Days after the Texas setback, Michael McDowell reveals his hindsight regret concerning Joey Logano

With about four laps to go in last Sunday’s Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway, Michael McDowell pulled off a move that nobody expected. Instead of blocking the eventual race winner, Joey Logano, McDowell chose to run his corner.

This gave Logano the clean air that he needed to pack more speed in his No. 22 Mustang. One might wonder: Why would McDowell give it away to an opponent? The driver himself provided the answer on Corey LaJoie’s Stacking Pennies podcast.

"Joey (Logano) was just far enough back there," Michael McDowell explained. “He was waiting to see where I was going to land, and he was going to go to the opposite. So right here, if I stay high, he's still gonna pull down. So I did a lazy arc and pulled to the bottom."

However, that is something that McDowell regrets doing. Notably, the sole reason why he veered to the outside lane was to avoid the bump on the track surface in turns 3 and 4, right above the tunnel.

"The whole point of what I was trying to do is trying not to want to be on the outside of (Turns) 3 and four," he added.

McDowell was then left to battle former NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney for position. But he lost control of his No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevy soon after and rammed it straight into the wall. He was handed his first DNF of the season and a disappointing 26th-place finish.

As of today, Michael McDowell sits 20th in the driver standings with 214 points to his name. 11 races into the season, the 40-year-old NASCAR veteran has no top-five or top-10 finishes yet.

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“I felt like he panicked at that point”- Kevin Harvick analyzes Michael McDowell’s wreck at Texas Motor Speedway

Former Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick shared his thoughts on Michael McDowell’s late-race crash at Texas Motor Speedway. According to the 2014 Cup champ, McDowell panicked after losing track position to Joey Logano.

Detailing the same on his Happy Hour Podcast, Harvick said (as quoted by On3),

"He ultimately got a little bit tight off of Turn 2 (and) Logano got the run. I felt like he panicked at that point, personally, and put that huge block on him. I know that they said he was going for it, but I felt like he had another chance going into Turns 3 and 4 with a good side draft and being able to have a chance to defend himself through 3 and 4."

Notably, Michael McDowell was awarded the highest finishing position among the 12 drivers who were slammed with DNFs last Sunday. Next up for him is the AdventHealth 400, scheduled for this coming Sunday, May 11, at Kansas Speedway. Fans can watch the race on FS1, 3 pm ET onwards, or listen to live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.