#00 Champion Mortgage Toyota Camry

McDowell entered pit road under caution at Lap 68 for another pit stop while in 38th position.

"They pulled a rubber out and put a couple rounds in the left rear," McDowell said.

When another caution happened at Lap 87, McDowell was on pit road again.

"The looseness was hurting me more than the tightness during that run," McDowell said.

On the restart at Lap 91, McDowell was 35th. Following a green flag pit stop on Lap 120, McDowell reported rain in Turn 2 six laps later. NASCAR waved the caution flag on Lap 127 and several cars ahead of McDowell pitted while Peter Sospenzo made the call to keep McDowell out on track.

Four laps later NASCAR brought the field down pit road and red flagged the race due to rain. McDowell was in 18th-place while the race was halted for nearly an hour. NASCAR restarted the race at Lap 134.

"When we started back racing, the car was tight off," McDowell said.

Sospenzo called McDowell to pit road again under caution at Lap 139 for more adjustments as rain loomed nearby.

"I was worried the rain was coming when Peter called me to pit road," McDowell said. "Then it was slightly raining in Turn 3. We ended up going back to green with no problems."

Restarting 35th at Lap 145, McDowell went to work with fresher tires. At Lap 156 several cars ahead of him began to pit as he was running 35th. By Lap 168, McDowell was shown in 10th-place. Before pitting again at Lap 171, McDowell was fifth before the field cycled.

"We came in and the guys put on four tires and made a track bar adjustment," McDowell said. "It was dead tight off and started tight in the center."

McDowell ran one of his best laps of the race (56.17 sec.) on Lap 173 while shown in 32nd-place. Looking to get back into the top-35 in points, Sospenzo told McDowell they needed the race to stay green because the team they are battling for a coveted spot was going to have to pit again for fuel.

"We knew the 66 (Scott Riggs) car was really close on running out of fuel," McDowell said.

Inside 20 laps to go, McDowell was 29th and doing his best to move forward. With 10 laps remaining, McDowell was fighting for a respectable finish. On Lap 199, the #00 Champion Mortgage team watched McDowell cross the finish line 24th as the #66 car ran out of fuel and finished 29th.

"The 66 team ran out of gas and they are the ones we are chasing right now," McDowell said. "When I saw people running out of fuel, I thought maybe they're just not telling me about my fuel mileage because they didn't want to worry me. No stumbles though thanks to Toyota/TRD."

The #66 team held onto 35th in the points standings as the #00 Champion Mortgage team closed within four points of reentering the top-35.

"We are heading to Watkins Glen this weekend and we should be able to gain some points there," McDowell said.

McDowell and his #00 Champion Mortgage team prepare for the Centurion Boats at The Glen. Live coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Watkins Glen International on ESPN begins at 1 p.m. Eastern and on MRN Radio at 1:15 p.m. Eastern.

QUALIFYING
McD GETS IT DONE IN QUALIFYING

Rookie had to "Go or Go Home".

He went. Qualifies 35th for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Event at Pocono Raceway.

LONG POND, Penn. (August 1, 2008) –Michael McDowell qualified 35th (54.542 seconds – 165.010 mph) behind the wheel of his #00 Champion Mortgage Toyota Camry today at Pocono Raceway for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event on Sunday.

"You never want to have to qualify into the race and this is our first time for the Champion Mortgage Toyota, but I guess it's a good race to have to do it because we only had one car we had to beat," McDowell said. "I'm just happy because we really struggled in practice. I think we were 40th on the chart. We'll just work on race trim tomorrow and get our car good for Sunday. I love Pocono. I won the ARCA race here last year and it's tough in this Cup car for sure. These guys are all great. It's a privilege to run in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and I'm just happy to do it for Michael Waltrip Racing"

McDowell's Michael Waltrip Racing team has two practices to work on the car tomorrow. The morning session is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Eastern and final practice is 11:20 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.

At the end of the day on Sunday, McDowell hopes to have his #00 Champion Mortgage Toyota Camry back in the top-35 owner points standings. Having a guaranteed starting spot instead of qualifying on speed will make it easier on McDowell and his team.

"We need to be back inside the top-35," McDowell said. "Every weekend I feel like I'm fighting for my job and fighting for my life. It's a tough business and in my unique situation, just like a few other drivers, we're all fighting to keep our jobs and prove our worth here in the Cup Series. It's a tough place to do it at. We've just got to keep pushing hard."

McDowell's MWR teammates David Reutimann and Michael Waltrip qualified their cars 28th and 42nd respectively

Live coverage of Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 on ESPN will begin at 1 p.m. ET and MRN at 1:15 p.m.

POCONO PREVIEW
A PLACE WE'VE BEEN BEFORE

McDowell and #00 Champion Mortgage Toyota Camry Team Look to Build on Pocono Experience

LONG POND, Penn. (July 30, 2008) – For the first time this season, Michael McDowell finally has the opportunity to compete at a track where he has NASCAR Sprint Cup Series experience in the #00 Champion Mortgage Toyota Camry.

"I'm glad to be going back to Pocono Raceway for a second time in a Cup car," McDowell said. "We learned a lot the last time we were there and I think Pocono will be a good race for us."

The biggest focus for McDowell and his Michael Waltrip Racing team is to regain a top-35 position in the owner points standings after being forced out due to bad luck and a challenging weekend at The Brickyard.

"It's not fun that we have to qualify, but I think we can qualify the #00 Champion Mortgage Toyota fairly easy. We've been fast enough to make races, but we've never been in this position before. We need to have a good weekend." -M. McDowell

"I was not able to have much practice because of the tire problem and that hurt us at Indy," McDowell said. "We have also had some bad luck. Before racing at The Brickyard, we ran into some problems at New Hampshire and more recently we were wrecked in the opening laps at Chicagoland Speedway. That put us dead last in the finishing order. We took a blow in the points from that deal. We have just got to be smooth at Pocono and have a solid finish to gain some points."

McDowell feels comfortable with qualifying on time at upcoming tracks like the 2.5-mile tri-oval.

"It's not fun that we have to qualify, but I think we can qualify the #00 Champion Mortgage Toyota fairly easy," McDowell said. "We've been fast enough to make races, but we've never been in this position before. We need to have a good weekend."

McDowell finished 27th at the track in June. Having a veteran crew chief like Peter Sospenzo that has won at Pocono Raceway will help McDowell's weekend run smoothly.

"I'm looking forward to going to Pocono with him," McDowell said. "He did a really good job at The Brickyard and helped our weekend run smooth, minus the tire deal."

Sospenzo was victorious with Jeremy Mayfield in 2000 at Pocono Raceway and McDowell won an ARCA RE/MAX Series race there last season.

"I think we both like racing there and have had some success at the track before," McDowell said. "The biggest thing is that I've been there before in a Cup car. We're looking to build on that."

Live coverage of Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 on ESPN will begin at 1 p.m. ET and MRN at 1:15 p.m.