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Hall of Fame driver Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., will be sidelined for at least the next month-and-a-half as he recovers from prostate cancer surgery, his brother’s team, Shane McDowell Racing, announced today.

McDowell, 55, said in a victory lane interview after winning Saturday’s Southern All Star Series event at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tenn., that “health issues” would force him out of the cockpit throughout the month of October. His team added more detail to the news on Sunday with a statement on Twitter that McDowell will undergo surgery Monday morning to remove his prostate. | RaceWire

According to SMR’s social media post, McDowell was diagnosed with prostate cancer during the summer but the team “kept this news in a very small circle so that Dale could continue racing with as much peace of mind as possible until the first available appointment.” Doctors have indicated that the cancer appears to be confined to his prostate and are optimistic that, with successful surgery, no further treatment will be necessary.

With McDowell’s recovery time from the surgery is estimated to be a minimum of six weeks, SMR’s statement notes that he “will be just as eager to get back behind the wheel as his fans will be to see the 17m back on the track ... but we’ll leave that up to the doctors.”

McDowell’s $7,500 King of the Mountain triumph on Saturday was his fourth of 2021.