Michael McDowell ties NASCAR record at Atlanta
HAMPTON, Ga. — Michael McDowell tied a NASCAR Cup Series record with the way he came from six laps down to finish 13th on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
McDowell had power-steering issues early on in the race and fell six laps down by the time lap 83 rolled around. That was when he took his first of a series-record six free passes that put him back on the lead lap 102 laps later.
Back on the lead lap, McDowell drove his No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet into the top-10. In overtime, he avoided a big crash on the backstretch and finished 13th.
“We got all of our laps back, nothing short of miraculous, and capitalized there at the end,” McDowell said. “So thankful to get a good finish, given that it could have been a disaster there.”
McDowell getting six free passes tied a record set by Jamie McMurray at Talladega in 2014 and Noah Gragson in 2022. NASCAR instituted the free pass in late-2003 after outlawing racing back to the caution and the “Gentleman’s Agreement” with lap cars.
McDowell is now 14th in points and in a playoff spot by five points, heading to Circuit of the Americas next week. At COTA, he has finished seventh, 13th, 12th and 38th in his Cup Series starts.
The 38th-place finish last year comes with an asterisk, however. McDowell ran inside the top-10 and placed third in the first stage before developing steering issues in stage two.
MORE: COTA shows no love to Front Row Motorsports
Spire Motorsports’ best finish at COTA was 11th with Corey LaJoie in 2023.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com