This year kicked off with great news for Front Row Motorsports when Horizon Hobby, the global leader in remote-controlled products, confirmed their return to the #34 garage. Through the new deal, the company also revealed their intentions to have Michael McDowell serve as a season-long associate. Back then, the veteran was rather excited about what the partnership meant, citing that Horizon Hobby’s fun-filled product lineup would surely satisfy both kids and adults.

Fast-forward to this weekend, and Horizon Hobby just revealed some exciting news for NASCAR fans. However, as Michael McDowell’s dreams turned into reality, the community was left puzzled by his inclusion in a new lineup of products.

Adam Stern from Sports Business Journal revealed the exciting news to fans on X. In a new licensing deal, NASCAR has chosen to partner up with Horizon Hobby to produce hobby-grade RC versions of the Next Gen car. The insider shared, “@NASCAR has a new licensing deal with @Horizon_Hobby for hobby-grade RC cars for $180 available for pre-order now and to be delivered around September.  The line has paint schemes from Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr, and Michael McDowell.” 

In comparison to other ‘toy’ cars, NASCAR and Horizon Hobby want to ensure that the $180 price tag is fairly justified. So once fans find out that the collection is completely tuneable, swappable with other motors and parts, and can even be repaired, the RC cars are going to fly off the shelves. According to the official website, the 1/12 scale RC car comes ready to race and can reach speeds of 20 mph. Additionally, the cars recharge within an hour and can race for 20 minutes non-stop. To help promote the new product, Horizon Hobby revealed the various paint schemes in a short video on X.

The leading RC manufacturer shared, “Get in the driver’s seat with the @LosiRC @NASCAR RC Race Car! Drive it. Tune it. Race it. Pre-order today with your local hobby shop or http://horizonhobby.cc/nascar – click the link to see all of the details!”  The lineup consisted of some of NASCAR’s most decorated current-gen drivers. But this is where Michael McDowell stood out like a sore thumb to many fans.

Compared to the other driver paint schemes available, McDowell was the only driver out of Larson, Busch, Elliott, Blaney, and Truex Jr that was yet to win a Cup championship. This naturally led many fans to point this out on Reddit.

Amongst the paint schemes revealed for the Horizon Hobby NASCAR collection, the #5 HMS driven by Kyle Larson was an instant hit. Similarly, other fans were also loving the Kyle Busch inclusion. But what many couldn’t understand is that, if the collection consisted of primarily Cup champions, then was including Michael McDowell the best idea?

Many users sidelined the association between Front Row Motorsports and Horizon Hobby to state,  “Nothing against Michael McDowell but his name looks so out of place next to the others.” Similarly, others also felt that McDowell was only in such a position owing to his sponsorship ties. Another user pointed out, “Honestly I am surprised that McDowell is one of the options even though he’s sponsored by them lmao”

But that wasn’t all. This fan felt the need to highlight McDowell’s suffering in terms of sales, owing to the tough competition. After all, wouldn’t fans want to pick up a paint scheme belonging to a champion? The user shared on Reddit, “Poor McDowell. That one will for sure be the lowest selling, and he deserves better”

Fortunately for the FRM veteran, a few keen-eyed fans pointed out why the #34 Horizon Hobby paint scheme was special. A Redditor revealed, “Everyone was surprised about McDowell when he literally won a race in that very scheme” Others also jumped in to defend McDowell’s inclusion. Compared to the other choices, one fan felt McDowell was the clear winner; “With all those other choices, I’d probably buy the McDowell one If I had to buy one”

After taking a look at how split the NASCAR community is over Horizon Hobby and NASCAR’s new announcement, will you be placing a pre-order anytime soon?