Michael McDowell’s crew chief gives the latest buzz on his NASCAR future - “It’s been an interesting off-season for me”

NASCAR veteran Michael McDowell declared that he would leave Front Row Motorsports and join Spire Motorsports at the end of the 2024 season. This leaves the #34 team's current crew chief's future in limbo.

The #34 Ford driver McDowell has inked a multi-year contract and is set to pilot the #71 Chevy, replacing Zane Smith. The 39-year-old McDowell has been a part of Bob Jenkins-owned FRM for seven years. He won two races for FRM, including the esteemed Daytona 500 in 2021. However, McDowell's departure has put the #34 crew chief Travis Peterson in a spot.

Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, crew chief Peterson discussed his uncertain plan for the 2025 NASCAR campaign and how the silly season for crew chiefs stays under the radar. Peterson stated:

"Everybody has contracts and it's all similar. And you look forward to when those opportunities come that you get to negotiate and work on deals and figure out what the next best thing for you is going to be. And right now we're kind of in the middle of that."

The #34 crew chief continued:

"Maybe going with Michael(McDowell) being an option, maybe staying in Front Row be an option. There's a lot of details out there to work out yet. I can't say that I have an answer to give you right now. But certainly it's been an interesting off-season for me as well as what's all been in the news."

Crew Chief Peterson believes that to be in the best spot to sign or negotiate a new deal is to win races and perform better on the race tracks.

McDowell and the #34 team have come close to winning this 2024 season with a recent top-five finish and a runner-up finish earlier this season.

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Michael McDowell's crew chief talks about his chemistry with the #34 driver in the 2024 season

Full-time Cup Series driver Michael McDowell in over 236 races for Front Row Motorsports has amassed two wins and 35 top-ten finishes.

So far in the 2024 Cup Series season, McDowell has made two top-five and six top-ten finishes. With a recent P5 finish at the Grant Park 165 race on the Chicago Street Circuit, he currently sits at P22 in the overall standings.

In the aforementioned conversation, crew chief Peterson elaborated on the #34 team's form and stated:

"Me and Michael have a lot of chemistry and it's been really good. And we've been really close this year. I think it's been awesome to be in year two and we keep showing more and more speed at more and more places that maybe historically him or the car or just our group hasn't shown. So we're just trying to keep building right now, focus on both of us running as good as we can. And the rest of it is going to kind of work itself out."

As NASCAR heads towards the 21st race of the regular season at Pocono Raceway, the Arizona native is 156 points below the playoff cut line. McDowell has to show speed, win a race, and claim more points to qualify for the 2024 NASCAR playoff.