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Michael McDowell Ready To Take The Fight To Shane Van Gisbergen Twice At Watkins Glen

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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Michael McDowell

Shane van Gisbergen is no longer the overwhelming favorite to win Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International. Instead, he can expect a stiff challenge from Michael McDowell.

And for that, van Gisbergen can thank Kaulig Racing, which announced Monday that McDowell — one of the sport’s most polished road course racers — will make a cameo appearance for the organization this weekend.

How Big Of A Threat Is Michael McDowell To Shane Van Gisbergen At Watkins Glen?

Although Shane van Gisbergen has dominated race courses in both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season, Michael McDowell gave the 36-year-old New Zealander a run for his money in last month’s Cup Series race at the Sonoma Raceway road course.

In fact, until a broken throttle cable on McDowell’s Spire Motorsports car derailed him moments after the first stage, the veteran driver had spent the entire race out front and untouched.

While van Gisbergen went on to collect this third Cup Series road course victory of 2025, the muscle McDowell flexed at Sonoma served as a friendly reminder that the 2021 Daytona 500 winner is no slouch at tracks where drivers turn both right and left.

After all, McDowell’s only Cup Series victory outside of the aforementioned Daytona 500 triumph came two years ago at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. And, McDowell earned his lone Xfinity Series win in his most recent Xfinity start, which he made in 2016 at Road America — a 4.048-mile road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

In the event at Road America, McDowell led exactly half of the race after starting on the outside of Row 1. McDowell finished seventh and led seven laps in the Cup Series race one year ago at Watkins Glen.

Michael McDowell Putting In Extra Work To Be At His Best For Weekend Test

Given the road course success of Michael McDowell, he is justifiably eager to pull double-duty this weekend at Watkins Glen, a 2.45-mile road circuit in Upstate New York.

It’s also no surprise that Kaulig Racing was eager to choose the 40-year-old Phoenix, Arizona native for a one-off appearance in its No. 11 Chevrolet after recently parting ways with the car’s former full-time driver, Josh Williams.

“Excited for this weekend,” McDowell said in a video he shared Monday on social media platform X. “It’s been nine years since I’ve been behind the wheel of an Xfinity car. I’m excited to get behind the No. 11 car for Kaulig this weekend at Watkins Glen — one of my favorite tracks.

“So, I’ve got a little extra prep work (to do) this week.”

Check out the video below of McDowell discussing his preparations for Watkins Glen.

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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