Michael McDowell, a self-professing Christ-follower has won the Daytona 500 this past weekend. Heading into this year’s race, he had three Top 5 and 12 Top 10 finishes—but not a single victory.
For many, these stats would be discouraging, but McDowell says his faith kept him going.
“God just has a plan for each of us, and I’ve just never felt like it was time for me to stop [or] it was time for me to quit,” he said. “I just always felt like there’s a win on the horizon. You just gotta keep grinding it out.”
His video tweet professed thanks for his supporters and his team, documenting the fulfillment of a childhood dream.
Words just can’t describe this feeling.
We won the #DAYTONA500 !! pic.twitter.com/7Q9wmy7oEV
— Michael McDowell (@Mc_Driver) February 15, 2021
McDowell scraped by after a harrowing accident caused front runners to fall behind in a multiple car crash. This divine protection allowed him to achieve his big win, not unlike the race in 2008 that put his name on the racing circuit radar when the Lord spared his life from a horrific crash.
He said in post-Daytona 500 race interviews, “As a kid growing up, I always dreamed of being a race car driver but never thought about being a Daytona 500 champion.”
As McDowell worked toward his professional career, he recalled how faith was not initially a part of his journey. This interview with The 700 Club recounts how his mentorship under motorsports business owner Ron Huber was instrumental to cultivating McDowell’s faith into what it is today. This relationship, he says, is the reason McDowell sees racing as what he does and not what defines his identity.
“It’s what I do. I love it and pursue it with everything I have because I know that God’s provided it,” he says. “But at the end of the day, my identity is in Christ.”
Watch the race highlights here and watch the full interview with McDowell here.
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