INDIANAPOLIS – Michael McDowell learned to drive on road courses early in his career and was so good, he won the 2004 USF2000 championship.
Nineteen years later, McDowell proved he still has that ability to race around a road course as he scored his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
The 38-year-old racer who won the 2021 Daytona 500 can now add a victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to has NASCAR Cup Series resumé.
It also puts McDowell into the NASCAR Playoffs.
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“This is a dream come true and I’m so thankful to everyone at Front Row Motorsports and team owner Bob Jenkins,” McDowell said. “I’m so thankful to still be grinding it out in the Cup Series.”
He drove the Horizon Hobby Ford to victory by 0.937-seconds over Chase Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet from Hendrick Motorsports.
“I’m so thankful,” McDowell radioed to his team. “Thank you so much.”
Pole winner Daniel Suarez of Trackhouse Racing was third after his bid at victory was foiled when his air hose was caught under a front tire during his last pit stop.
Last year’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard winner, Tyler Reddick, was fourth for 23XI Racing in the No. 45 Toyota. Hendrick Motorsports’ driver Alex Bowman rounded out the top five in the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet.
The race was slowed for one caution on lap two that lasted for three laps. After that, it was green flag racing the rest of the way and McDowell drove a flawless race, leading 54 laps in the 82-lap contest around the 14-turn, 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
How It Went Down
Earlier in the race, on lap 48, McDowell continued to lead ahead of Elliott and Suarez. All three drivers in the top three need to win a race to get into the playoffs.
By the end of that lap, Suarez muscled his way past Elliott with a slight nudge in corner entry.
Saturday night’s Knoxville Nationals winner Kyle Larson pitted with 34 laps remaining in the race for what they hoped would be the final stop before the lap 82 checkered flag.
Suarez pitted on lap 50, but it was a long pit stop with the air gun hose underneath the front tire, slowing the tire changer from getting to the other side of the car.
He would finish third.
“We win and we lose as a team, that’s all I can say,” Suarez said. “The guys brought a great race car, but I felt I was always one step behind with the 34.
“In the end, my car came alive when we had that issue. It’s a little heartbreaking, but that is part of the sport.”
Two-time Brickyard 400 winner Kyle Busch was in the lead on lap 50.
When the pit stop cycles were completed, McDowell was in front by 3.696 seconds over Elliott with Suarez third, 9.091 seconds behind.
NTT IndyCar Series drivers Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood were watching the race from Corey LaJoie’s pit stand, both Andretti Autosport drivers were enthralled with the way the NASCAR Cup Series cars raced on the IMS road course.
With 20 laps to go, McDowell led by 2.692 seconds over Elliott’s Chevrolet as the Hendrick Motorsports driver began to cut into McDowell’s lead.
McDowell increased it to 3.254 seconds over Elliott as he moved into clean air.
With 16 to go, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Kumui Kobayashi made contact, sending Kobayashi’s Toyota into a spin. The race remained green.
With 10 laps to go, McDowell’s lead over Elliott was 2.809 seconds and 6.670 seconds over Suarez.
Elliott’s Chevrolet moved to within 1.5 seconds with two laps to go as McDowell drove to the white flag, one lap to go before he could celebrate his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory.
“I thought I could point my way into the playoffs, but after Saturday I thought we had a car that could win this race,” McDowell said. “It’s such a big deal.
“Winning the Daytona 500 was one of the coolest moments you could ever have but going to victory lane without your family was really tough.
“We cherry-picked and brought the family to the races we thought we could win, and this was one of them,” he said as his voice began to choke with emotion.
McDowell is one of the few drivers that can celebrate wins at racing’s two greatest venues – the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Daytona International Speedway with the 2021 Daytona 500.
Bubba Wallace is 28 points above the cut line with Suarez 28 points back. Elliott is 19th, 80 points below the cutline.
“I should have had myself in a better spot getting into Turn 1,” Elliott said. “Congrats to Michael. He did a great job and drove a great race.
“I lost too much ground in that pit cycle and tried to get ready for the long haul. He did a better job getting through traffic.”
STAGE 1
The field got off to a clean start before Justin Haley got bumped off the race course and crashed into the Turn 6 tire barrier on the opening lap for the first caution period on Lap 1. Haley’s No. 31 Chevrolet suffered fender damage, but he was able to drive it back to the pit under the yellow flag.
The driver from nearby Winamac, Indiana had started 15th in the LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet.
Three laps of caution followed before the green flag waved to resume racing. Pole winner Daniel Suarez of Trackhouse led the field and was in front for five laps until Michael McDowell passed him.
The former Indy NXT driver kept his Horizon Hobby Ford in front for 11 laps and was the winner of Stage 1.
Because this is a road course race, there was no stage break and green flag pit stops began.
STAGE 2
Christopher Bell’s Toyota moved to the lead in Stage 2 on Lap 17.
Shane van Gisbergen pitted for the first time on Lap 23 while running the PROJECT91 Chevrolet in second place. Van Gisbergen won the Grant Park 220 Chicago Street Race on July 2 in his first NASCAR Cup Series start. He was the first driver to score a win in his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in 1963.
At Lap 25, the top five included Bell’s No. 20 Toyota, Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet, Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford, and Suarez’s No. 99 Chevrolet.
Bell pitted on Lap 26 and that put Dillon in the lead.
With five laps to go in Stage 2 on Lap 31, 2021 Verizon 200 winner AJ Allmendinger was spun out in Turn 12 and was stranded on track. He was able to restart his car and continue in the race without a caution period slowing the race.
In the final lap, Hamlin was the in the lead, but he spun his tires through one of the turns and Suarez tried to take the position. But Suarez also slid, and McDowell tried to take over second place, allowing Hamlin to win Stage 2 on Lap 35.
That set up the final portion of the scheduled 82-lap road course contest.
McDowell regained the lead on the next lap with Chase Elliott moving up to second.
That’s how the race would ultimately conclude.