This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series travels to Daytona International Speedway for the regular season finale to determine the 16-driver field of the Playoffs. There is only one available spot, currently held by 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, based on points earned.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs, in 17th place, is 32 points behind Wallace and Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez is 43 points back. If Wallace has a bad day at the track either driver could mathematically earn their way into the Playoffs. And we can’t forget the 14 other drivers who could score their first win of the year and claim the final spot.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Daytona with only three races remaining in the regular season. Eight drivers have already secured a spot in the 12-driver postseason field, including Austin Hill, John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith and Jeb Burton.
Milwaukee Mile Speedway will host the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Sunday afternoon for the first time in 14 years as their postseason continues with the second race in the Round of 10. Ty Majeski won the first event at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on August 11 and will automatically advance to the Round of 8 at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 14.
All times are Eastern.
Friday, August 25
3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Daytona) Impound (Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds) NBC Sports App
5:05 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Daytona) Impound (Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds) USA/MRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports App
7:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Wawa 250 powered by Coca-Cola (Daytona) Stages 30/60/100 Laps = 250 Miles USA/MRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports App
Saturday, August 26
2 p.m.: Truck Series Practice (All Entries) at Milwaukee – No TV 3 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Practice (All Entries) at Milwaukee – No TV 4 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Qualifying at Milwaukee Impound (Timed, All Entries) No TV
7 p.m.: Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Daytona) Stages 35/95/160 Laps = 400 Miles NBC/Peacock/MRN/SiriusXM
Sunday, August 17
11:30 a.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (Milwaukee) Impound (Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries) FS2
1 p.m.: ARCA Sprecher 150 (Milwaukee) 150 LAPS = 152.25 Miles – FS1/MRN
4 p.m.: Truck Series Clean Harbors 175 (Milwaukee) Stages 55/110/175 Laps = 177.625 Miles FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
NASCAR Press Pass will be available throughout the weekend.
Notes:
Cup Series Purse: $8,778,583 Xfinity Series Purse: $1,640,749 Truck Series Purse: $644,030
1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole at Watkins Glen and finished second.
“William Byron just had too much car,” Hamlin said. “I mean, way too much car. It almost seems unfair, which is what NASCAR inspectors must be saying.”
2. William Byron: Byron took charge early and dominated in winning the Go Bowling At The Glen, his fifth win of the year.
“My No. 24 Chevy was fast,” Byron said. “Once I got to the lead, I just ran away from the field. Now, I just need to run away from inspectors.”
3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished sixth at Watkins Glen.
“It just took us too long to find the right balance,” Truex said. “My No. 19 Toyota was sponsored by Siemens. If you scramble the letters in ‘Siemens,’ it tells you a lot about the handling, because it was my ‘nemesis.’”
4. Chris Buescher: Buescher finished seventh in the Go Bowling At The Glen, and is now eighth in the points standings.
“William Byron was the class of the field,” Buescher said. “I know my car was no match for him. So, the ‘Fastenal’ wasn’t fast at all.”
5. Christopher Bell: Bell finished third at Watkins Glen, posting his sixth top-five of the season.
“Sponsors naming races is totally out of control,” Bell said. “Come on, the ‘Go Bowling At The Glen?’ I mean, spare me.”
6. Kyle Larson: Larson came home 26th at Watkins Glen after an early pit lane speeding penalty derailed his chances.
“That was all my fault,” Larson said, “and I take full responsibility. And I really have to stop having to say those words.”
7. Joey Logano: Logano came home 10th in the Go Bowling At The Glen.
“The upcoming regular-season finale at Daytona is going to be wild,” Logano said. “If NASCAR’s most popular driver Chase Elliott doesn’t win there, he’s gonna come up ’empty’ once more.”
8. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished ninth at Watkins Glen and is now ninth in the points standings.
“I’m rounding into playoff shape,” Blaney said. “You know what they used to say about Tony Stewart? His playoff shape was round.”
9. Michael McDowell: McDowell won Stage 1 at Watkins Glen, but a subsequent pit lane penalty all but ruined his hopes for a win. Then, his engine failed, knocking him out of the race on Lap 74. He finished 36th.
“I drove through too many pit boxes on pit entry,” McDowell said. “The penalty for that is a drive-through penalty, which means you have to return to the scene of the crime. That’s something that Kyle Busch hopes he never has to do.”
10. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished 18th at Watkins Glen.
“My car was sponsored by ‘Be A Moose,’” Chastain said. “‘Be A Moose’ in a charitable organization. Some drivers often say I’m a moose, as in a moose in a china shop.”
After finishing no higher than 14th during his previous five scheduled starts, William Byron responded with an emphatic and potential championship-performance statement after scoring a dominant victory in the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, August 20.
The 25-year-old Byron from Charlotte, North Carolina, led three times for a race-high 66 of 90-scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row alongside pole-sitter Denny Hamlin and spent the first stage period running in the top five. Then during the first wave of green flag pit stops that ensued entering the second stage period, a strategic call by crew chief Ryan “Rudy” Fugle and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team to have Byron pit a lap after the front-runners enabled Byron to cycle ahead of them.
He proceeded to lead starting on Lap 24 and claimed the second stage victory. Then following another well-executed call to pit with 35 laps remaining just as teammate Chase Elliott drew a caution for running out of fuel on the course, Byron cycled back to the lead with 33 laps remaining and retained the top spot during a 30-lap shootout to the finish, setting sail to his unprecedented fifth checkered flag of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, August 19, Denny Hamlin notched his fourth Cup pole of the 2023 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 125.298 mph in 70.392 seconds. Joining him on the front row was William Byron, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 124.961 mph in 70.582 seconds.
Prior to the event, Aric Almirola, Cole Custer, Justin Haley, Brad Keselowski and Corey LaJoie dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective entries.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Hamlin rocketed ahead with an early advantage while the field fanned out entering the first turn. As the field continued to duke for early positions through the Esses and the first four turns, Hamlin retained the lead ahead of a hard-charging McDowell. Through the Inner Loop Bus Stop Corner before entering the Carousel, the Outer Loop and the final set of turns, Hamlin managed to fend off McDowell and a pack of competitors jostling for spots to lead the first lap.
Through the second lap, McDowell attempted to make a move beneath Hamlin for the lead entering Turn 1. In spite of Hamlin briefly going off the track through Turn 1, Hamlin managed to retain the lead through the Esses ahead of McDowell while William Byron trailed behind in third in front of rookie Ty Gibbs and AJ Allmendinger. Hamlin would also manage to navigate his way smoothly through the Carousel and the Esses with the top spot, but McDowell continued to close as he awaited his opportunity to take the lead.
Two laps later, McDowell, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, made his move beneath Hamlin’s No. 11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota TRD Camry and drew himself into a brief duel with Hamlin before he muscled his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang ahead with the top spot entering Turn 2. Byron then followed suit and assumed the runner-up spot through Turns 2 to 4 in his No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while Hamlin settled in third in front of teammate Ty Gibbs. With Hamlin settling in between Byron and Gibbs, McDowell proceeded to lead, starting on the fourth lap.
