You can’t help but feel bad for Michael McDowell after what happened on Sunday at Talladega. As the #34 Front Row Motorsports driver looked poised to collect the third NASCAR win of his career, an unfortunate shove from Brad Keselowski ended his chances. While the misfortune relegated McDowell (who was also the pole winner last weekend) to a heartbreaking P31 finish, Keselowski ended on a high note at P2. However, contrary to popular belief, Keselowski, who has garnered quite a reputation for wrecking, was far from happy.

In fact, the driver-team owner cut an apologetic figure as he discussed the debacle.

Experienced Brad Keselowski knows what a final lap mishap feels like

The white flag had fallen and with a comfortable lead, the #34 car seemed all set to visit victory lane just ahead of Keselowski. However, the #6 driver was also creeping up from the inside, trying to pass the then-race leader. In a purely cinematic set of events, McDowell, in a bid to defend his dominance, tried to position himself right ahead of the #6 mimicking his moves. But the slightest contact with the latter at that speed proved fatal as the #34 spun around. And it was precisely at that moment that Tyler Reddick found the opening he was looking for, as he sped down to collect his first win of the season.

As painful as it was for the FRM driver, Brad Keselowski is not new to facing these kinds of situations either. Perhaps that’s what made it easy for him to relate to the heartbreaking situation. “I hate that for Michael. I don’t know what else to do there, man, I’m getting pushed,” he said on his team radio in a heartfelt moment.

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On the other hand, McDowell too was quite frustrated, as expected, did not hold back his feelings either. “Just wanted to get to the line. Come on,” he said. After his Indy win in 2023, this would have been a massive result for the Front Row Motorsports driver. But at the end of the day, it was just an unfortunate series of events. At least that’s how Brad Keselowski sees it.

Did Michael McDowell impede on a Ford victory?

The 2012 Cup Series champion would not have been in such a good position had it not been for a push from Noah Gragson behind. But the Stewart-Haas Racing driver’s efforts went in vain because of Micahel McDowell. So maybe one can say that the FRM man took away what was looking like a sure-shot Ford win.

“I was looking high on Michael and he did a good job blocking. I turned back down and got a good push from Noah [Gragson], and Michael came back down to block that, and by then we were kind of a freight train coming and Newton’s Cradled into the No. 34 car and [it was] just too much of a hit for him to be able to save. So it’s unfortunate — I thought we had a really strong day; it looked like we were going to get a Ford 1-2-3 and it didn’t work out. I’m glad to get a good finish but really want the win,” he said after the race as per RACER.

No matter who you think was at fault,results like these are deflating but can also motivate a driver to do even better. Will the FRM man be able to bounce back and win a race this year?