Nationwide driver Michael McDowell uses social-networking sites to reach out to fans
Michael McDowell has been competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this season for JTG Daugherty Racing. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
JTG Daugherty Racing driver Michael McDowell is likely making his final NASCAR Nationwide Series start of the season in Friday’s Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
But it won’t be because McDowell has stayed hidden. Quite the opposite, in fact, for McDowell has been visible in many Internet social-media sites, including Facebook and Twitter.
And, yes, that is McDowell typing in updates, not someone else. McDowell started this year on the sites as he made his first full-time foray into the Nationwide Series for JTG Daugherty.
“It’s amazing how quickly people can interact with you and how easy it is to do,” McDowell said. “I was a little bit nervous going into it, not understanding how to do it, but it’s so user-friendly.”
McDowell has more than 1,000 followers on his Twitter page (http://twitter.com/mmcdowell47), and often uses his Facebook fan page to post “dumb, quirky” videos of him playing golf, wakeboarding and “me being me.”
“A lot of times when you get to the race track, you sort of get that robot race-car driver, where your ‘Tom’s Snacks Toyota Camry was awesome today,’” McDowell said. “People don’t always get to see your real personality. I think it’s fun for the fans to be able to interact and see how you are off the track.”
McDowell’s updates include frequent trips to the Bob Evans restaurant chain.
“I go to Bob Evans that much,” McDowell said. “I love Bob Evans. I love everything about Bob Evans.”
He tries to make Tweets throughout the day, often sitting in his motorhome or his car.
And his personality often comes out, including frequent use of “Mc” before just about anything. His public relations representative, Joey Dennewitz, calls McDowell, “McDriver.”
“McDowell’s a long name,” McDowell said. “When you’re putting together press kits and press releases, it was just easier to ‘Mc’ everything. ‘Michael McDowell Facts’ is long, where ‘McFacts’ is great.”
And McDowell refers to his infant son, Trace, as McNugget.
“We figured we’d name him McNugget [before he was born] because we didn’t know if it was going to be a boy or a girl,” McDowell said. “It sort of just stuck with him. He might hate me for it later on down the road because it has been on TV, it has been on radio. He might be 18 years old at graduation and be called McNugget. I don’t know if he’ll like it.
“And at some point, I’m sure McDonald’s will sue us for taking their name or something like that. It is trademarked by them, I believe. Maybe if I change the spelling to a 'z' at the end they would allow us to use it.”
McDowell has taken care of a sponsor to extremes, too, often going into infields of race tracks with boxes of Tom’s snacks.
“Who doesn’t love free gifts?” McDowell said. “And when you’re going through the infield and you’re handing out potato chips, you might as well be handing out ice-cold Budweiser. People love it.
“It’s sort of neat because I’m not a big deal, I’m not a big popular name in this sport, so it gives you an opportunity to meet more fans. It’s not like you’re getting bombarded. You can actually go and interact, sit at the campfire and have fun.”
Despite his effort, JTG Daugherty simply doesn’t have the funding to continue fielding No. 47 Toyotas for McDowell, despite a solid first half of the season.
He’s 11th in the point standings, with three top-10 finishes in 16 races. His best finish was a sixth at Las Vegas.
“I’m starting to get comfortable, starting to build some momentum,” McDowell said. “The most difficult part right now is we unload sort of an eight- to 12th-place car. We’re trying to get to that next level here we can be top-five all the time and contend with the 18 [of Kyle Busch] and the 20 [of Joe Gibbs Racing] and the 60 [of Carl Edwards] all the time. Without testing, you end up sacrificing a little bit in practice to get to that next level.”
Sponsorship issues have been a distraction for the team, McDowell said, even though crew members have tried to work around it.
“We’ve done a really good job up to this point, but for sure the guys have it in the back of their mind, ‘When’s our last race?’” McDowell said. “You’ve got to imagine it’s wearing on them a little bit. For me as a driver, I’m used to this because, to me, every race is your last race unless you perform.”