During the fourth lap, early trouble struck for Daniel Suarez, who was running 10th before he got loose while hitting the curbs exiting the Bus Stop Corner and spun as he barely hit the inside wall, but he was able to proceed without drawing a caution. Meanwhile, McDowell retained the lead through the fifth lap mark over a hard-charging Byron.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, McDowell was leading by four-tenths of a second over Byron followed by Hamlin, Ty Gibbs and Allmendinger while Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Busch were in the top 10. Behind, Joey Logano was in 11th ahead of Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric and Chris Buescher while Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Chase Briscoe and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. occupied the top 20. Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney was mired in 21st ahead of Mike Rockenfeller, Ryan Preece, Corey LaJoie and Daniel Suarez while Todd Gilliland, Ty Dillon, Andy Lally, Erik Jones and Kevin Harvick were back in the top 30. Amid the running order, Brad Keselowski was in 33rd in between Justin Haley and Aric Almirola while Harrison Burton was mired in 36th, a lap down in last place, after an earlier chain reaction resulted with Lally bumping and spinning Burton’s No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang in the Carousel Corner without drawing a caution.
Five laps later, McDowell continued to lead by half a second over Byron while third-place Hamlin trailed by more than a second. In the process, Ty Gibbs and Allmendinger remained in the top five ahead of Larson while Bell, Wallace and Kyle Busch overtook Reddick to move up to seventh through ninth, respectively. In addition, Elliott retained 13th ahead of Buescher and teammate Bowman, Truex was mired back in 23rd and Harvick was in 28th in front of Keselowski.
Another two laps later, green flag pit stops ensued as Truex pitted his No. 19 Siemens Toyota TRD Camry along with Blaney and Elliott. Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Aric Almirola, Cindric and Bowman would also pit during the ensuing laps as McDowell continued to lead.
At the conclusion of the first stage period on Lap 20, McDowell, who first assumed the lead on the fourth lap, captured his second Cup stage victory of the 2023 season. Byron settled in second followed by Hamlin, Ty Gibbs and Allmendinger while Larson, Bell, Wallace, Kyle Busch and Reddick were scored in the top 10. By then, more names that included Austin Dillon, Reddick, Preece and Corey LaJoie pitted under green.
With the event proceeding under green just past the Lap 20 mark to start the second stage, McDowell led Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Larson, Bell, Wallace, Kyle Busch and a host of competitors during the following lap to pit road for service under green while Byron assumed the lead followed by Allmendinger. Amid the pit stops, McDowell, who managed to exit pit road ahead of Hamlin, was assessed a penalty for driving through too many pit boxes prior to entering his pit box for service. Byron would then pit under green on Lap 22 as Allmendinger assumed the lead. Once Allmendinger pitted by Lap 23 after leading two laps, Byron, who earlier managed to blend back on the track from pit road ahead of Hamlin, assumed the lead followed by Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Allmendinger, Larson and Keselowski, who has yet to pit. As Byron proceeded to lead just past the Lap 25 mark, McDowell was mired back in 17th behind Truex. In addition, Bell, Elliott, Wallace and Kyle Busch were scored in the top 10.
At the Lap 30 mark, Byron maintained the lead by seven-tenths of a second over Hamlin followed by Ty Gibbs, Allmendinger and Larson while Bell, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Wallace and Reddick were running in the top 10. By then, Keselowski pitted his No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang under green while Austin Dillon, Logano, Briscoe, McDowell and Truex were scored in the top 15. With Keselowski losing spots as he blended back onto the racetrack amid his pit stop, Harvick was in 28th behind teammate Almirola, Suarez was in 26th and Bowman was mired in 17th in between Blaney and Buescher.
By Lap 35, Byron extended his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Ty Gibbs, Larson and Allmendinger remained in the top five. In addition, Bell, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Wallace and Reddick retained their respective spots in the top 10 while McDowell was mired in 12th in between Austin Dillon and Logano.
At the conclusion of the second stage on Lap 40, Byron captured his eighth Cup stage victory of the 2023 season. Hamlin settled in second while Ty Gibbs, Larson, Allmendinger, Bell, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Wallace and Austin Dillon were scored in the top 10.
With the event commencing under a continuous green flag period with 50 laps remaining, Byron was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Hamlin. Byron would proceed to extend his advantage to more than a second over Hamlin as the event reached its halfway mark with 45 laps remaining. Behind, Ty Gibbs, Larson and Allmendinger remained in the top five while Bell, Kyle Busch, Elliott, Wallace and Ausitn Dillon continued to run in the top 10 with McDowell moving up to 11th ahead of Reddick, Logano, Truex and Blaney.
With 40 laps remaining, Byron continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by more than three seconds over Hamlin while Larson overtook Ty Gibbs to move into third place. With Allmendinger retaining fifth ahead of Bell and Kyle Busch, McDowell returned to the top 10 as he moved up to ninth in between Elliott and Wallace while Truex was scored in 12th in between Austin Dillon and Blaney.
Three laps later, another cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as Ty Gibbs pitted his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry while running in the top five. McDowell would also pit along with Blaney, Suarez, Larson, Logano, Reddick, Preece, Stenhouse, Almirola, Cindric and Buescher as Byron continued to lead by more than five seconds over Hamlin.
Then two laps later, the caution flew when Elliott ran out of fuel through the Esses as his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 coasted entering the Inner Loop before coming to a full stop off the course near the Bus Stop Corner. By then, Byron, Hamlin, Allmendinger and Bell had pitted prior to the caution being displayed. In addition, Larson, who had just pitted prior to the caution, was penalized for speeding while exiting pit road and was sent to the rear of the field for the ensuing restart.
During the caution period, some led by Kyle Busch, including those who had not yet made a pit stop, pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track. By then, Elliott, who was assisted by a wrecker to return to pit road, lost a lap to the leaders as he was mired in 34th.
When the race restarted under green with 30 laps remaining, where Byron and Hamlin occupied the front row, Byron and Hamlin dueled for the lead through the frontstretch and entering Turn 1 as the field fanned out. Entering the Esses, Byron managed to clear Hamlin to retain the lead ahead of Bell and Allmendinger while Truex was up to fifth in front of teammate Ty Gibbs. In addition, Blaney was up to seventh ahead of Buescher while McDowell was in ninth ahead of Logano. As the field navigated its way through the Bus Stop Corner, the Carousel and the final sets of turns while jostling for late positions, Byron managed to place a reasonable gap between himself and Hamlin as he retained the lead for the following lap.
Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Byron was leading by six-tenths of a second over Hamlin followed by Bell while Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs, both of whom are needing a victory to make the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs, were running fourth and fifth. Behind, Truex, the regular-season leader, was sixth while Buescher, McDowell, Reddick and Blaney were running in the top 10 ahead of Logano, Todd Gilliland, Stenhouse, Wallace and Keselowski. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was back in 17th, Harvick was back in 23rd in front of Larson and Bowman was mired in 26th behind Suarez.
