Story By: JEREMY PETERS / SHANE MCDOWELL RACING – MOORESBURG, TN – Dale McDowell’s performance on Saturday night in the 54th annual World 100 at Eldora Speedway showed the Chickamauga, Ga., native still has what it takes to compete with the best drivers in the country.
Despite crossing the line in second when the checkers flew in the 100-lap finale, the pilot of the Shane McDowell Racing / E-Z-GO No. 17m Team Zero Race Cars / Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model took part in a heated battle with eventual race-winner Bobby Pierce in the waning laps. He led laps 1-4 and 92-95 before claiming the runner-up honors at the finish.
“I did everything I could do, and I couldn’t run up there where he and Jonathan (Davenport) were running. I was just too tight and I shoved right front tire off, so I had to run the middle,” McDowell said. “And it just wasn’t meant to be, you know? I got up there to those lapped cars and the air got off of me and I slowed down a little bit, but even when I would try to go around them, I’d shove pretty hard. I shoved down there pretty hard one time. I had to shut down in turn two. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
McDowell unloaded his Shane McDowell Racing No. 17m at Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio) on Wednesday afternoon for the rescheduled Castrol FloRacing Night in America event.
Among an 82-car field, McDowell qualified 14th-fastest before finishing fourth in his heat race. Dale just missed the feature cut-off with a third-place finish in his B-Main.
Kicking off the 54th annual World 100 on Thursday with 107 Late Models signed in, McDowell picked up a pair of Top-10 finishes in preliminary action with a ninth-place finish on Thursday and eighth-place finish on Friday.
Charging from third-to-first in his heat race on Saturday, Dale earned the pole position for the 54th-annual World 100. Racing for a $57,000 payday, McDowell led the first four laps before slipping back to fourth. Making his way back to the front, Dale took back the lead with less than 10 laps to go before a lap car interrupted his momentum and allowed Bobby Pierce to sneak back by. McDowell settled for a runner-up finish in the 100-lap affair while Jonathan Davenport completed the podium.
Shane McDowell Racing now shifts their focus to this weekend with Thursday’s Castrol FloRacing Night in America event at I-75 Raceway kicking off the festivities.
On Saturday and Sunday, McDowell will compete with the World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series at Senoia Raceway and Talladega Short Track. Saturday’s Billy Clanton Classic is followed by the rescheduled Alabama Gang 100 from April 20th, where McDowell is set to roll off 17th for the $35,000-to-win main event.