McDowell to Pilot No. 00 SR2 Motorsports Toyota at Texas

 

 

 

Michael McDowell is taking the reins of the No. 00 SR2 Motorsports Toyota this week at Texas Motor Speedway. He’ll be making his sixth Nationwide Series start at the 1.5-mile oval in Friday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300. McDowell has two top-20s. His best finish is 17th place, which he scored in 2009.

In addition, McDowell has seven Sprint Cup starts under his belt at Texas. He hopes that his experience will help him navigate the bumpy, multi-groove speedway to a solid finish.

Michael McDowell discusses racing at Texas Motor Speedway:

“I’m really excited about racing with SR2 Motorsports this weekend. They’ve shown tons of potential this season. They have great people on their team and I’m looking forward to working with them at Texas.

It’s really all about momentum there. You’ll see a lot of long green-flag runs, so you’ve got to make sure your car is dialed in. You’ve got to have a good handle on it for the race or it will be a pretty long day. We’ve got some serious Toyota horsepower from our Pro Motor Engines and that will play a big part in the race, too.

“The groove has really, widened out in the last few years, especially compared to my first few races there. It’s made the track a lot racier, and you’re seeing guys searching for different lines to find grip. There are more bumps now, and the surface eats up the tires more quickly than it used to. There’s a lot more driver input than in the past. Qualifying will still be about holding your car on the bottom of the track, but you’ll have the whole track to work with during the race. The conditions are a lot better now to work your way through the field and make passes. It’s really made it a lot of fun to race there.

“We’ll be racing under the lights. That’s always a cool setting. It’s hard to put into words, but there’s just something special about a night race. Most of us grew racing under the lights and it takes us back.”

SR2 Motorsports PR