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Slow Hendrick Setups Will Likely Slow Michael McDowell at Gateway
Although Michael McDowell unexpectedly won the pole for last year's Gateway race and has 74 laps here (more than at any other track since Talladega), don't expect him to significantly contend in Sunday's race. Despite leading 34 laps in the inaugural race here in 2022 and 40 laps last year, he took the lead in the pits in the former race and never led after Christopher Bell passed him for the Stage 1 win last year. This time, McDowell qualified 28th, worse than he did in any of his Front Row Motorsports years, and he is now driving for a Spire Motorsports team that is a Hendrick Motorsports satellite at a track that might be Hendrick's worst. Although his poor starting position and low salary indicate there might be a lot of place-differential potential, he's a riskier pick than he looks on paper.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference
