NASCAR Cup Indianapolis: McDowell beats Elliott to book playoff spot with win

McDowell took advantage of a slow pitstop by Daniel Suarez to extend his lead in Stage 2 and never looked back at Indianapolis.

The 38-year-old then saw off Chase Elliott down the home straight as the race ended with a 77-lap green flag run, to win by 0.937 seconds.

Although McDowell was in contention to make the 2023 playoffs based on points, his victory locks him into the 16-driver field.

McDowell’s only other Cup win came in the 2021 Daytona 500, which automatically put him into the playoffs that year.

The win by McDowell and his #34 Front Row Motorsports team also gives Ford three consecutive wins for the first time since the 2020 season.

“Oh man, this is a dream come true. I’m just so thankful for everybody at Front Row Motorsports and [owner] Bob Jenkins,” McDowell said. “Man, we had a fast Ford Mustang today. We had the fastest car.

“I’m just so thankful to still be driving in the Cup series. To put on a performance like that, I don’t know if it was dominant, but it felt pretty dominant to me.”

Michael McDowell, Front Row Motorsports, Horizon Hobby Ford Mustang

Photo by: Gavin Baker / NKP / Motorsport Images

Asked about Elliott’s charge in the final laps, McDowell said: “I was just trying to pace myself. I figured there would be a late-race caution and I didn’t want to burn my stuff up. I was just trying to maintain that gap.”

Having narrowly missed out on victory, Elliott must win one of the two races left before the playoffs begin to be in the title battle.

Suarez, who started on the pole, also faces a similar prospect having finished third, as Tyler Reddick took fourth, who has already booked his playoff place, and Alex Bowman rounded out the top five – another on the cusp of the playoffs.

Chase Briscoe secured his best result since fourth place at Martinsville back in mid-April with sixth place, ahead of playoff trio Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell.

Superstar guest driver Shane van Gisbergen impressed again as he completed the top 10 to follow up his win on debut back in Chicago.

The three-time Supercars driver led the strong international contingent, with fellow Supercars star Brodie Kostecki in 22nd, 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Mike Rockenfeller 24th, 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button 28th and WEC star Kamui Kobayashi in 33rd.

NASCAR Cup - Indianapolis Road Course race results

Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info

       

Driver Info			Main Information Additional Data
Cla	Driver	#		Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Points	Retirement
1	M. McDowell Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports	34		Ford	82	2:09'59.325		4	59
2	C. Elliott Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports	9		Chevrolet	82	+0.937	0.937	5	49
3	D. Suarez Daniel Suarez TrackHouse Racing	99		Chevrolet	82	+5.750	4.813	5	51
4	T. Reddick Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing	45		Toyota	82	+6.437	0.687	5	44
5	A. Bowman Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports	48		Chevrolet	82	+19.994	13.557	5	38
6	C. Briscoe Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing	14		Ford	82	+22.160	2.166	5	33
7	M. Truex Jr. Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing	19		Toyota	82	+22.956	0.796	5	31
8	K. Larson Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports	5		Chevrolet	82	+24.152	1.196	5	36
9	C. Bell Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing	20		Toyota	82	+24.549	0.397	5	32
10	S. van Gisbergen Shane van Gisbergen TrackHouse Racing	91		Chevrolet	82	+25.016	0.467	5
11	C. Buescher Chris Buescher RFK Racing	17		Ford	82	+25.317	0.301	5	26
12	T. Gibbs Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing	54		Toyota	82	+25.860	0.543	5	25
13	R. Blaney Ryan Blaney Team Penske	12		Ford	82	+34.084	8.224	5	24
14	W. Byron William Byron Hendrick Motorsports	24		Chevrolet	82	+36.581	2.497	8	23
15	A. Cindric Austin Cindric Team Penske	2		Ford	82	+36.643	0.062	11	22
16	A. Dillon Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing	3		Chevrolet	82	+38.075	1.432	5	21
17	R. Chastain Ross Chastain TrackHouse Racing	1		Chevrolet	82	+38.688	0.613	5	20
18	B. Wallace Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing	23		Toyota	82	+57.614	18.926	5	19
19	D. Hamlin Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing	11		Toyota	82	+1'06.687	9.073	5	28
20	B. Keselowski Brad Keselowski RFK Racing	6		Ford	82	+1'07.764	1.077	6	24
21	H. Burton Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing	21		Ford	82	+1'15.168	7.404	5	16
22	B. Kostecki Brodie Kostecki Richard Childress Racing	33		Chevrolet	82	+1'22.653	7.485	6	15
23	K. Harvick Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing	4		Ford	81	+1 Lap	1 Lap	5	14
24	M. Rockenfeller Mike Rockenfeller Legacy Motor Club	42		Chevrolet	81	+1 Lap	3.552	7	13
25	R. Stenhouse Jr. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing	47		Chevrolet	81	+1 Lap	3.232	6	12
26	A. Allmendinger A.J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing	16		Chevrolet	81	+1 Lap	2.675	6	11
27	T. Dillon Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports	77		Chevrolet	81	+1 Lap	3.997	7	10
28	J. Button Jenson Button Rick Ware Racing	15		Ford	81	+1 Lap	4.767	6	9
29	C. Lajoie Corey Lajoie Spire Motorsports	7		Chevrolet	81	+1 Lap	0.548	6	8
30	A. Lally Andy Lally Rick Ware Racing	51		Ford	81	+1 Lap	8.197	5	7
31	R. Preece Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing	41		Ford	81	+1 Lap	10.884	6	6
32	J. Bilicki Josh Bilicki Live Fast Motorsports	78		Chevrolet	81	+1 Lap	0.219	5
33	K. Kobayashi Kamui Kobayashi 23XI Racing	67		Toyota	81	+1 Lap	13.935	7
34	J. Logano Joey Logano Team Penske	22		Ford	81	+1 Lap	9.410	5	3
35	E. Jones Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club	43		Chevrolet	81	+1 Lap	28.545	5	2
36	K. Busch Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing	8		Chevrolet	80	+2 Laps	1 Lap	6	11
37	T. Gilliland Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports	38		Ford	80	+2 Laps	17.090	6	1
38	J. Haley Justin Haley Kaulig Racing	31		Chevrolet	80	+2 Laps	31.596	7	1
39	A. Almirola Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing	10		Ford	79	+3 Laps	1 Lap	5	1
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