Michael McDowell takes playoff spot and holds off Chase Elliott on Indy Road course

Michael McDowell took the lead from pole sitter Daniel Suárez on lap 6 of the Verizon 200 and for the most part never looked back. He started from fourth on the grid, was second at the end of the first lap and then made the pass on Suárez coming out of the last corner on lap 6.

With just one caution in the 85-lap race—on Lap 2—McDowell took advantage of track position and some smart driving to take the win and secure his second NASCAR Cup Series playoff appearance.

“These guys gave me everything today,” said McDowell. “I don’t know if it was dominant, but it felt dominant to me.”

Denny Hamlin goes long for stage 2 victory

Denny Hamlin drove a bold pitting strategy – that’s not pitting at all – to win Stage 2 ahead of Michael McDowell and Daniel Suárez. McDowell got ahead of Suárez as they overtook Hamlin and Brad Keselowski, another off-strategy, in the final set of corners.

The eventual race lead appeared to be lost to Suárez thanks to a bold move earlier in the stage. Suárez gained about five car lengths on McDowell with an aggressive entry to the pit as both retired on lap 17. That helped him get off the pit lane ahead of McDowell and eventually lead the race after the first lap of green flag stops had cycled.

AJ Allmendinger’s frustrating weekend continued on lap 30 when he and Ryan Blaney made contact exiting the final corner and Allmendinger spun. “He will be absolutely destroyed if I get back to him,” Allmendinger said of Blaney on team radio

McDowell pips Suárez for Stage 1 victory

Michael McDowell won the 15-lap opening stage on the Indy road course, improving from fourth on the grid. McDowell took the lead from pole sitter Daniel Suárez coming out of turn 14 on lap 6 on a restart following an incident involving Justin Haley and Joey Logano.

Haley brought out the first caution of the day with a hard hit on the tire barrier that entered the Hulman straight on lap 2 after contact from Logano. That enabled William Byron – who had to start at the back and serve a drive-through penalty at the start – to catch the rest of the field. Logano went around again and entered Turn 1 on the ensuing restart.

Verizon 200 launch grid

1. Daniel Suarez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

2. Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota

3. Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

4. Michael McDowell (34), Motorsport Ford in the front row

5. Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

6. Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolet

7. Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

8. Shane van Gisbergen (91), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

9. Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolet

10. Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

11. Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

12. Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

13. Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsport Chevrolet

14. Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

15. Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford

16. Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford

17. Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford

18. Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota

19. Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford

20. Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

21. Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford

22. Todd Gilliland (38), Motorsport Ford in the front row

23. Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford

24. Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

25. AJ Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

26. Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

27. Kamui Kobayashi (67), 23XI Racing Toyota

28. Andy Lally (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford

29. Ryan Preece (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

30. Jenson Button (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford

31. Josh Bilicki (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford

32. Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet

34. Ty Dillon (77), Spits Motorsport Chevrolet

35. Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

36. Mike Rockenfeller (42), Chevrolet Legacy Motor Club

37. Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

38. William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolet

39. Brodie Kostecki (33), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Verizon 200 TV/Streaming Schedule

All times Eastern

Saturday
11:35 AM – 12:35 PM: Practice (NBC Sports App)
12:35 PM – 1:45 PM: Qualification (NBC Sports App)

Sunday
2:30 pm – 6:00 pm: Verizon 200 (NBC, NBC Sports app)

Verizon 200 data

Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (14-turn hybrid race facility, 2.43 miles clockwise)
Length: 82 laps for just under 200 miles
Last year’s winner: Tyler Reddick (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Top drivers and best bets for the Verizon 200

Road racing requires very different skills than the ovals that make up the bulk of the schedule and as such only four drivers who excel at it go into the weekend with odds over 10 to 1 according to BetMGM.

Best odds of winning
Martin Truex Jr. +500
Tyler Reddick +525
Chase Elliott +700
Shane van Gisbergen +850

Truex has five road wins in his 17 seasons, including one earlier this season at Sonoma. Reddick has won three times on road courses in the past two seasons, including this event a year ago. Elliott racked up seven road race wins from 2018-2021, and van Gisbergen won on his debut at the Chicago street race earlier this season.

Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg wrote about the odds earlier this week, suggesting good mid-range value can be found in 2021 Indy Road Course winner AJ Allmendinger (+1400) and Chris Buescher (+2000) who won the last two races on the trot.

William Byron excluded from qualifying

NASCAR parked William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for Saturday’s qualifying session after failing to clear it three times. The problem was in the right front fender. In addition to starting at the back of the field for the race, Tyler Jones, Byron’s crew chief, is away for the weekend and Byron will have to serve a drive-through.

Noah Gragson from LMC

Five days after NASCAR and Legacy Motor Club suspended Noah Gragson indefinitely, the team released the driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet. Last week, Gragson liked a meme on Instagram mocking the 2020 death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.

Mike Rockenfeller, an experienced endurance car veteran, will drive the No. 42 car this weekend and next weekend at Watkins Glen, another road course.

Shane van Gisbergen leads the list of signage

Last month, van Gisbergen became the first driver in 60 years to win his debut Cup Series event when he triumphed in the Chicago Street Race and is back in the third Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet entry.

Van Gisbergen’s fellow Supercar competitor Brodie Kostecki will drive in a one-off role for a third entry for Richard Childress Racing (the No. 33). 2009 F1 World Champion Jenson Button makes his third Cup start in the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford. Andy Lally will make his 43rd Cup Series start in the No. 51 Rick Ware entry. Kamui Kobayshi, who started 75 F1 races from 2009-2014, will drive a third 23XI Racing entry (the No. 67) on his Cup debut.

NASCAR Cup Series playoff bubble

With Buescher’s back-to-back wins over the past two weeks, at least one driver who has not won will be part of the playoff field in 2023. Here’s what the playoff bubble looks like:

Driver – points fore/aft cutting line
Kevin Harvick – +180
Brad Keselowski- +168
Bubba Wallace- +58
Ty Gibbs- +3
—
Michael McDowell- -3
Daniel Suarez – -5
AJ Allmendinger – -24
Alex Bowman- -44

Verizon 200 entry list

Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford
Austin Dillon (3), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford
Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsport Chevrolet
Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford
Chase Briscoe (14), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Jenson Button (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford
AJ Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford
Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Harrison Burton (21), Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford
Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota
William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolet
Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Brodie Kostecki (33), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Michael McDowell (34), Motorsport Ford in the front row
Todd Gilliland (38), Motorsport Ford in the front row
Ryan Preece (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Mike Rockenfeller (42), Chevrolet Legacy Motor Club
Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolet
Andy Lally (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford
Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Kamui Kobayashi (67), 23XI Racing Toyota
Ty Dillon (77), Spits Motorsport Chevrolet
Josh Bilicki (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford
Shane van Gisbergen (91), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Daniel Suarez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Weather for the Verizon 200

The forecast calls for warm temperatures in the mid-80s and a more than likely chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday. Thunderstorms are forecast for Saturday’s Cup Series qualifying and IndyCar race, while the Sunday Cup race has a 66% chance of rain.