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. Starting from fourth on the grid, he was second by the end of the first lap and then made the pass on Suárez coming out of the final corner on lap 6.

With only one caution thrown in the 85-lap race – on lap 2 – McDowell capitalized on the track position and some crafty driving to get the win and secure his second NASCAR Cup Series playoff appearance.

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

Verizon 200 results

1. Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford

2. Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

3. Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

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

5. Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

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

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

8. Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

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

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

11. Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford

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

13. Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford

14. William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

15. Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford

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

17. Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

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

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

20. Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford

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

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

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

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

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

26. A.J. Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

27. Ty Dillon (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

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

29. Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

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

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

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

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

34. Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford

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

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

37. Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford

38. Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

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

Denny Hamlin goes long for Stage 2 win

Denny Hamlin rode a bold pit strategy – that is not pitting at all – to win Stage 2 ahead of Michael McDowell and Daniel Suárez. McDowell got ahead of Suárez as they caught Hamlin and a similarly off-strategy Brad Keselowski in the final sequence of corners.

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

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

McDowell pips Suárez for Stage 1 win

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

Haley brought out the first caution of the day with a hard smack of the tire barrier entering 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 on the start – to catch the rest of the field. Logano went around again entering turn 1 on the ensuing restart.

Verizon 200 starting grid

1. Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

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

3. Chase Elliott (9), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

4. Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford

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

6. Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

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

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

9. Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports 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 Motorsports 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), Front Row Motorsports Ford

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

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

25. A.J. 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), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

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

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

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

38. William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

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

Verizon 200 TV/Streaming schedule

All times Eastern

Saturday
11:35 a.m. – 12:35 p.m.: Practice (NBC Sports app)
12:35 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.: Qualifying (NBC Sports app)

Sunday
2:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.: Verizon 200 (NBC, NBC Sports app)

Verizon 200 details

Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (14-turn, 2.43-mile clockwise hybrid racing facility)
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 quite a different skill set than the ovals that make up the majority of the schedule and as such, just four drivers who excel at it enter the weekend at better than 10-to-1 odds according to BetMGM.

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

Truex has five road course 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 rattled off seven road course wins from 2018-2021, and van Gisbergen won in his debut at the Chicago street race earlier this season.

Yahoo Sports’ Nick Bromberg wrote earlier in the week on the odds and suggests good mid-tier value can be found in 2021 Indy road course winner A.J. Allmendinger (+1400) and Chris Buescher (+2000) who has won the last two races on the trot.

William Byron barred from qualifying

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

Noah Gragson out at LMC

Five days after NASCAR and Legacy Motor Club both 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 Minneapolis police custody.

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

Shane van Gisbergen leads list of road course ringers

Last month van Gisbergen became the first driver in 60 years to win his debut Cup Series event when he was victorious in the Chicago street race and he’s 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 Richard Childress Racing entry (the No. 33). F1 2009 world champion Jenson Button will make 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) in 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 in 2023 will be among the playoff field. Here’s what the playoff bubble looks like:

Driver – points ahead of/behind cut line
Kevin Harvick – +180
Brad Keselowski – +168
Bubba Wallace – +58
Ty Gibbs – +3
—
Michael McDowell – -3
Daniel Suárez – -5
A.J. 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 Motorsports Chevrolet
Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford
Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports 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
A.J. 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 Motorsports Chevrolet
Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
Brodie Kostecki (33), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Michael McDowell (34), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford
Ryan Preece (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Mike Rockenfeller (42), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet
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 Motorsports Chevrolet
Andy Lally (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford
Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Kamui Kobayashi (67), 23XI Racing Toyota
Ty Dillon (77), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
Josh Bilicki (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford
Shane van Gisbergen (91), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Weather for the Verizon 200

The forecast calls for warm temperatures in the mid-to-upper 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 there’s a 66% chance of rain for Sunday’s Cup race.