Five laps later, Byron extended his advantage to one-and-a-half seconds over Hamlin while Bell, Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs remained in the top five on the track. Behind, Truex, Buescher, McDowell, Reddick and Blaney also remained in the top 10. By then, Wallace retained 14th ahead of Keselowski and Cindric, Kyle Busch was still mired in 17th, Larson was back in 21st behind Austin Dillon, Harvick was down in 24th ahead of Suarez and Bowman was in 26th. In addition, Elliott was mired in 33rd and not scored on the lead lap along with Harrison Burton, Chase Briscoe and Ty Dillon.
With 15 laps remaining, Byron stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Hamlin while Bell, Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs remained in the top five. By then, the event remained under green flag conditions despite Almirola spinning entering the frontstretch. Not long after, McDowell, who was running eighth, pitted under green after the power in his No. 34 Ford shut off, which resulted with him coasting through the circuit before limping his car to his pit stall as his pit crew went underneath the hood of McDowell’s car to diagnose the issue. The issue would eventually be terminal for McDowell as he capped off his roller coaster event in 36th place, dead last.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Byron extended his advantage to two seconds over Hamlin while Bell, Allmendinger and Ty Gibs continued to run in the top 10. With McDowell out of contention, Truex was in sixth followed by Buescher, Reddick, Blaney and Logano while Gilliland, Stenhouse, Wallace, Keselowski and Kyle Busch were in the top 15.
With five laps remaining, Byron stabilized his advantage to nearly three seconds over Hamlin as Bell, Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs remained in the top five.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Byron remained as the leader by more than three seconds over Hamlin. With Hamlin unable to gain ground, Byron was able to cycle his No. 24 Chevrolet smoothly around Watkins Glen’s series of turns for a final time before re-emerging through the frontstretch in clean air and to capture his fifth checkered flag of the 2023 Cup season.
With the victory and the regained momentum, Byron notched his ninth career win in NASCAR’s premier series, his career-high fifth of the season and his first on a road course venue. The victory at Watkins Glen was the 102nd overall for Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 entry, with HMS notching its 298th Cup career win overall, as Byron claimed his first victory since winning the rain-shortened event at Atlanta Motor Speedway in early July.
“[The win] feels really good,” Byron said on USA Network. “Just a huge credit to the race team behind me. I wanna thank [road ringer] Max Papis. This first road course win. We’ve worked years and years for this. Thanks to all the guys on the team. It’s a great win. I don’t know what it means in all that. I don’t read into that, but I think it shows that when we’re at our best, we can perform like this. We seem to go through that summer slump in July and August. For some reason, we just can’t quite put the races together. I think it’s the racetracks itself. [I] Just came this weekend with a good mindset. [I] Focused it on trying to get ready for the postseason. We’ve had fast cars. We just haven’t executed races, but today, it was flawless. Road courses have been tough, so it’s fun to get a win. Really good strategy by [the crew].”
Hamlin, the pole-sitter who led the first three laps, settled in the runner-up spot for the third time this season after trailing Byron to the finish line by more than two seconds while teammate Bell finished third.
“I’m happy with my day,” Hamlin said. “It takes me a while to get going and with [Michael] McDowell there at the beginning, he’s ready and he’s on kill, and I’m kind of working my way into it. I just hate that I lost the lead because I just looked at [Byron]’s back bumper the rest of the day. It was a fun race.”
Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs finished fourth and fifth, respectively, as both enter next weekend’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway 72 and 32 points, respectively, below the top-16 cutline in their final hopes of making the Playoffs. Truex, the regular-season leader in the standings, came home in sixth place and leaves Watkins Glen with a 39-point lead in the standings while Buescher, Reddick, Blaney and Logano finished in the top 10.
Notably, Wallace finished 12th and he leaves Watkins Glen grasping onto the 16th and final vacant spot to the Playoffs by 32 points. Kyle Busch finished 14th followed by Keselowski, Cindric ended up 16th, Mike Rockenfeller ended up 19th in his second Cup start behind Ross Chastain, Harvick settled in 21st in front of Suarez and Bowman and Elliott capped off his run in 32nd, a lap down. In addition, Larson and Austin Dillon ended up 26th and 31st, respectively, after Larson collided into Dillon entering the final turn and sent both spinning.
There were six lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured a single caution period for four laps. In addition, 31 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.
With one regular-season event remaining of this year’s Cup Series schedule, Martin Truex Jr. continues to lead the regular-season standings by 39 points over teammate Denny Hamlin and 76 over William Byron.
William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are currently guaranteed spots for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. With Byron winning at The Glen, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski have clinched spots for the Playoffs based on points while Bubba Wallace occupies the 16th and final vacant spot to the Playoffs by 32 points over rookie Ty Gibbs. Daniel Suarez trails the top-16 cutline by 43 points, AJ Allmendinger trails by 72, Alex Bowman trails by 96, Chase Elliott trails by 101, Austin Cindric trails by 114, Justin Haley trails by 162, Ryan Preece trails by 167 and Aric Almirola trails by 177.
Results.
1. William Byron, 66 laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Denny Hamlin, three laps led
3. Christopher Bell
4. AJ Allmendinger, two laps led
5. Ty Gibbs
6. Martin Truex Jr.
7. Chris Buescher
8. Tyler Reddick
9. Ryan Blaney
10. Joey Logano
11. Todd Gilliland
12. Bubba Wallace
13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
14. Kyle Busch, two laps led
15. Brad Keselowski
16. Austin Cindric
17. Ryan Preece
18. Ross Chastain
19. Mike Rockenfeller
20. Corey LaJoie
21. Kevin Harvick
22. Daniel Suarez
23. Alex Bowman
24. Justin Haley
25. Andy Lally
26. Kyle Larson
27. Josh Bilicki
28. Cole Custer
29. Erik Jones
30. Aric Almirola
31. Austin Dillon
32. Chase Elliott, one lap down
33. Harrison Burton, one lap down
34. Ty Dillon, one lap down
35. Chase Briscoe, seven laps down
36. Michael McDowell – OUT, Electrical, 17 laps led, Stage 1 winner
Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400, which will determine the 16-driver field of this year’s Cup Series Playoffs. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, August 26, at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
With a 12th-place finish in the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, August 20, Bubba Wallace is one race away from claiming a potential spot in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Meanwhile, time is running low for a multitude of stars vying for the final vacant spot in the Playoffs currently occupied by Wallace. Among those within striking distance is rookie Ty Gibbs, who is still looking from the outside despite achieving another strong top-five result in his first full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series.
Wallace, the 29-year-old Wallace from Mobile, Alabama, rolled off the starting grid in 12th place but was able to gain the early pace needed to race his way into the top 10 on the track. At the conclusion of the first stage’s period on Lap 20, Wallace notched three stage points to his possession after being scored in eighth place. After pitting under green on Lap 21 with the front-runners, he emerged in ninth place nearing the Lap 30 mark and would retain the spot at the second stage’s conclusion on Lap 40 to collect two additional stage points and accumulate five stage points throughout the event.
An untimely caution with 35 laps remaining when Chase Elliott ran out of fuel and came to a stop on the course while Wallace moved up to second place resulted in Wallace having to pit along with select others during the caution period. Despite restarting 16th during a restart with 30 laps remaining, Wallace used the stretch to gain four spots on the track and pilot his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry to the checkered flag in 12th place, which marked his 13th top-15 result of the season and the fourth time where he finished 12th.
As a result of the finish and with William Byron, a four-time race winner of this season, winning Sunday’s event at Watkins Glen, Wallace, who dropped to the bubble zone towards the Playoff cutline last weekend after Michael McDowell won at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, leaves The Glen with a 32-point advantage for the 16th and final vacant spot to the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs.
Currently, the 2023 regular-season stretch marks Wallace’s strongest to date with four top-five results, six top-10 results, a career-high 159 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.0 through 25 scheduled events. While Wallace is looking to race his way into the Playoffs for the first time in his career and join 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick in the postseason field, he is also seeking his first Cup victory of the season, with his latest victory occurring at Kansas Speedway in September 2022.
“I’m proud of myself,” Wallace said on USA Network. “That’s the first time I felt proud of myself at a road course race. I just executed and didn’t lose focus. Maybe one time, and that’s the difference maker. You’ve got to stay on it, especially at these places. Just hats off to my team for sticking with me and believing in me on these road courses. I know we still have one more [regular-season race] to go, but we wanted to maintain our gap and not lose too many, and we gained. Hats off to everybody, the effort that we put in, Toyota for believing in me,…all of our partners involved. Just a great day for the No. 23 team. Now we get to go into Daytona [International Speedway], still stressful as hell, but that takes a little bit of the edge off, for sure.”
Rookie Ty Gibbs, the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion from Charlotte, North Carolina, started in fourth place, which marked his second-best starting spot of this season. He proceeded to finish fourth in the first stage and third in the second stage, where he accumulated 15 stage points and kept his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry running toward the front.
Restarting fifth during a 30-lap dash to the finish, Gibbs briefly lost a spot to teammate Martin Truex Jr. before he reclaimed fifth place. From there, he trailed AJ Allmendinger to the finish and claimed the checkered flag in fifth place, which marked his second top-five result of the season and of his youthful Cup Series career.
The strong top-five result, however, was not enough for Gibbs to boost himself inside the top-16 cutline to make the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs as he trails the cutline by 32 points behind Wallace entering the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway. With Gibbs looking to notch his first victory in the Cup circuit and make his first Playoff appearance, he is also looking to join his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates consisting of Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. into the postseason field.
“I felt like we were really fast,” Gibbs said. “We had a really fast Monster Toyota Camry. I just didn’t do a good job getting through the guys in front of us. I feel like we were much faster than the three in front of us. And I just couldn’t get by them. I feel like I just need to do a better job at that, but feel like our car was really good and really capable of doing that. I don’t really know what mindset to have going in [to Daytona]. Just stay clean and try to make it to the end and have a good finish.”
In addition to Ty Gibbs, a host of names that include Daniel Suarez, AJ Allmendinger, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric, Justin Haley, Ryan Preece, Aric Almirola, Todd Gilliland, Corey LaJoie, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Harrison Burton, Chase Briscoe and Ty Dillon.
Currently, Wallace maintains the 16th and final vacant spot to the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs by 32 points over Ty Gibbs entering the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400, which will officially determine the 16-driver field of this year’s Cup Series Playoffs. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, August 26, at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
While William Byron celebrated an emphatic victory following a dominant performance in the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, August 20, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski were left feeling victorious after both former NASCAR Cup Series champions officially secured spots for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs based on points.
The event at Watkins Glen started off on a rough note for Keselowski, the 2012 Cup Series champion who was one of five competitors to start at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments. Following the first of 90-scheduled laps, the Michigan native was mired in the next-to-last position in 35th place and had only managed to carve his way up to 33rd place just past the Lap 10 mark.
Then during the first cycle of green flag pit stops in between the conclusion of the first stage period and the start of the second stage period, Keselowski and crew chief Matt McCall rolled the dice by remaining on the track while most of the field pitted. This allowed Keselowski to move up as high as seventh place in the leaderboard before he pitted his No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang under green on Lap 30. He would then be mired back within the top 30 through the second stage period and pit during the event’s only caution period with nearly 30 laps remaining despite climbing up to 13th.
Restarting 18th during the final restart with 30 laps remaining, Keselowski would take the checkered flag in 15th place, which marked his 12th top-15 result of the season. With Byron, who came into the event as a four-time race winner of this season, winning at The Glen, Keselowski, who did not score any stage points at The Glen, but ended up 107 points ahead of Bubba Wallace, who holds the 16th and final vacant spot to the Playoffs, in the regular-season standings, was able to clinch his spot for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs.
Keselowski’s accomplishment means that the 2023 season will mark his 11th season making the Cup Series Playoffs, his first since 2021 and his first as a driver/co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. He missed the 2022 Playoffs during his first season as a driver/co-owner after notching only a single top-five finish, six top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 19.2 throughout the 36-race schedule. This season, he has achieved five top-five results, 10 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 14.3 through 25 scheduled events.
In addition, Keselowski is still pursuing his first victory as a driver/co-owner in the Cup Series, with his latest victory occurring at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2021 while driving for Team Penske.
“We had a pretty strong month or so,” Keselowski said on USA Network. “We had a really good car today with our BuiltSubs Ford Mustang. Just ran solid. Basically, started last and got to 15th. If we could’ve caught a break on the yellows and all that, I think we could’ve ran top 10 today. My teammate Chris Buescher and both [Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing cars], we’re finding speed here before the Playoffs start. Overall, a really good day for us. What’s great for us going into Daytona is we can go in there and just have fun. It’s great to have that off of our shoulders. We’re gonna race really hard, but with nothing to lose. That makes us really dangerous.”
Like Keselowski, Sunday’s event at The Glen started off on a rough note for Kevin Harvick, who rolled off the starting grid in 33rd place and without his championship-winning crew chief Rodney Childers, who returned to North Carolina due to a personal matter. With Stewart-Haas Racing engineer Stephen Doran calling the shots atop the No. 4 Ford Mustang pit box, Harvick, the 2014 Cup Series champion, spent the early stages of the event mired outside the top 30. He would crack his way into the top 15 at the conclusion of the first stage period and during the first cycle of green flag pit stops before he pitted just past the Lap 22 mark.
Mired back towards the top-30 mark upon his pit service, Harvick was scored 24th at the halfway mark and just past the second stage’s conclusion with the 2014 Cup Series champion not scoring any stage points. Running in 14th place during the event’s only caution period with 35 laps remaining after Chase Elliott ran out of fuel on the course, Harvick joined a handful of competitors to pit under caution and restarted in the middle of the pack with 30 laps remaining.
When the checkered flag flew, Harvick nursed his No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang in 21st place, which marked his second consecutive finish outside the top 20. By being 103 points above Bubba Wallace, who holds the 16th and final vacant spot in the Playoffs, in the regular-season standings, Harvick was also able to accomplish a similar feat to Keselowski’s by clinching his spot for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs based on points.
