With one last chance to lock themselves into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team are carrying a new look on the team’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse in this weekend’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
McDowell and the team will be supported by Colortech, Inc. for the event, and with the primary sponsorship will come a car that features a colorful palette of colors. The car will feature a white base coat, and the front bumper and roof of the car will be light blue. The sides of the car will feature more dots of different shades of blue, green, yellow, red, and orange.
Colortech, Inc. is a family-owned manufacturer of color and additive concentrates for the plastics industry, which was founded in 1981. This will be the company’s first dive into the world of NASCAR.
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McDowell, who has made it into the Playoffs with wins at Daytona in 2021 and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2023, comes into Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington with his back against the wall. The driver, who sits 23rd on the Playoff grid, 199 points behind the cutline, knows the only path to the Playoffs is by way of a win this weekend.
The 39-year-old is confident that his team can carry the speed they need into the 1.366-mile oval to be in the conversation for a win this weekend.
“While we don’t have a win like we did last year through this point, the speed and performances have been there,” McDowell said. “Darlington is tricky with how you dial the car in with its different profiles of corners, but the key to success is finding that perfect balance between the two. If we can do that like we did in May, we will have a good chance to run up front and get the win.”
McDowell finished solidly in 10th earlier this season at Darlington, and it was a great day overall for Front Row Motorsports as Todd Gilliland had one of the best cars throughout the race, but issues on pit road relegated the driver of the No. 38 Ford Mustang to a 15th-place finish.
A big part of the speed for McDowell in the spring was his crew chief Travis Peterson tinkering away on his race car. Peterson feels he has a solid idea of how to get the No. 34 driver and team up front this weekend.
“The Southern 500 is a special race on the NASCAR schedule, especially with it being the cutoff for the regular season,” Peterson said. “We have had good cars and opportunities all season, just haven’t been able to put it all together to win. Darlington is a very difficult track to plan for, but it’s an exciting challenge. We were able to get a Top-10 back in May, so we have a good plan to get Michael up front.”
The Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway is set for Sunday, September 1 at 6 PM ET with television coverage being provided by USA Network and the NBC Sports App. The race will also be broadcast on radio by the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
