‘I’ve always had to do more than drive to survive in the sport’ - McDowell

Michael McDowell owes his early start in professional racing to driver coaching, but it's something that has stayed with him throughout.

The resume shows that McDowell started on BMX bikes on the West Coast, then go-karts, and eventually sports and open-wheel before coming to NASCAR. But it was his sports car opportunity that came when McDowell, a teenager working at the Bondurant driving school, made a connection with someone he convinced to spend a lot of money on sports car racing.

As McDowell reflects, “coaching kind of came naturally, that’s what we did. But then it turned into what I had to do to make money.”

What's less known is that coaching has always been a part of McDowell’s life after he made it to NASCAR. McDowell started with a handful of ARCA Menards Series races in 2006 and then a full season in 2007. He also made a lone start in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2007 and three in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. But by 2008, McDowell was moving upward and into the Cup Series.

“Those first two years in ARCA, I sort of flew underneath the radar and was doing my own deal, but as soon as I got into the Cup Series, I immediately started coaching other guys on road courses,” McDowell said. “It just kind of happened. It wasn’t really something I was trying to do, but through the word of the street, right?”

Over the years, McDowell worked with the likes of Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. when they drove for Jack Roush. There were Brian Scott, Drew Herring and Bubba Wallace when they were at Joe Gibbs Racing.

And, those connections helped McDowell get paid in other ways as a test and simulator driver.

“I’ve always had something going on side-wise, coaching-wise, because I wasn’t in a top-tier ride in the Cup Series,” McDowell said. “I was just hanging on for dear life as I was start-and-parking, and I wasn’t really a threat. So, I could do those testing gigs and simulation stuff, and that was when simulation was just getting started.”

Now a driver for Spire Motorsports, he’s made over 500 starts in the Cup Series to date.

“I guess the story behind the story is I’ve always had to do more than drive to survive in the sport,” McDowell said. “I’m used to that having extra on your plate.”

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