With his accomplishment, Harvick, who is currently embarking in his 23rd and final full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series, will make his 17th career appearance as a Cup Series Playoff contender as he battles for his final opportunity to win his second Cup title and first since 2014. This season, he has achieved six top-five results, 11 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 14.0 through 25 scheduled events.
Having achieved 60 career victories in the Cup Series, Harvick is still pursuing his first of the season and first since winning at Richmond Raceway last August.
Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“We’ll go down to [Daytona International Speedway] and push as hard as we can, and be ready for Darlington [Raceway],” Harvick said. “We’ve been terrible on the road courses the last two weeks. The last month before that, we did good. We had cars that were capable to run in the top five, so as long as it’s an oval [track], we’ll be fine.”
With secured berths to the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs set for both, Keselowski and Harvick shift their attention to the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400, which will officially determine the full 16-driver field of this year’s Cup Series Playoffs. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, August 26, at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
Denny Hamlin claimed the NASCAR Cup Series Pole for the Go Bowling at The Glen race at Watkins Glen International with a 125.298 mph lap in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It is his fourth pole this season and his second at the 2.45-mile track.
After qualifying, he spoke about his approach to racing at Watkins Glen and how it differs from other road courses.
“I think it’s probably the least technical of all the road courses,” Hamlin explained. “Obviously, they call it the superspeedway of road courses. I think, like Tyler Reddick, his skill set on road courses doesn’t really play a huge benefit – the way he attacks them doesn’t really pay a huge dividend at this race track. I think you see more unconventional guys run up front here because it’s not quite as technical as the others. I just think that it’s pretty straightforward. I’ve got so many laps here that I certainly feel comfortable. And obviously, my car today has got speed.”
William Byron will join Hamlin on the front road after setting the second-fastest qualifying lap time in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Michael McDowell will start third in the Front Row Motorsports Ford followed by Ty Gibbs in the No. 54 Toyota. Kyle Larson will round out the top-5 in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet.
AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig Racing), Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing), Tyler Reddick (23I), Kyle Busch (RCR) and Corey LaJoie (Spire Motorsports) rounded out the top-10, earning LaJoie his second top-10 Cup Series career start.
Hendrick Motorsports driver, Chase Elliott, will start 15th and was obviously disappointed with his qualifying effort.
“Daytona, to show up there [next week] and it be a must-win situation is like going to Vegas and having to hit the nearest slot machine for the jackpot,” Elliott said. “That’s just silly. To me, this is the opportunity we have the most control over and didn’t have a very good start to the weekend, so it puts you in a tough spot.”
With only two races remaining in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, the pressure is on. You can tune into the NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series travel to Watkins Glen this weekend as the regular season winds down with only two races remaining before the Playoffs begin.
Thirteen drivers have clinched a spot in the Cup Series Playoffs – Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. With only three open spots in the 16-driver field, the competition promises to be intense.
With four races to go in the Xfinity Series regular season, only four drivers have secured a spot in the 12-driver playoff field including Austin Hill, John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier and Cole Custer.
Ty Majeski won the first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race of the Playoffs last week at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and will advance to the Round of 8. The series is off until August 27 at Milwaukee Mile Speedway when the postseason continues.
The ARCA Menards Series will also compete at Watkins Glen with the General Tire 100 Friday evening at 6 p.m. on FS1 and FloRacing with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM.
All times are ET.
Saturday, August 19
10:30 a.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – NBC Sports App 11 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – NBC Sports App
12:30 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – USA/MRN 1:30 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying USA/MRN/SiriusXM Post-Cup Qualifying: NASCAR Press Pass
3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Shriners Children’s 200 at The Glen Distance: 82 Laps = 200.9 miles Stages end on Lap 20, Lap 40, Lap 82 USA/MRN/SiriusXM Purse: $1,257,045 Post-Xfinity Race: NASCAR Press Pass
Sunday, August 20
3:30 p.m.: Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen Distance: 90 Laps = 220.5 miles Stages end on Lap 20, Lap 40, Lap 90 USA/MRN/SiriusXM Purse: $7,154,312 Post-Cup Race: NASCAR Press Pass
1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won Stage 2 at Indy and finished 19th.
“My No. 11 Toyota featured the ‘Yahoo’ paint scheme,” Hamlin said. “That explains the big ‘Y!’ on my car’s hood. It doesn’t explain ‘why’ I’ve never won a Cup championship.”
2. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished seventh in the Verizon 200, posting his 14th top 10 of the season.
“With Michael McDowell’s win,” Truex said, “there are now only three playoff spots up for grabs. So, in the next two races, three tickets will be punched, which could also be a commentary on live attendance at NASCAR races.”
3. Kyle Larson: Larson finished eighth at Indy’s road course.
“This race had everything,” Larson said. “Five road course ringers, one road course ‘Dinger,’ and several road course fingers, which is what you get when you run another driver off the road.”
4. Chris Buescher: Buescher finished 11th at Indy.
“I was going for my third consecutive win,” Buescher said. “That’s called the ‘Try-fecta.’”
5. Christopher Bell: Bell finished ninth at Indy, joining Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex, Jr., who finished seventh, in the top 10.
“With drivers representing seven different countries,” Bell said, “the Verizon 200 At The Brickyard really had an international flavor. If you asked most NASCAR fans to describe ‘international flavor,’ they would say ‘Golden Corral.’”
6. Michael McDowell: McDowell led 54 of 82 laps and won the Verizon 200 handily over Chase Elliott.
“I kissed the bricks,” McDowell said. “Some drivers who thought they might clinch a playoff spot on Sunday just had to hit the bricks.”
7. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished 17th at Indianapolis.
“My Trackhouse Racing teammate Daniel Suarez probably should have won this race,” Chastain said. “But the air gun hose got stuck under his left front tire during a pit stop, and it cost him. Drivers hate it when a bad pit stop costs them a win. Here at Trackhouse, we call that ‘Pit Bull.’”
8. Joey Logano: Logano finished 34th in the Verizon 200 At The Brickyard.
“I struggled early at Indy’s road course,” Logano said. “I was hitting everything except my marks.”
9. Kyle Busch: Busch suffered a flat-spotted tire midway through the race and posted a disappointing 37th in the Verizon 200 At The Brickyard.
“I just totally missed a corner,” Busch said. “And not even the best legal representation can’t help you recover from that mistake.”
10. William Byron: Byron finished 15th in the Verizon 200.
“I failed Friday’s pre-race inspection three times,” Byron said. “So I had to start the race by serving a pass-through penalty. So I was in last place. It’s what you should expect when you cheat your ‘tail’ off.”
A major shakeup to the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field was made at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course venue as Michael McDowell raced his way into this year’s postseason championship battle after scoring a dominant victory in the third annual running of the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard on Sunday, August 13.
The 38-year-old McDowell from Glendale, Arizona, led three times for a race-high 54 of 82-scheduled laps in an event where he started fourth and quickly made his presence known after assuming the lead from pole-sitter Daniel Suarez on the sixth lap and following the event’s only caution period on the second lap.
