Team Season in Review - Circle Sport Leavine Family Racing

Leavine Family Racing

2016 was a breakout season for Circle Sport Leavine Family Racing with Michael McDowell and Ty Dillon sharing the #95 Chevrolet SS with McDowell driving the majority of the season. McDowell also piloted the #59 in the season opening Daytona 500 at Daytona and at the season ending Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami. Here is the team season in review for Circle Sport Leavine Family Racing.

Leavine Family Racing

During the off-season things changed that were way out of the ordinary like the move to Chevrolet and joining forces with Richard Childress Racing. The season started out at Daytona with two entries in the Daytona 500. Michael McDowell would race his way into the Daytona 500 for the second straight season. Also Ty Dillon would drive the #95 Chevrolet SS with support from Cheerios and Kroger. Dillon would have the Charter from Circle Sport which would land both cars in the 58th Annual Daytona 500. McDowell would go on to finish 15th while Ty would finish 25th. It would sit McDowell 15th in points and McDowell would leave Daytona in the Chase. McDowell failed to gain his best finish in the Daytona 500 but it would be the start of something big for McDowell and CSLFR.

Leavine Family Racing

The following weekend, McDowell would head to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the first real test for Circle Sport Leavine Family Racing. McDowell would have a moderate showing starting 32nd and finishing 33rd after a stressful day in Atlanta but the finish in Atlanta wouldn't hinder the teams spirit heading on the West Coast Swing.

Leavine Family Racing

McDowell would have moderate showings from Atlanta all the way to Richmond with a best finish of 24th coming at Martinsville. Talladega would come and it was where the team would seek it's first career victory and McDowell and his team would give it all they got and in some cases at the end McDowell would be on the verge of leading at Talladega but a late race crash with Danica Patrick and Matt Kenseth really ended any shot McDowell would have at gaining a victory.

Leavine Family Racing

McDowell would pilot the #95 in races 11,12, and 13 with a best finish of 20th coming at race 12 in Dover. Ty Dillon would step in to race the #95 at Pocono and Michigan gaining a 21st and 24th. Dillon would also lead 3 laps at Pocono. The two bullets in the gun called Sonoma and Daytona would be McDowell's playground with him having an avid road racing background and then how well the team did at Daytona in February. McDowell would start 20th at Sonoma but would have rear gear issues end his day early but the bad finish at Sonoma would be healed by an 10th place finish at Daytona where many were disappointed because a Top-5 finish for McDowell was within reach.

Leavine Family Racing

The second half of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season for Circle Sport Leavine Family Racing would start with Ty Dillon piloting the #95 at Kentucky which would be Dillon's last start until the fall. Ty would finish 25th leading one lap. McDowell's second half of the season would begin at New Hampshire where McDowell would make his first start at New Hampshire since 2013 but his return to the Granite state would be ruined by an electrical issue that would land him finishing 39th.

Leavine Family Racing

That 39th place finish though at New Hampshire would be a rarity and this was the part of the season where things began to look up for McDowell. Two 23rd place finishes in a row at Indianapolis and Pocono and then at Watkins Glen McDowell would gain a 17th place finish, his best finish since he finished 10th at Daytona. McDowell would then finish 19th at Bristol, just one position off of his best finish at the Worlds Fastest Half Mile. Michigan and Darlington weren't extraordinary finishes with Darlington being the best finish of the two tracks where he would finish 27th.

Leavine Family Racing 

Then the postseason would be upon us, Richmond was another great finish for the team as the team survived all of the chaos to gain a 12th place finish, McDowell's best finish at the short track in Virginia. Chicago was looking like a consistent afternoon until McDowell blew a tire late in the race and really made it to where he could rebound. New Hampshire would be Dave Winston's final race as McDowell's crew chief and he would finish 26th after starting 20th. Ty Dillon would step back in the car at Dover for the second to final time of the season with Death Wish Coffee where he would finish 32nd.
Todd Parrott, who had served as Ty Dillon's crew chief whenever he drove the #95, would become the primary crew chief for McDowell and the #95 team and this move would be what the doctor ordered. McDowell gained a 14th place finish at Charlotte and 22nd place finish at Kansas. With not many drivers taking risks at Talladega, McDowell was only able to gain a 16th place finish just one position shy of tying his best finish at Talladega. McDowell would race Talladega and Martinsville sick having to go to the In Field Care Center following the Martinsville race. McDowell would finish 23rd at Texas after the race was shortend by rain and then McDowell would seek a good finish at his home track. But another tire issue at the end would cause McDowell to finish 34th and ultimately cause a different outcome to the end of the race and the chase.
The #59 would return to action at Homestead where McDowell gained the charter from Tommy Baldwin Racing locking the #59 into the Ford 400. Ty Dillon would qualify the #95 in 34th place while McDowell would start 26th. Throughout the race both McDowell and Ty stayed together even during the big wreck involving Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, and a few others. Sadly Ty Dillon was collected and gained a lot of damage causing him to finish 33rd. McDowell on the other hand sat in great position following the wreck and landed his first Top-10 on a non-restrictor plate track gaining McDowell a lot of momentum heading into the 2017 Season. (Koelle,2016)