The NASCAR Cup Series veteran Michael McDowell is continuing to make a good impression in his 17th season, as he just set himself up for his third pole position of the season at the World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Record-Breaking Performance at Gateway
On the racetrack, McDowell performed remarkably in his No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports, when he recorded a fastest qualifying time of 32.468 seconds, translating to an average of 138.598 mph in the final round of qualifying.
This qualifying session proved McDowell’s talent, as he set a new record in the opening round with a 32.318-second lap. This is a very important achievement for McDowell and his team, which confirms their dominance in the 2024 season.
Austin Cindric qualified second on the starting line with a lap time of 0,109 seconds behind McDowell’s. Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and Ryan Blaney were the other five fastest drivers.
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McDowell’s Reaction
Speaking to Fox Sports in a post-race interview, the 39-year-old driver expressed his joy. “I was close to messing it up. I had a little moment in Turn 3. I got a little bit loose; I was able to catch it, but luckily, I was able to recover quickly and get back to the throttle.” McDowell said. “I’m so proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports. I know this is our third pole of the year but to do it on a flat track, not a superspeedway, I’m just really proud of everybody. It’s a cool team effort here.”
Competitive Field
Austin Cindric showcased a similar performance, completed the lap in 0.109 of a second behind McDowell’s pole-winning effort, and finished second-best. Next in line were Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, and Tyler Reddick, respectively, seated in the top five.
Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 will be an interesting race. Last week’s race at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte was cut short by rain, and Christopher Bell, who was the winner, will start from the fourth position and hopes to repeat his victory. Bell’s great performance in qualifying reinforces his status as one of the best drivers this season.
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Kyle Busch’s Challenge
Kyle Busch starting the race at Gateway from the tenth position, has no wins this year, and he would certainly like to change this at the track where he won in 2023. Last year, he was faster than Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano at Gateway, so we can expect a rather interesting race.
Notable Absences in Final Round
Some of the other prominent names that failed to qualify for the final round at Gateway include Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., and Chase Elliott; all these drivers will start today’s race from further behind.
It’s the first time in 2024 that none of the Hendrick Motorsports cars reached the final round of qualification. The last group of cars for the final qualifying consisted of four Toyota cars and five Ford cars, besides Busch’s Chevrolet.
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Anticipated Enjoy Illinois 300
This race could possibly be the last one for McDowell at Front Row Motorsports, as next season he will switch to Spire Motorsports. Front Row Motorsports is planning to become a three-car team in 2025, and that is why McDowell’s pole position means much more.
The race at Gateway is set for Sunday at 3:30 pm on FS1, and it promises to be a hard-fought one. McDowell will start from the front of the grid with many competitive cars and drivers capable of pulling a great performance behind him, and fans are set for a thrilling race.
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Gateway Starting Lineup
- Michael McDowell, #34 Ford
- Austin Cindric, #2 Ford
- Ryan Blaney, #12 Ford
- Christopher Bell, #20 Toyota
- Tyler Reddick, #45 Toyota
- Denny Hamlin, #11 Toyota
- Brad Keselowski, #6 Ford
- Bubba Wallace, #23 Toyota
- Ty Gibbs, #54 Toyota
- Kyle Busch, #8 Chevrolet
- William Byron, #24 Chevrolet
- Joey Logano, #22 Ford
- Kyle Larson, #5 Chevrolet
- Alex Bowman, #48 Chevrolet
- Corey LaJoie, #7 Chevrolet
- Ross Chastain, #1 Chevrolet
- Chase Elliott, #9 Chevrolet
- Austin Dillon, #3 Chevrolet
- Martin Truex Jr., #19 Toyota
- Carson Hocevar, #77 Chevrolet
- Justin Haley, #51 Ford
- Erik Jones, #43 Toyota
- Chase Briscoe, #14 Ford
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., #47 Chevrolet
- Derek Kraus, #16 Chevrolet
- Chris Buescher, #17 Ford
- Noah Gragson, #10 Ford
- Daniel Hemric, #31 Chevrolet
- Josh Berry, #4 Ford
- Harrison Burton, #21 Ford
- Daniel Suarez, #99 Chevrolet
- Ryan Preece, #41 Ford
- John Hunter Nemechek, #42 Toyota
- Cody Ware, #15 Ford
- Todd Gilliland, #38 Ford
- Zane Smith, #71 Chevrolet