After proceeding to win the first stage and gain valuable stage points towards his push above the Playoff cutline, McDowell benefited through a 77-lap green flag run to the finish with mixed pit strategies to lead Laps 36 to 48 before reassuming it for good on Lap 53 upon pitting for the final time with 34 laps remaining. From there, the Arizona veteran managed to preserve his car through each of the speedway’s 14 turns and fend off a late charge from Chase Elliott to win for the second time in the Cup Series level and add his name to this year’s Playoff picture.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, August 12, Daniel Suarez notched his first Cup pole position of the 2023 season and the third of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 99.814 mph in 87.968 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Tyler Reddick, the reigning Brickyard winner who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 99.649 mph in 88.113 seconds.
Prior to the event, Brodie Kostecki, the current points leader of this year’s Supercars Championship season who was making his inaugural NASCAR presence driving the No. 33 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing, dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after wrecking his primary car during Saturday’s qualifying session. William Byron also dropped to the rear of the field and was assessed a pass-through penalty upon taking the green flag due to his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 failing pre-race inspection three times, an issue that prevented him from posting a qualifying lap on Saturday.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Suarez rocketed ahead from the field amid crossing the new restart zone in between Turns 13 and 14 and retained the lead through the frontstretch while the field fanned out. Through the first braking zone in Turn 1 before entering Turn 2, Suarez maintained the lead ahead of Reddick while Chase Elliott and Michael McDowell battled for third through Turns 3 to 6 in front of Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch. As the field continued to fan out and jostle for early positions, Suarez maintained the lead through a brief straightaway exiting Turn 6 before entering another braking zone in Turn 7 and navigating from Turns 8 to 14. As Suarez proceeded to lead the first lap over Reddick, Byron served his pass-through penalty.
A lap later, the first caution of the event flew when Joey Logano ran over the curb in between Turns 5 and 6 and bumped into Justin Haley, which sent Haley off the course and into the guardrails and tire barrels in Turn 6 as Haley was left with significant damage to his No. 31 LeafFilter Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. By then, Kamui Kobayashi, a multiple World Endurance champion and former 24 Hours of Le Mans winner who was making his NASCAR debut for 23XI Racing, was in 37th despite starting 28th after getting hit by Andy Lally and spinning in Turn 2.
During the first caution period, select names that included Brad Keselowski, Mike Rockenfeller, Kamui Kobayashi, Byron, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ty Dillon pitted while the rest led by Suarez remained on the track.
When the race restarted under green on the fifth lap, Suarez retained the lead through the restart zone and through the frontstretch while Michael McDowell challenged and overtook Reddick for the runner-up spot. As Logano spun entering Turn 1 after running into the rear of teammate Ryan Blaney while rookie Ty Gibbs got turned by Shane van Gisbergen, the event remained under green flag conditions as Suarez continued to lead from Turns 2 to 13 while the field behind scrambled and jostled for positions. Then through Turns 13 and 14, McDowell, who was announced to remain at Front Row Motorsports for the 2024 season, battled and overtook Suarez to assume the lead in his No. 34 Horizon Hobby Ford Mustang through the frontstretch and the first braking zone in Turn 1.
The following lap, McDowell maintained the lead by a tenth of a second over Suarez as Reddick, Elliott and Larson followed suit in the top five. With Kyle Busch in sixth, Christopher Bell, Shane van Gisbergen, Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe were in the top 10 while Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric occupied the top 15.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, McDowell was leading by four-tenths of a second over Suarez followed by Reddick, Elliott and Larson while Busch, Bell, Bowman, Briscoe and van Gisbergen were in the top 10. Behind, Truex was in 11th ahead of Blaney, Buescher, Wallace and Cindric while Todd Gilliland, AJ Allmendinger, Corey LaJoie, Harrison Burton and Austin Dillon occupied the top 20. Meanwhile, Ross Chastain was in 21st ahead of Denny Hamlin, Jenson Button, Erik Jones and Andy Lally while Ty Gibbs, Josh Bilicki, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Brodie Kostecki were scored in the top 30. By then, Byron was in 33rd in between Mike Rockenfeller and Kobayashi, Logano was down in 35th and Aric Almirola was running 37th in front of teammate Ryan Preece.
Two laps later, Harvick pitted his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang under green. Jenson Button and Andy Lally pitted during the following lap while Blaney, Cindric and Gilliland followed suit on pit road during Lap 14 while McDowell continued to lead ahead of Suarez. Amid the pit stops, Button was penalized for speeding on pit road.
At the conclusion of the first stage period on Lap 15, McDowell, who came into the event three points below the top-16 cutline to race his way into the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs, claimed his first Cup career stage victory. Suarez settled in second while Elliott, Reddick, Larson, Kyle Busch, Bell, Bowman, van Gisbergen and Truex were scored in the top 10.
With the event remaining under green just past the Lap 15 mark to start the second stage period, Chase Briscoe and Buescher peeled off the track to pit their respective entries. On the following lap, Brodie Kostecki, Reddick, Allmendinger and Byron also pitted. McDowell would then surrender the lead to pit by Lap 17 followed by Suarez, Larson, Bowman, Chastain, Ty Gibbs and Mike Rockenfeller while Elliott assumed the lead. Elliott proceeded to lead a lap before he pitted by Lap 18 along with Kyle Busch and LaJoie. By then, Rockenfeller and LaJoie were both penalized for speeding on pit road.
Back on the track and by Lap 20, Bell, who assumed the lead on Lap 18, was leading by more than four seconds over van Gisbergen followed by Truex, Wallace and Austin Dillon while Hamlin, Harrison Burton, Keselowski, Kobayashi and Ty Dillon were scored in the top 10. Meanwhile, Suarez, who exited ahead of McDowell on pit road following his green flag pit stop, was in 12th ahead of McDowell while Elliott, Larson, Kyle Busch, Reddick and Bowman were running 14th through 17th, respectively.
At the Lap 25 mark, Bell continued to lead by more than 15 seconds over Austin Dillon while Hamlin, Keselowski and Suarez trailed in the top five ahead of McDowell, Elliott, Ty Dillon, Larson and Kyle Busch. With Reddick, Bowman, Briscoe, Buescher and Blaney running in the top 15, Truex, who pitted on Lap 22, was in 17th while van Gisbergen and Wallace, both of whom pitted on Lap 23, were back in 20th and 21st.
A lap later, the leader Bell pitted his No. 20 Rheem Toyota TRD Camry for his first service of the event. This allowed Austin Dillon to move into the lead followed by Hamlin and Keselowski despite all three still having to make at least their first pit stop of the day while Suarez and McDowell cycled and followed suit in the top five. Dillon would then pit his No. 3 Cowboy Chanel Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 by Lap 28, which moved Hamlin into the lead. By then, Larson, who was running eighth, missed the corner in Turn 12 and fell back to 12th while blending back into the racing groove.
