Fast Facts: Michael McDowell



Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

Michael McDowell has raced just about anything with four – or two – wheels since he was 3 years old. Learn more about this multi-faceted racer in this week’s Fast Facts.

• Michael Christopher McDowell was born December 21, 1984 in Glendale, Arizona. At age 3, McDowell began racing BMX bikes, then moved into karting at age 8. In 10 years of karting, McDowell won the World Karting Association championship and back-to-back International KArting Federation championships.
• After competing in Formula Renault in 2002, McDowell joined the Star Mazda Series, a Road to Indy development series for the IZOD IndyCar Series; he was named Rookie of the Year in 2003 and won the series championship in 2004. McDowell did run two Champ Car events in 2005, but decided to move on to the Grand-Am Cup Series, and later to the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.
• In 2006, McDowell switched gears from sports cars to stock cars, driving a handful of races for Eddie Sharp Racing in the ARCA Racing Series. In 2007, they teamed up full-time, resulting in McDowell being named ARCA Rookie of the Year, on the strength of a runner-up finish in points and nine pole positions during the season.
• McDowell’s next move was to NASCAR in late 2007, with races in the Camping World Truck Series and the Nationwide Series for Darrell and Michael Waltrip’s teams, respectively. He made his Cup Series debut in 2008 for Michael Waltrip Racing, and has since driven for Prism Motorsports, Tommy Baldwin Racing and Phil Parsons Racing. He has also made numerous Nationwide Series starts for Joe Gibbs Racing.
• McDowell and his wife Jami have two children: son Trace (born 2009) and daughter Emma (born 2012).
• Find out more about McDowell at his website, www.mmcdowell.com.