Michael McDowell says Daytona will "be a mess" in last race before NASCAR playoffs

There are seven former Daytona winners in a must-win situation this weekend, including 2021 Daytona 500 champion Michael McDowell. He was in the same position one year ago, but with a different team.

In 2024, McDowell started from pole position, led 26 laps, and was leading with just ten laps to go in the scheduled distance. But on Lap 151, an awkward push into Turn 1 sent him spinning from the lead. McDowell's car went completely airborne before slamming back down onto its wheels in the middle of the pack, collecting several other cars.

McDowell has no doubt that this race is "going to be a mess" again, telling the assembled media at Daytona: "I mean, we all know it. We've all lived it and seen it. It's not like that's going to be a big shock to us, and that's why this race is so unpredictable, just because the desperation is high for everybody. So those moments where you're like -- yeah, I'll give a little bit because whether I'm second or third in line here isn’t going to really matter, does matter in this race, so the intensity just ramps up. I think some of the decision-making is processing changes here with everything on the line.”

McDowell will start 20th for this weekend's race after qualifying was cancelled due to inclement weather. He is also facing a winless streak that dates back to August of 2023, where he won at the Indianapolis Road Course.

On the wreck that ended his shot at the win last summer, he said "there's not a whole lot you can do ... I felt like I was shading a little bit left. I could have been closer to the wall if I would have drugged back to him [Austin Cindric] a little bit sooner. We got a push when the momentum was different… so I think about all those things and analyze them post-race because you can. On Monday morning, it’s very easy to go back and look at it, so yeah, you can learn from all those experiences. I think if you asked him, he just made contact at the wrong spot and things happen, and when you get down to the end of the race, that's kind of how it goes, right? Nobody really lifts and you're trying to build momentum.

"So you can't really get super upset about any of those things, but I always look at it like this -- if you didn't win you did something wrong, so what are you going to do different to win? So I still look at that situation that even though I got spun out from behind, that there's things that I could have done differently to put myself in a better position to win.”