Sponsorship Woes Mean McDowell's NASCAR Season Could Be Over

July 4, 2009 6:11 p.m. EST

Daytona Beach, FL (AHN) - A year ago Michael McDowell was enjoying a promising rookie season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as an employee of Michael Waltrip Racing.

For now, the promising youngster is looking for a job.

McDowell, who finished 13th in the NASCAR Nationwide race Friday night at Daytona International Speedway, confirmed that his current ride may be over - unless something changes.

The former ARCA RE/MAX Series race winner sits 11th in the Nationwide points following 16 races with JTG Daugherty Racing.

Unless future sponsorship can be found McDowell and the team will not be at Chicago next week or on the track the rest of the season.

McDowell scored top-10 finishes at Las Vegas, Richmond and Nashville and finished 14 of 16 races.

Last year he drove 20 races for Michael Waltrip Racing before being replaced after failing to qualify at Kansas. JTG co-owner Brad Daugherty said the decision was a matter of resources and trying to stretch a limited amount of sponsorship money across two programs.