Michael McDowell (racing driver)

Michael Christopher McDowell (born December 21, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports. He has previously competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He has also raced in open-wheel and sports cars. McDowell began his career in open-wheel cars, which included competing in Formula Renault and Champ Car, and in sports cars like the Rolex Sports Car Series and 24 Hours of Daytona. He moved to stock car racing in 2006, and his first Cup Series season came in 2008, the latter of which saw him attract attention for a violent qualifying crash at Texas Motor Speedway. However, after losing his ride at Michael Waltrip Racing, much of McDowell's Cup career in the following years was with smaller teams, oftentimes as a start and park driver. McDowell won at Road America during the 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series. McDowell did not run full-time in the Cup Series again until 2017 with Leavine Family Racing when he ran all 36 races. McDowell joined Front Row Motorsports in 2018, scoring his first Cup victory at the 2021 Daytona 500 with them. He moved to Spire Motorsports for 2025.