On Lap 30, trouble struck for Allmendinger after he got turned by Blaney through Turn 14 while both were battling for 16th place, a move that prompted Allmendinger to issue a potential payback to Blaney, as he managed to proceed without drawing a caution. By then, Hamlin, who has yet to pit, retained the lead ahead of Keselowski while Suarez, McDowell and Elliott were in the top five.
At the conclusion of the second stage period on Lap 35, Hamlin, who nearly missed the turn entering Turn 7, fended off Suarez, McDowell and Keselowski to capture his fifth Cup stage victory of the 2023 season in his No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota TRD Camry. McDowell and Suarez followed suit in second and third along with Keselowski, who missed the turn in Turn 12 and allowed both McDowell and Keselowski to cycle past him, while Elliott, Kyle Busch, Reddick, Bowman, Briscoe and Larson were scored in the top 10.
With the final stage commencing under a continuous green flag period with 47 laps remaining, McDowell reassumed the lead through Turns 12 and 13 as Hamlin and Keselowski both pitted after both were successful in stretching their fuel tanks and gaining valuable stage points. With Hamlin and Keselowski pitting, Elliott cycled his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 up to second followed by Suarez while Kyle Busch and Reddick were scored in the top five.
At the halfway mark with 41 laps remaining, McDowell was leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over Elliott followed by Suarez, Busch and Reddick while Bowman, Briscoe, Larson, Truex and Bell were in the top 10. Behind, van Gisbergen was in 11th followed by Buescher, Cindric, Blaney and Wallace while Austin Dillon, Ty Gibbs, Chastain, Byron and Kostecki occupied the top 20. Meanwhile, Harvick was in 24th ahead of Kobayashi, Keselowski and Hamlin were back in 26th and 27th, Button was scored in 30th, Rockenfeller was in 35th behind Logano and Allmendinger was back in 37th.
With 37 laps remaining, Harvick and Andy Lally pitted under green. By then, Josh Bilick, who spun off the course, was back in 30th while McDowell stabilized his advantage to more than seven-tenths of a second over Elliott as third-place Suarez trailed by more than a second.
A lap later, another cycle of green flag pit stops slowly commenced as names including Briscoe, Larson, Cindric, Blaney, Brostecki, Gilliland and Jenson Button pitted while Suarez bumped Elliott entering Turn 12 to move into the runner-up spot. McDowell then surrendered the lead to pit under green with 34 laps remaining along with Suarez, Elliott, Reddick, Buescher, Truex and Ty Gibbs. Amid the pit stops, Suarez endured a slow pit service after the air gun hose got stuck under the front tire of his No. 99 Freeway.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which resulted in Suarez’s car having to be jacked for a second time as Elliott and McDowell overtook him on pit road.
With 30 laps remaining, Bell assumed a brief lead before he pitted under green. McDowell would cycle back into the lead during the following lap as Wallace pitted his No. 23 MoneyLion Toyota TRD Camry, which allowed Elliott, Suarez, Reddick and Hamlin to move up into the top five.
Down to the final 25 laps of the event, McDowell was leading by nearly three seconds over Elliott followed by Suarez, Reddick and Hamlin while Keselowski, Bowman, Briscoe, Truex and Larson were running in the top 10 ahead of Bell, van Gisbergen, Buescher, Cindric and Blaney. By then, Kyle Busch, who was running 11th, pitted under green after flat-spotting his tire on his No. 8 3Chi Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while missing a braking zone in Turn 12 while Stenhouse bumped and sent Button’s No. 15 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for a spin entering Turn 8 while both were battling for 30th.
Five laps later, McDowell stabilized his advantage to nearly three seconds over Elliott followed by Suarez and Reddick, both of whom trailed by more than nine seconds, as Bowman cracked the top five. As a result, Keselowski fell back to sixth while Briscoe, Hamlin, Truex and Larson occupied the top 10. By then, Gilliland, McDowell’s teammate at Front Row Motorsports, was scored in 38th after getting into the wall in Turn 12 without drawing a caution.
Two laps later, Keselowski, who was running in the top 10 a lap prior, pitted his No. 6 Socios.com Ford Mustang under green. Another two laps later, trouble struck for Kobayashi after he got hit and sent for a spin by Stenhouse, who made earlier contact again with Button, entering Turn 1. With Kobayashi continuing under green, McDowell continued to lead by more than two seconds over Elliott and more than seven seconds over third-place Suarez.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, McDowell retained the lead by more than two seconds over Elliott while third-place Suarez trailed by more than six seconds followed by a hard-charging Reddick. With Bowman running in the top five, Briscoe, Truex, Larson, Bell and van Gisbergen followed suit in the top 10.
With five laps remaining, McDowell stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Elliott while Suarez, Reddick and Bowman remained in the top five. By then, Allmendinger went off the course and ran his car through the gravel through Turn 4, but the event remained under green as Allmendinger blended back onto the racing surface. As the laps continued to dwindle, McDowell, who also navigated his way through lapped traffic, retained his lead to more than two seconds over Elliott.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, McDowell remained as the leader by more than a second over a hard-charging Elliott, who now had McDowell close within his sights after clearing his way through lapped traffic. As Elliott continued to gain slight ground on McDowell’s advantage from Turns 1 to 6, he then tried to close in on McDowell’s rear bumper through two braking zones from Turn 7 and Turn 12, but it was not enough as McDowell, who retained the lead through 14 turns for a final time, was able to cycle his way back to the frontstretch and beat Elliott by nine-tenths of a second to triumph for the second time in his Cup career and punch his ticket into the Playoffs.
With the victory, McDowell, who became the 13th different competitor to be guaranteed a spot for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning, achieved his second career victory in NASCAR’s premier series and his first since winning the 2021 Daytona 500, thus giving him two crown-jewel victories in NASCAR. The victory was the fourth overall for Front Row Motorsports owned by team owner Bob Jenkins, the fifth of the season for the Ford nameplate and the first for new full-time crew chief Travis Peterson as McDowell became the 18th different competitor to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, third to do so on the track’s road course layout.
Photo by Adam Lovelace for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Man, this is such a dream come true,” McDowell said on NBC. “I’m so thankful to everybody at Front Row Motorsports. Man, we had a fast Ford Mustang. Everybody at Roush Yates Engines Shop, [CEO] Doug [Yates]. These guys gave me everything today. We had the fastest car. We executed and we did what we needed to do. Just so thankful to still be grinding it out 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.”
“I was really trying to pace myself,” McDowell added. “I figured there would be a late-race caution. I didn’t want to burn my stuff up. I was just trying to maintain that gap. Then when I got into traffic [and Eliott] started closing, I had to push it. I just can’t believe it. It’s been a grind and I’m so proud. I thought we could point our way in [to the Playoffs], but after the car that we had yesterday in practice, I thought man, we got a good shot at winning if we could just get track position and maintain it. I can’t believe it. Winning the Daytona 500 was one of the coolest moments you could ever have, but going to Victory Lane without your family, that was tough. We cherry-pick. My family comes to the races we think we can win. We thought we could win this one. Just so proud.”
