Feb. 15, 2021
Michael McDowell has come a long way from racing BMX bikes in the north Valley. Sunday the Glendale native secured his first NASCAR victory by winning the Daytona 500. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
PHOENIX – A little luck and a lot of perseverance allowed Glendale native Michael McDowell to come away with an unlikely Daytona 500 victory early Monday morning, his first win in 358 NASCAR Cup Series races.
McDowell, 36, started racing in the Cup Series in 2008 and has bounced around from team to team over the years. And while his career has been trending upward with four top-10 finishes last season, the prospect of the journeyman winning the Daytona 500 was slim – to be generous.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Michael McDowell was glued to Brad Keselowski's bumper, watching and waiting for his chance to win the Daytona 500.
Joey Logano was the leader, the laps were winding down and yet no one had the nerve to pull out of traffic. McDowell was certain Keselowski would go for it eventually, and when he did, McDowell would play his hand.
On the final lap, Keselowski attempted to dart around Logano, but Logano threw a block on his teammate that crashed them both. McDowell stayed right where he was, flat in the gas, and drove through a crash scene for a stunning upset.
"I knew he would go for a race-winning move and my plan was to let him make that move," McDowell said.
Entering Sunday’s NASCAR season-opening Daytona 500 the “Great American Race” driver Michael McDowell was a 100-1 underdog. After the race, which ended shortly after midnight in Florida thanks to two fiery crashes on either side of a rain delay that lasted nearly six hours, it was McDowell celebrating in victory lane.
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Written by Associated Press on February 16, 2021
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Michael McDowell was glued to Brad Keselowski’s bumper, watching and waiting for his chance to win the Daytona 500.
Joey Logano was the leader, the laps were winding down and yet no one had the nerve to pull out of traffic. McDowell was certain Keselowski would go for it eventually, and when he did, McDowell would play his hand.
On the final lap, Keselowski attempted to dart around Logano, but Logano threw a block on his teammate that crashed them both. McDowell stayed right where he was, flat in the gas, and drove through a crash scene for a stunning upset.