Short Tracks Remain Michael McDowell's Achilles Heel
4 weeks agoAlthough Michael McDowell is fast on drafting tracks and road courses, short tracks are consistently his Achilles heel. Darlington, Bristol, and Martinsville are the only tracks that have been on the schedule his entire career where he has not led a lap, and of those Martinsville is the only track where he has never earned a top ten finish and he's only earned a single top fifteen. Quite possibly it is his worst track and short tracks in general are the only tracks where Todd Gilliland is expected to outrun McDowell. McDowell's qualifying run of 17th was below average for him but he tends to finish worse than he qualifies, which should likely be expected here given how lackluster he typically runs here.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference