The NASCAR Cup Series offered the chance for a return home for three drivers. It did not go as each of them would have liked.
Sunday was the first race back in Arizona for Michael McDowell since his win in the Daytona 500. The highlight of his return back was when he was given the key to the city of Glendale and a proclamation in his name.
They dubbed March 11, 2021, as “Michael McDowell Day” in recognition of his achievement.
McDowell hoped that this would be the day he’d break into the top 10 at the Avondale track — he’d never finished higher than 12th in his 20 starts.
The 13-year veteran in the Cup series did not pass that threshold Sunday, either. He started the race in 16th position but did not have the speed to make a push. His No. 34 car finished 23rd, which was the best of the Front Row Motorsport team; Anthony Alfredo did not finish after a wreck in lap 87.
It was a better day for Tucson’s Alex Bowman, although the day did not start out well after he was involved in the first non-competition caution of the day. The No. 48 Chevrolet ended in a incident with two other cars on turn two, forcing Bowman to go to the back of the pack. He bounced back from the situation and pushed all the way to 12th at one point of the race, and ended up finishing 13th.
Three Hendrick Motorsports teammates did not have the best start of the day, either. Teammates Kyle Larson and Willian Byron failed inspection twice and were sent to the rear of the field to start the race, and Chase Elliott had to go to the rear after unapproved adjustments were made on his car overnight.
Elliott, the defending Cup champion, was Hendricks’ best finisher, ended up fifth, followed by Larson at seventh and Byron eighth.
One other Arizona racer was supposed to start, but Phoenix native J.J. Yeley was replaced by Garrett Smithley. Yeley did run Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, finishing 13th to place him 32nd overall with 49 points in his two starts in the series.
The Arizona racers will look to bounce back next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.