Micheal McDowell is no newcomer to the NASCAR world, but Sunday’s event at the Iowa Speedway will mark his first for Joe Gibbs Racing.  McDowell will pilot the No. 18 Pizza Ranch Toyota at Iowa, taking the wheel of one of the best cars in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, a car that already collected five wins in 2011 with Kyle Busch behind the wheel and a car that is the two-time defending NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship ride.  McDowell has 72 career start in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, with a career-best finish of sixth coming in the third race of the 2009 season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Of all the tracks in the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule, McDowell has his best average finishes at Iowa Speedway.  In two races, McDowell’s average finish at the .875-mile track is 10.5.  McDowell’s next best track, statistically, is Milwaukee, where he has an average of 14.  Micheal says “Really, this is just a great opportunity to get to drive the No. 18 and to get to drive for Joe Gibbs and Joe Gibbs Racing.  Joe is a guy that I’ve admired for a long time and his organization is one of the best in the business, especially in the Nationwide Series.  So to get a chance to race with them is a littel surreal.  The last time I can say I was in a car this truly competitive was back in 2009 when I was in the No. 47 car in the Cup Series.  So I know this opportunity is the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m getting the chance to drive a race-winning car.  So I can’t thank Pizza Ranch, Joe Gibbs and everyone enough for this opportunity.”

 The Race Recap: Michael and the No. 18 team started the day in the second-position after qualifying was rained out and the lineup set by owner’s points.  After running in second to start the event, McDowell passed JGR teammate Drew Herring to grab the lead on lap 38.  A strong stop by the No. 18 JGR team allowed Michael to hold onto the top spot following the lap 50 competition caution, a lead which he held until lap 57.  However, the rest of the afternoon Michael and the team fought a tremendously loose racecar.  Crew Chief Jason Ratcliff made a number of adjustments through the event to try and keep the No. 18 Pizza Ranch Toyota as competitive as he could near the front of the field.  A late-race caution during a round of green flag pit stops caught the Michael a lap down, forcing the team to have to take the wave around rather than come in and pit to make final adjustments for the race’s final 40 laps. McDowell was able to overcome the loose condition and an overheating problem to pick up a number of positions in the race’s final laps, bringing the No. 18 Pizza Ranch Toyota home seventh.  The finish allowed the No. 18 to hold onto its second-place standing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship.  The team trails the No. 20 car by just 24 points.

 Michael’s Quotes: ”It was a good day for the Pizza Ranch Toyota.  We led laps and brought the car home in one piece.  That was one of the biggest things I wanted to get out of today; to log laps, to be competitive and to stay out of trouble.  I don’t think we ended up where we wanted to, but that is the way things go sometimes.  We had a car that could have finished a couple of spots higher than where we finished.  It was a great first weekend with the No. 18 team, Jason (Ratcliff) and all of the guys.  They worked hard this weekend with the position we were put in with little track time because of all of the rain. 

 “I’m very thankful to Joe Gibbs Racing and Pizza Ranch for giving me this opportunity.  We came in with high expectations and we didn’t quite live up to them, but we have a good baseline now.  After a weekend of working together, Jason knows more what I want out of a car and I know how to better communicate with Jason and get him the information he needs to make the car better.  I’m looking forward to being back in the car for a few more races.”

 What’s Next:  The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will be back in action this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Kyle Busch behind the wheel in the Top Gear 300.

Pizza Ranch is excited to be back for its third season as an official sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing in 2011.  We are proud to be a part of one the top-tier teams in NASCAR. The season will be highlighted with Kyle Busch back behind the wheel for Pizza Ranch in Michigan. Michael McDowell will join Team Pizza Ranch with 2 efforts at Pizza Ranch’s home track of Iowa Speedway.  Pizza Ranch is also excited to be represented on Kyle’s fire suit for all of his NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Pizza Ranch is giving away 10 ticket packages (4 tickets per package) to the Pizza Ranch 100 – Star Mazda Series race at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, June 19, 2010!

Be one of the first 10 people to send us an email at prracing@pizzaranch.com with the subject line reading Pizza Ranch 100.  Your email must include the following items in the body to qualify for the ticket giveaway:  your name, your e-mail address and your home address.

If you are one of the first 10 to respond, you will be going racing at Iowa Speedway!

Please visit www.iowaspeedway.com for detailed schedule information for the Pizza Ranch 100-Star Mazda Series Race.

Good Luck!

Latest updates…

1) We are just days away from unveiling the #20 Pizza Ranch Show Car Tour Dates/Locations.

2) #20 Pizza Ranch Racing/Matt D. Merchandise will also be available at participating Pizza Ranch locations in early Summer.  We will be selling officially licensed #20 hats, t-shirts, decals and 1/24th diecast cars.  And if you can’t get the gear at your local ranch we plan to make it available to you via a new online merchandise store.

3) And to thank you for continuing to visit www.pizzaranchracing.com we are going to be rolling out a new Pizza Ranch Racing giveaway promotion via this website before anywhere else in the next week… so please come back.

Thanks to our great guests and fans!