com Ford ran strong inside of the top-10 for nearly all of Stage 1 before McDowell noted that his race car began to tighten up on entry into the corners. McDowell would go on to finish Stage 1 in the 13th position. Under the Stage 1 caution, Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer made the call for 4 tires plus an air pressure and wedge adjustment.
During Stage 2, McDowell ran competitively inside of the top-20 through the first half of the stage before once again mentioning that his No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang had a tough time on entry into the corners and would finish Stage 2 from the 25th position. On pit road, the No. 34 team did a good job of hustling to change 4 tires, add fuel and grille tape, and make both packer and spring rubber adjustments.
Taking the green flag in Stage 3, Michael McDowell continued to battle a tight No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang. Again, Drew Blickensderfer and the No. 34 team did a nice job of making multiple adjustments on pit road to try and better their race car. Unfortunately, McDowell ran out of time to make a charge towards the front, taking the checkered flag 25th at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
McDowell on Charlotte:
“It was an up and down night at Charlotte Motor Speedway for our No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang. We fired off extremely well and ran competitively inside of the top-10 for the majority of Stage 1. However as daylight faded and the track temperature began to change, our race car started to tighten up on entry into the corners, making it tough to carry speed through the turns; something we battled all night long. Drew and my guys fought hard on pit road to make multiple adjustments on our No. 34 CarParts.com Ford Mustang, but we just ran out of time at the end. I have to thank CarParts.com for coming on board our No. 34 Ford Mustang tonight at Charlotte. They’ve been a great partner of Front Row Motorsports and I hope to have them back on our No. 34 car later this season.”
