Catchfence

West Allis, Wis. (June 21, 2009)- Michael McDowell finished a hard fought 14th in the NorthernTool.com 250 Saturday night at the Milwaukee Mile. McDowell says the fight started early.

“We really fought the car this weekend. The first practice was frustrating. We only really had a handle on the track once this weekend in the final practice and we really struggled handling wise”, said McDowell.

A loose racecar in qualifying had McDowell starting in the 19th position. Wasting no time, McDowell fought his way to the 12th position by lap 11. A long green flag run brought the field down for green flag pit stops around lap 75. Returning to the track in the 19th position, McDowell and crew chief Gene Nead continued to brainstorm adjustments for the severe handling condition.

A yellow finally flew on lap 123 giving the opportunity to make some changes. The aggressive adjustments must have worked as McDowell muscled his way to the top-15. That is as far as he would get however, hanging on to finish 14th.

“I don’t think I’ve ever fought that hard for a 14th place finish. We fought all night long and I feel fortunate to salvage a decent result. A 14th place is just not what we were looking for here in Milwaukee”, said McDowell.

This 14th place finish puts McDowell 11th in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship standings, only 31 points from of 10th and 729 points from the lead

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McNEXT: New Hampshire Motor Speedway l Camping World RV Sales 200 Presented By Turtle Wax l June 27, 2009

- Michael McDowell, Press Release