Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR
It was a long 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season for Michael McDowell. Driving for Phil Parsons' HP Racing team, McDowell filled the role as a start and park driver. It would be hard for any driver to have any highlights of a season when they only attempted to run full distance three times and the same was true for McDowell.
The best parts of McDowell's season came in the five events he drove for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. McDowell came close to winning the Elkhart Lake event but came up short. His best finish of the five events came at Montreal where he placed third. On the Cup side of things, only twice did McDowell and the HP Racing team attempt to run the full distance. The first came at Martinsville in the Goody's Fast Relief 500 where the 66 car finished 32nd. The second ended up being McDowell's best finish in 2011, a 30th at Infineon Raceway in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Kyle Busch's problems in the November race at Texas ended up being of benefit to McDowell as he was able to pilot the #18 M&M's Toyota in the race. Unfortunately the lack of seat time to get acclimated to the car and team showed as McDowell finished 33rd in the event.
Being a start and park driver helped McDowell and his pit crew avoid getting in-race penalties from NASCAR. Even so McDowell did notch two penalties in the Watkins Glen race, one for speeding in the pits and the other for a safety violation. The 66 crew avoided penalty in 2011.
2011 Statistics For Michael McDowell
36th in Sprint Cup standings
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 30th in the Toyota/Save Mart 350
2011 Penalty Report For Michael McDowell
Race 16 - Pre-Race to the rear [driver change], tail end
Race 22 - Pre-Race to the rear, missing driver introductions; Speed-Exiting pits, pass thru; Safety violation, pit
Race 34 - Pre-Race to the rear (Driver Change), Tail of Field