NASCAR: McDowell lands full-time Leavine seat

For the first time in four years, Michael McDowell is a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver.

Leavine Family Racing announced Thursday morning the organization will run the complete Cup schedule with McDowell the primary driver. Having bought a Charter from Tommy Baldwin Racing, the team is guaranteed into every Cup race this season and is Chase eligible for the first time since its inception in 2011.

Todd Parrott, who joined Leavine Family Racing last October, will remain the crew chief on the No. 95 team. A veteran of the NASCAR garage, Parrott won the Cup championship in 1999 with Dale Jarrett.

"With both Michael and Todd returning to the team this season we are looking to maintain the consistency we found towards the end of last year and continue to push forward and build off the positive momentum," said Jeremy Lange, Vice President of Leavine Family Racing.

"We had great performances on the track last year and we're hoping that continuing in that direction will lead to more sponsorships for the team. We do have some partner renewals that we will be announcing soon and are excited to add more."

In 2016, McDowell finished 30th in points while splitting the car with Ty Dillon. In 213 career starts, McDowell has four top-10 finishes. The 2017 season will be the first time McDowell has competed full-time in the series since running 33 of 36 races in 2013.

"I'm excited to be returning full-time with LFR for the 2017 season," McDowell said. "I look forward to continuing to work with Todd as well and kicking off our season with a strong start at the Daytona 500 in February."

Between 2015 and 2016, Parrott made just 27 starts as crew chief. The 2017 season will be his first as a full-time crew chief since working with Reed Sorenson in 2014 at Tommy Baldwin Racing. Parrott is a two-time winning crew chief of the Daytona 500.

"I can't wait for the 2017 season to get here and look forward to having a great year with Michael and the team," Parrott said. "I'm appreciative of the opportunity LFR has given me to once again assume the crew chief role for the team and am ready to get started on the upcoming season."