Catchfence

(MOORESVILLE, NC) August 15, 2010 – A promising six hour test session in the new NASCAR Nationwide Series car on Thursday had Michael McDowell and his CARFAX #81 MacDonald Motorsports team excited for the race weekend at Michigan International Speedway.  He was 21^st in the test Thursday and just a one hour session on Friday left Michael 30^th on the time sheets.

Michael fought a loose condition in his qualifying session and was only able to achieve a 38^th place starting position but the team was confident he could move up.  He did just that, and quickly.  By the end of the first lap Michael had maneuvered his way up to 29^th position.  His #81 CARFAX Dodge Challenger was really moving early but it quickly jumped to the loose side again.  Crew chief Patrick Donahue and the team battled that loose condition the entire race but were never able to correct it.  After several long green flag runs and a late race caution, Michael brought the ill-handling car home in 28^th place, and in one piece.

“Glad to finish, we really missed the setup with this new car. Being a small team with limited resources we will need a bit more time to get it right,” McDowell says.

Thanks to CARFAX for partnering with the team for there own race, the CARFAX 250.  The decals on the new Challenger looked great and it really helped out the team.

This Friday, August 20^th, Michael will head to Bristol Motor Speedway, the world’s fastest half-mile for the Food City 250.  The race will air at 7:00p.m. on ESPN.

- MacDonald Motorsports, Press Release