Continuing their NASCAR Cup Series playoff push, Michael McDowell and the No. 34 team head to the famed Indianapolis (Ind.) Motor Speedway this weekend. Teams will race on the road course at the historic facility.

The team lost some ground in the playoff standings on Monday by going from the positive side to three points below the cutline. It lands him 17th in the championship points standings.

However, McDowell isn’t worried about where they sit. In fact, he’s thrilled to be as close as they are because where others may fear the upcoming three tracks to close out the regular season, McDowell says bring it on.

“We can better control our own destiny now. After Michigan, we have some work to do, but we’re at our best tracks. We can reel these guys back in.

“It’s super exciting to see Horizon Hobby back on our Ford Mustang. They have been such a fun partner to represent and it’s going to be fun to see them again this weekend.”

McDowell and the team have earned two top-10 finishes and a 12th in the three road courses this season. The Arizona native was 12th at the Circuit of The Americas and finished seventh at both Sonoma and Chicago.

McDowell will be making his third start on the Indianapolis Road Course in the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday. His best finish came last season when he finished eighth.

That’s why with two road courses up next, he’s not worried. Then comes Daytona which is a place that he’s thrived at. His lone Cup win came there as he won the 2021 Daytona 500.

“We’ve been waiting for the next three weekends to come to us,” said crew chief Travis Peterson. “They are our best tracks, and we have the most challenging tracks behind us. We just need to capitalize on the opportunity.”

It would be a massive storyline if McDowell can points his way into the playoffs with a team like Front Row Motorsports. Nothing against them, it’s just that in the Cup Series, to be among the 16 driver postseason field, those spots are usually reserved for the heavy hitters.

Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing each boast four cars each. Team Penske has three. 23XI Racing and Trackhouse Racing both have two.

There’s 19 cars right there. Then you have two each at Richard Childress Racing and RFK Racing.

Remarkably, Front Row could even with 21 combined cars between the teams I just listed, could be among the playoff field on merit and not by having to win a race like they did in the 2021 season opener.

Still, they’d rather secure a spot via a win and with how strong these three tracks are for McDowell and how well they’re running this year, I think they can do so.