NASCAR: Michael McDowell Wins Verizon 200 at Indianapolis – Full Race Results

One of the biggest storylines heading into Indianapolis has been the handful of drivers that are battling it out for one of the final Playoff spots. Michael McDowell was tired of the talk and the math involved. He doesn't have to worry about that anymore, as he put a smackdown on the competition, leading 54 of the 82 laps on his way to victory. The win locks the Front Row Motorsports driver into the Playoffs. The 2021 Daytona 500 winner now has two career wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, at the two greatest tracks in the world.

The end of the race came down to a two-man battle between McDowell and the sport's most popular driver, Chase Elliott. The 2020 Cup champion has been in win-or-go-home mode for most of the season, but he came up one spot short today. Elliott was able to close in on McDowell in the final laps, but the gap was too large to overcome. He remains 80 points below the cut line with two races remaining in the regular season.

Pole sitter Daniel Suarez was another driver in position to secure his Playoff spot, but a mistake on pit road ultimately cost him a shot at the win. The Trackhouse Racing driver had a slow stop when the air hose got stuck under the left front tire. He was able to rebound and finish 3rd but he remains 28 points below the cut line. Defending race winner Tylre Reddick and Alex Bowman rounded out the top-five on Sunday.

Indiana native Chase Briscoe came home in 6th with Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Shane Van Gisbergen completing the top-ten. The Supercars star followed up his Chicago street course win with a top-ten result after making his oval debut in the Truck series on Friday night just down the road at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, and Austin Cindric all scored top 15 finishes.

There was only one caution in the race, which came on the second lap. There was plenty of contact throughout the field though, with many of the international drivers getting a real taste of the physicality of this series. AJ Allmendinger went off course multiple times in the race and finished 26th. His Kaulig Racing teammate Justin Haley was taken out at the start of the race by Joey Logano, who was involved in several incidents today and finished 34th.

Previous IMS Road Course winners

2022: Tyler Reddick

2021: AJ Allmendinger