"He paved the way for a lot of us": NASCAR's Michael McDowell honors Indy 500 winner on special day

Michael McDowell responded to a post celebrating the 2004 Indy 500 winner, Buddy Rice. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway account celebrated Rice's 49th birthday on X (formerly Twitter) with a post mentioning his 2004 Indy 500 win.

McDowell reacted to Buddy's birthday post and shared how the 49-year-old inspired a lot of kids to take up racing and chase their dreams, writing:

"Buddy gave every kid growing up racing go karts at PKRA hope! Belief that dreams do come true. He paved the way for a lot of us."

McDowell is a NASCAR driver born in Glendale, Arizona. He got his start in racing by competing in go-karting tracks during his childhood. He grabbed a lot of attention in the ARCA Racing Series before making his NASCAR debut in the 2007 Xfinity Series. This experience gave him an entry into the NASCAR Cup Series.

Meanwhile, Buddy Rice is also a well-respected racer from Arizona and both Buddy and McDowell impressed in Indy Lights and have become successful racers. Rice competed as a full-time driver for Rahal Letterman Racing in IndyCar. He had his standout moment in 2004 when he won the Indianapolis 500 after dominating the other participants in the race. He drove the No Rahal Letterman 15 Argent and led 91 out of the 180 laps.

McDowell got signed to Michael Waltrip Racing in 2008, where he drove the No. 00 Toyota car. In 2021, McDowell achieved a monumental victory in the Daytona 500, securing his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series win, driving the No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports (FRM).

Reflecting on his Daytona win after the race, he said (via NASCAR.com):

“I think we are underdogs, but when we come to Daytona I would consider us a top-five contender every time, and I don’t say that because I’m being boastful, I just say that because a majority of these races we’re in the top five when it comes down to those last five laps."

Both McDowell and Rice compete in different team environments yet have mutual respect for one another.

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Michael McDowell set to depart from Front Row Motorsports

Famous Toastery Bowl - Western Kentucky v Old Dominion - Source: Getty

It was announced for the 2025 NASCAR season, that Michael McDowell will be leaving Front Row Motorsports and signing on with Spire Motorsports. McDowell had been with Front Row Motorsports for seven years and fostered a good relationship with them.

The team posted a tribute to the racer on X, featuring a message from Bob Jenkins, the owner :

McDowell was a full-time driver for Front Row Motorsports after joining them in 2018. The racer had grabbed the attention of Front Row Motorsports in 2016 because of his consistently impressive performances on the track.