While running in Chicago, Michael McDowell ran a White Sox paint scheme, finding out how hot the Cubs rivalry is.
"I had a fan that was a Cubs fan," Michael McDowell says. "Wanted me to sign autographs because he had a bunch of cards and things like that. So I signed a bunch of cards and I was like hey, do you want to take a picture? And he's like no, I can't take a picture with you wearing that."
McDowell loves the road course of Road America and would like to return to the NASCAR Cup series along with the Chicago street race.
"Well I love Road America," McDowell says. "It's one of my favorite race tracks. And it always has been even you know previously before I got into NASCAR. It's always been one of my favorites. So I'm biased. I mean I think we have room for both, right? They're great facilities. Now you gotta remember though. A road course at Road America versus a street course in downtown Chicago is so different because of what we're trying to accomplish, right? Like bringing the race to the city and to the fans is important that we continue to try to do this in different regions and different areas because it's going to expose so many people to our sport that otherwise would not see it."
Watch: NASCAR's Michael McDowell shares love of Road America and Christian faith
McDowell is strong in his Christian faith. That doesn't make him perfect, just forgiven for how he handles mistakes in a tough sport where contact is a hot topic.
"If you're an outspoken Christian? You always catch a little bit of flak," McDowell says. "You're hypocritical because you hit this guy. And I'm like no, no. This is a contact sport. If I played professional football. And I was an offensive lineman or on defense, I mean my job would be to hit you as hard as I can. And racing isn't like that. But in the same sense? It's, you're fighting for your race team. You're fighting for your career. You're fighting for your family. And contact is not dirty. You're asking guys who are putting their lives on the line and racing as hard as they possibly can to be super-behaved. And I don't think you're going to have everybody super behaved."
After 7 seasons, Michael McDowell is going through changes of his own. Departing Front Row Motorsports for Spire Motorsports on a multi-year deal.
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