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Michael McDowell roasts Brad Keselowski over NASCAR road course take

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones07/16/25brianjones_93
Michael McDowell Brad Keselowski
Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images//Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michael McDowell had a problem with what Brad Keselowski said about road courses in NASCAR. During his appearance on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, McDowell was asked about Keselowski calling for fewer road courses in a season.

“Brad is one of those guys that when this Next Gen car came, the road course stuff was over for him,” Michael McDowell said. “When it comes to the crowds, if you ask the fans, the fans love road races. They love it.

“Sonoma doesn’t hold 100,000 people or have stands for 100,000 people. That place was packed, and it’s a good crowd, and put on a good show. …I mean, you can’t ask a guy that’s not very good at road courses if he thinks there should be more road courses. It’s like asking me if there should be more Dovers. There shouldn’t be more Dovers.”

McDowell was responding to what Brad Keselowski posted on X/Twitter last week. Keselowski responded to a post from Auto Racing Analytics about not wanting to see more road-course racing in NASCAR. Auto Racing Analytics said four to five road-course races per season should be the limit.

How Michael McDowell and Brad Keselowski have done at road courses this year

“NASCAR Oval track races consistently have significantly better ratings, attendance and sponsorship than road course races,” Keselowski wrote. “Clearly the oval racing crowd should get the W here. 2-4 road course races is plenty enough…”

NASCAR has six road-course races this season. Three of the road course races have happened in the last month, and Shane van Gisbergen won all three of them. McDowell has had his share of success on the road courses, finishing fifth at Mexico City and fourth at Sonoma. He also finished 11th at COTA, which happened earlier in the year.

Keselowski has not had the same success on road courses this year. After finishing 15th at COTA, Keselowski earned a P25 finish at Mexico City, a P37 finish at Chicago and a P11 finish at Sonoma. McDowell and Keselowski need a win to clinch a spot in the playoffs. McDowell is 19th in Cup points, and Keselowski is in 27th.