While McDowell celebrated both a race victory and a Playoff berth, Elliott and Suarez were both left disappointed, but still optimistic, over their top-three results at Indianapolis. For Elliott, who lost ground on the Playoff cutline amid wrecking early during the previous scheduled event at Michigan International Speedway, the runner-up result was his second of the season, but not enough for him to narrow the gap between himself and the cutline as he is now tied with teammate Alex Bowman for 19th place in the regular-season standings while trailing the cutline by 80 points.
“[I needed] Just to be a little better through the back half over there and get off of [Turn] 14 a little better just to have myself in a better spot getting into [Turn] 1,” Elliott said. “Just really appreciate the effort, man. Our Napa Chevy was really good. Just needed just a little bit more and came up a bit short. But congrats to Michael, man. He did a good job. Ran a great race and stayed mistake-free, and that’s what you’ve got to do to win. [The race] was great. It felt good. Ready to go for 77 [laps] more.”
For Suarez, the late pit road issue involving an air gun hose getting stuck underneath his car during his final pit service under green evaporated his hopes of regaining ground on McDowell for the victory, but the third-place result marked his third top-five result of the 2023 season. Currently, Suarez is situated in 17th place in the regular-season standings and trails the cutline by 28 points.
“We win and we lose as a team, and that’s all I can say,” Suarez said. “The guys brought a very fast race car. I felt that maybe we were one adjustment behind in the first run with the back of the car, but then we made it a little bit better. But I felt like I was always one step behind [Elliott McDowell], and then at the end, I felt that when my car came alive again, we had that [pit road] issue. Just a little bit heartbreaking, but that’s part of the sport. All we can do is continue to push, continue to build race cars like this, and I’ll keep on winning races. I mean, definitely, we can perform, I think, ever better [next weekend]. I’m pretty sure we’re gonna go back and analyze everything, and come back stronger next week.”
Reddick, the reigning Brickyard winner, came home in fourth place while Alex Bowman finished fifth despite still being 80 points below the top-16 cutline towards the Playoffs. Briscoe Truex, Larson, Bell and Shane van Gisbergen completed the top 10 on the track.
Notably, rookie Ty Gibbs finished 12th behind Buescher, Byron rallied from his pass-through start of the event by finishing 14th behind Blaney, Wallace came home in 18th in front of Hamlin and Keselowski, Harvick finished 23rd in his final start at Indianapolis, Allmendinger ended up 26th, Logano capped off his long event in 34th and Kyle Busch ended up 36th.
In addition, Brodie Kostecki and Kamui Kobayashi finished 22nd and 33rd in their Cup Series debut, respectively, while Mike Rockenfeller and Jenson Button finished 24th and 28th, respectively.
There were 10 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured a single caution for three laps. In addition, all 39 starters finished the event, with 22 finishing on the lead lap.
With two regular-season events remaining of this year’s Cup Series schedule, Martin Truex Jr. continues to lead the regular-season standings by 60 points over teammate Denny Hamlin.
William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are currently guaranteed spots for the 2023 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Bubba Wallace occupy the remaining vacant spots in the Playoffs based on points, with Wallace occupying the 16th and final vacant spots by 28 points over Daniel Suarez, 49 over Ty Gibbs, 80 over both Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, 87 over AJ Allmendinger and 105 over Austin Cindric.
Results.
1. Michael McDowell, 54 laps led, Stage 1 winner
2. Chase Elliott, one lap led
3. Daniel Suarez, six laps led
4. Tyler Reddick
5. Alex Bowman
6. Chase Briscoe
7. Martin Truex Jr.
8. Kyle Larson
9. Christopher Bell, 11 laps led
10. Shane van Gisbergen, one lap led
11. Chris Buescher
12. Ty Gibbs
13. Ryan Blaney
14. William Byron
15. Austin Cindric
16. Austin Dillon, one lap led
17. Ross Chastain
18. Bubba Wallace
19. Denny Hamlin, eight laps led, Stage 2 winner
20. Brad Keselowski
21. Harrison Burton
22. Brodie Kostecki
23. Kevin Harvick, one lap down
24. Mike Rockenfeller, one lap down
25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down
26. AJ Allmendinger, one lap down
27. Ty Dillon, one lap down
28. Jenson Button, one lap down
29. Corey LaJoie, one lap down
30. Andy Lally, one lap down
31. Ryan Preece, one lap down
32. Josh Bilicki, one lap down
33. Kamui Kobayashi, one lap down
34. Joey Logano, one lap down
35. Erik Jones, one lap down
36. Kyle Busch, two laps down
37. Todd Gilliland, two laps down
38. Justin Haley, two laps down
39. Aric Almirola, three laps down
Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is another road course event as the series travels east to Watkins Glen International in New York for the Go Bowling at The Glen. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, August 20, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Get ready for a full weekend of racing as the ARCA Menards Series and the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series hit the track Friday at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The action continues Saturday and Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course with the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
There are only three races remaining in the Cup Series regular season. Twelve drivers (Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) have clinched a spot in the Playoffs via wins.
With five races left in the Xfinity Series regular season, only three drivers have a guaranteed spot in the Playoffs – John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill and Cole Custer. Drivers can claim their spot by virtue of wins but they also have to finish the regular season and clinch on points.
The Truck Series Playoffs begin this weekend at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park with the Round of 10. They are led by Corey Heim with 2,030 points and include Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes, Nick Sanchez, Matt DiBenedetto and Matt Crafton.
All times are Eastern
Friday, August 11, 2023 (Indianapolis Raceway Park)
1:30 pm ET: ARCA Menards Series Practice – No TV 2:30 pm ET: ARCA Menards Series Qualifying No TV
6 pm ET: ARCA Reese’s 200 – FS1/FloRacing/MRN
3:30 pm ET: Truck Series Practice – FS1 4:05 pm ET: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1
9 pm ET: Truck Series TSport 200 Distance: 137.2 miles (200 Laps) Stage 1 ends on Lap 60, 120, Lap 200 FS1/MRN/SiriusXM Purse: $699,222
Saturday, August 12, 2023 (Indianapolis Road Course)
9:35 am ET: Xfinity Series practice – NBC Sports App – Delayed until 9:50 (Lightning Hold) 10:05 am ET: Xfinity Series qualifying – NBC Sports App
11:35 am ET: Cup Series practice – NBC Sports App 12:35 pm ET: Cup Series qualifying – NBC Sports App/SiriusXM
5:30 pm ET: Xfinity Series Pennzoil 150 presented by Advance Auto Parts Distance: 151.22 miles (62 Laps) Stages end on Lap 20 Lap 40, Lap 62 USA/NBC Sports App/SiriusXM Purse: $1,619,312
Sunday, August 13, 2023 (Indianapolis Road Course)
2:30 pm ET: Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard Distance: 199.998 miles (82 Laps) Stages end on Lap 15, Lap 35, Lap 82 NBC/NBC Sports App/SiriusXM Purse: $9,158,803
NASCAR Press Pass will be available after the Xfinity Series and Cup Series practice and qualifying sessions and post-race.
