McDowell unhurt after frightening crash

Michael McDowell made his Sprint Cup debut last weekend in  Martinsville and this week, finds himself atop the headlines for the second week  in a row. Unfortunately, his newsworthiness has nothing to do with  a stellar on-track performance and everything to do with a devastating crash he suffered on Friday night during qualifying at the Texas Motor Speedway.

Already getting some intense scrutiny for his run-in with veteran Jeff Burton in Martinsville, McDowell was running his second lap around the 1.5-mile track when his car broke loose in turn 1. When he tried to catch the back end, the front of the car 'set', sending him up the race track and into the outside SAFER barrier head on. His No. 00 Toyota then flipped over a half dozen times before coming to a halt on all four tires in a crumpled, flaming monstrosity. As  the crowd grew mum in question of McDowell’s state,  he climbed from the car under his own power.

“I didn't  lose consciousness – I felt every roll down the hill," McDowell said. "For me to walk away  from a wreck like that is unbelievable.  I'm definitely going to count my  blessings tonight.  Thank God for this opportunity to walk away from that  wreck."

McDowell was unscathed after the jaw-dropping  crash due in large part to NASCAR’s recent wave of safety implementations; from the new car’s  bigger greenhouse to the track’s SAFER barriers. Following the wreck, qualifying  was red-flagged for over an hour for clean-up and repairs to the SAFER barrier.  McDowell reportedly hit the wall exceeding 170 miles per hour. The impact  against the wall was so great it bent the barrier, forcing track crews to install new foam  padding and temporarily reshape the steel wall. Extensive repairs  were scheduled to resume following the qualifying  session.

Displaying the racer within, McDowell quickly scoffed off  his physical state and turned his line of thinking back to the additional work  he inflicted upon his race team.

"I feel upset for the Aaron's  Dream Machine guys," he continued. "I came off of (turn) 4 on that first lap and I just felt a little  bit off. Like something wasn't right. I went into one and I didn't know if  it was the oil dry or something happened, but it's real unfortunate. I hate to  make that much work for the guys back at shop.

“Fortunately I'm okay.  I got to see that replay and it  wasn't very good. I'm thankful for everyone back at the shop that makes these  cars safe. That's one of the worst wrecks that I've seen in a while and I'm not  excited I had to participate in it, but we'll pull the back up out and get in  race trim tomorrow.  I feel great, nothing broke and I didn't pass out —  just wish I didn't over correct out there. I'm just happy we'll be all right and  we'll get out there and go for it tomorrow."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed the pole for Sunday's Samsung 500, his  first of the year for Hendrick Motorsports. It was the fourth pole for HMS this season.

Dario Franchitti, Burney Lamar and Chad McCumbee failed to qualify.

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