Michael McDowell achieves record Top-5 finishes following Roval
Despite a winless season thus far in 2025, Michael McDowell earned a fifth-place finish Sunday in the Bank of America Roval 400, earning his third NASCAR Cup Series Top-5 finish of the year.
By placing among the Top-5, McDowell set a personal best for most Top-5 finishes in a single season.
Prior to 2025, McDowell had posted season-highs of two Top-5 finishes in a season five times; 2019, and 2021 through 2024 — all coming while McDowell raced for Front Row Motorsports.
“We had top-five speed, and we sort of stayed there all day long,” McDowell said of his race at the Roval. There wasn’t a lot of excitement for us with just managing our track position.
“I’m bummed we didn’t have a little bit more speed to contend. When I would push hard, I could hang with the No. 88 (Shane van Gisbergen), No. 5 (Kyle Larson) and the No. 20 (Christopher Bell) for a little while. But then I would fade, so I sort of had to run my pace to keep the tires underneath me.”
The 40-year-old driver’s stats through the first 31 races include one pole, three Top-5 finishes, and five Top-10 finishes.
McDowell, who is ranked 21st in overall points, has seen all of his Top-5 finishes earned at road courses this year: Mexico City (fifth), Sonoma (fourth), and the Roval (fifth).
“We’ll keep building on our road course program,” McDowell said. “A (three) top-fives this year, so that’s good. We’ve got good speed, but we just need a little bit more.”
McDowell joined Spire Motorsports this season after a seven-year tenure at Front Row. His last victory came at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix Circuit in August 2023, 80 races ago.
McDowell has earned two victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, with the other win coming at the Daytona 500 in 2021.
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.